1
2.4million Black children have an incarcerated parent

Source: All Alone in the World: Children of the Incarcerated 

by Nell Bernstein

Of all African-American births, 6.6%are to girls under the age of 18

Source: U.S. Census Bureau

60%of Black fourth-graders did not score at the basic 

achievement level on national reading tests in 2005

Source: 2005 National Assessment of Education Progress

1in 8African-American males between the ages 

of 25 and 29 is incarcerated. 

Source: U.S. Department of Justice And in some areas fewer than of Black 

males are graduating from high school

Source: Public Education and the Black Male Student, 

20%

a report by Schott Foundation for Public Education
we are the solution

mentoring works

1

Welcome to the National CARES 

Mentoring Movement (NCMM), which 

I originally founded as Essence CARES 

after the tragedies brought about by 

Hurricane Katrina. The CARES movement 

is a call to commitment and action to 

the Black community to mentor our 

vulnerable young. These are a few of the 

chilling facts: Nearly 60 percent of Black 

fourth graders are functionally illiterate. 

Among our young women, HIV/AIDS is 

the leading cause of death, and among 

our young men, it’s homicide. And nearly a 

million Black men are incarcerated. Now it 

is time for us to act!

NCMM is a fast-growing coalition of 

our most trusted organizations and 

leaders, working together in communities 

throughout the nation to recruit caring 

mentors. Mentoring works miracles. 

After 37 years at Essence magazine, I 

handed the reigns to the next generation 

so I could devote more time to what 

has become my passion and more 

pressing work: organizing CARES MentorRecruitment Circles to enlist volunteers 

and connect them with existing youthserving local organizations. Caring adults 

can offer our children the compassion, 

guidance and encouragement they need 

to build happy, productive and selfsustaining lives. None of the negative 

forces imperiling our children’s lives is 

stronger than our love and commitment. 

We are the solution! 

Let us link arms and aims. Please become 

a mentor. Organize a CARES MentorRecruitment Circle and work with your 

faith community, family, colleagues, and 

friends to recruit the caring adults needed 

to secure underserved youngsters in your 

area. Dedicating just four hours a month 

can save and secure a life. 

Mentoring is the answer, and it’s a 

privilege. Please get involved now. 

Susan L. Taylor

Founder, National CARES 

Mentoring Movement
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100 black men of america, inc.

You don’t need any special skills to mentor. No advanced degrees 

or impressive resumes are required for making a difference 

in a young person’s life. Honorific titles, fat bank accounts and 

well-tailored clothes are no guarantee that you will make a good 

mentor. However, motivation, empathy, commitment and 

flexibility will make it possible for you to enter a child’s world 

and lovingly establish yourself as a trusted guide, a valued 

adviser, a cherished role model. Please get involved now. 

Thomas W. Dortch Jr. 

Chairman Emeritus 

Chairman, National CARES Mentoring Movement

national urban league

The crisis surrounding too many of our Black youth has been 

well chronicled, and solutions seem complex and expensive. 

The simplest and most effective way to combat the negative 

forces affecting our youth and to make a difference is for every 

able African-American adult to mentor at least one young 

person in need. The National Urban League and I are committed 

to lending our support and linking with other organizations to 

ensure that a caring adult is available to mentor every child who 

needs one.

Marc H. Morial

President and CEO
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ywca usa

The YWCA USA has been in the mentorship “business” for nearly 150 years, and 

the empowerment of girls and women 

and the pursuit of racial justice have been 

the core of the YWCA mission. YWCA 

offers girls self-esteem-building programs, 

academic support, career planning, health 

information, fitness activities, and more. 

We have also been a leader in promoting 

literacy among youth and adults, including literacy for speakers of English as a 

second language.

Lorraine Cole, Ph.D.

CEO

100 black men of america, inc.

100 Black Men of America is proud to 

support the National CARES Mentoring 

Movement. Nearly a year ago, a small 

group of leaders stood up before an audience at the Essence Music Festival and 

made a commitment to reclaim our youth. 

Our Atlanta CARES pilot has attracted 

more than 73 organizations and recruited 

nearly 800 men and women who have 

rededicated themselves to our youth as 

mentors and role models. We know that 

mentoring literally changes lives.

Albert Dotson Jr.

President

the links, incorporated

The Links, Incorporated, is proud to 

be a national partner with the National 

CARES Mentoring Movement because 

it builds on our 61-year tradition of 

providing services to youth both nationally 

and internationally through friendship. 

We invest in young people of African 

descent through mentoring, education, 

and enrichment programs because we 

recognize the need to serve as role 

models and mentors.

Gwendolyn B. Lee, Ph.D. 

National President
4

national institute for literacy

Literacy skills are the building blocks for 

success in our lives, work and communities. 

The Institute is dedicated to improving 

opportunities for adults, youth, and children 

to increase their literacy skills so they can 

thrive in a progressively literate world. At the 

Institute, we seek to integrate knowledge, 

research, and practice to improve literacy 

and reading instruction. We welcome 

this opportunity to serve as an expert 

resource on literacy to the National CARES 

Mentoring Movement and applaud its 

efforts to make reading, writing, and other 

important literacy skills a part of its holistic 

approach to supporting our nation’s youth 

and communities. 

While the Institute views literacy as an individual’s ability to read, write, speak in English, 

compute, and solve problems well enough 

to function on the job, in the family, and in 

society—reading is the cornerstone for all 

learning and skill mastery. We learn to read 

as youngsters, but as we grow older we rely 

on our reading skill to advance in school and 

work and to make sense of the world around 

us. Parents are a child’s first teacher, but 

other caring adults can help children develop 

and strengthen their reading skills. Mentors 

can be those other caring adults.

Sandra L. Baxter, Ed.D.

Director

National cares

objectives

Fill the pipeline of 

existing local mentoring 

organizations with caring 

and committed men and 

women. 

 Communicate to our at-risk 

youngsters that the adults 

in their community love and 

value them and will help 

them succeed. 

 Increase literacy skills, a 

passion for learning, and 

academic achievement. 

 Increase high school graduation rates among Black 

students by 10 percent 

annually. 

 End violence in the Black 

community and the overincarceration of our young 

males and females.
5

volunteer mentors

mission and goals 

Our mission is to connect every vulnerable 

Black youngster with a caring adult. 

Through local CARES Circles, we recruit 

volunteers and connect them to established 

organizations that train mentors. 

What is Mentoring?

The National Mentoring Partnership 

defines mentoring as “a structured and 

trusting relationship that brings young 

people together with caring individuals 

who offer guidance, support and 

encouragement aimed at developing the 

competence and character of the mentee.”

Building Circles of CARE. Local 

CARES Circles are taking hold in 

communities across the nation, rolling out 

through coalitions of local organizations. 

They are incorporating models for 

innovative gang-, gun-, and violenceprevention models developed by visionary 

psychiatrists, psychologists and educators. 

CARES is mobilizing and connecting 

already existing mentoring groups with 

hundreds of thousands of caring and 

committed adults from every sector 

and class in the Black community—

corporate and public sector employees, 

entrepreneurs, union workers, civic and 

faith leaders, congregations, community 

activists, fraternities, sororities, and 

college students—to mentor and secure 

the educational and lifelong success of 

vulnerable young people.

How Can You Get Involved in Mentoring? Contact National CARES Mentoring Movement, visit www.caresmentoring.com
6

We all had a caring person in our lives who helped us rise to where we are today. Young 

people—even those most challenged—thrive when caring adults show an interest in 

them, encourage them, and introduce them to a wider world of options than the narrow 

and painful places that too many Black youngsters call home each day. Don’t let myths 

about mentoring keep you from getting involved. 

dispelling mentoring myths

Myth 1: Mentoring requires a lot of time

Fact: Mentoring does take commitment, 

but not a lot of time. It is the quality of the 

relationship that matters. Connecting for 

four hours a month is enough time to: 

 Encourage a child each week

 Be available for a phone call or two 

Listen to challenges, ideas and even 

their jokes

 Help with problems at school

 Have a lunch or a snack

 Attend a worship service

Introduce your mentee to other positive 

young people

Myth 2: Background checks 

aren’t necessary

Fact: Background checks help protect 

children from predators and pedophiles 

and maintain accountability to the parents, 

guardians and organizations responsible 

for the children being mentored. It is a 

necessary insurance that children will be 

nurtured and loved appropriately. Keep in 

mind that these background checks are 

necessary, confidential, and shared only 

with the agency doing the investigation. 

Your privacy is protected.

Myth 3: I will feel uncomfortable with a 

youngster I don’t know

Fact: All youngsters are in need of love and 

affirmation; you only have to be yourself. 

Tune your ear and listen attentively. Be 

patient and open your compassionate heart 

widely. Give your most valuable gifts and 

share your wisdom and talents generously. 
7

communicate

encourage

what you may want to know about our national mentoring movement

What you can do:

Commit to mentoring a child or form a 

mentoring group with family, friends or 

colleagues to support a larger number 

of youngsters in an underserved school, 

group home, rehabilitation or postdetention program. 

Support organizations that are working 

to secure the future of vulnerable children. 2.5 million Black children have 

a parent in prison. 

Recruit the caring adults in your family, 

faith community, and workplace to 

volunteer and mentor. 

Mentoring models available:

One-on-one/traditional mentoring—

one adult to one youngster

Group mentoring—a group of adults 

working with a larger group of youngsters 

Peer mentoring—a caring youngster, perhaps in high school or college, mentoring 

a younger person 

In-school mentoring—one-on-one 

mentoring or a group of caring adults 

giving support to several students or 

a class 

Where does mentoring take place?

Mentoring can occur in a variety of safe, 

public places like restaurants, parks, 

schools, libraries, recreation centers, and 

places of worship. 

What should mentors communicate 

to youngsters? 

Let youngsters know that they are smart, 

capable, valuable, and worthy of love and 

respect; that they should not be ashamed 

of what they don’t know; that critical 

independent thinking and making good 

decisions are important.

How Can You Get Involved in Mentoring? Contact National CARES Mentoring Movement, visit www.caresmentoring.com
8

“

“

We have a powerful potential in our youth, and we must 

have the courage to change old ideas and practices so 

that we may direct their power toward good ends.

—Mary McLeod Bethune

 Recruit your family, friends and faith community to mentor.

Encourage high achievement in our 

children

Help them understand the importance of 

reading, writing, and speaking well. 

Give youngsters books about our history 

and great Black people. 

Instill in them the importance of setting 

and achieving personal, academic and 

career goals. 

If you weren’t always a focused and 

disciplined student, tell them so and how 

you shifted your thinking and behavior. 

Help youngsters to see that learning 

is a life-long journey, the key to selfsufficiency and being able to help our 

family and community. 

Encourage mentees to give back to 

vulnerable youngsters what mentors 

have given to them. 

Encourage your mentee to take the 

courses that prepare them for higher 

education and career training 

Tell your mentee: 

You can afford to go to college. 

Resources are available. 

Your only competition is with who you 

were yesterday. You are working to 

grow academically and in wisdom and 

courage every day. Work toward taking 

challenging college preparatory classes 

in middle school and high school. 

Never be ashamed of what you don’t 

know. Ask for help and advice from 

teachers, counselors, librarians, and 

mentors, and work hard. 

You were born to win. You can be a 

high achiever! 
9

the power of literacy

literacy and mentoring matter

Literacy, it’s more than reading! 

Literacy is “... an individual’s ability 

to read, write, and speak in English, 

compute, and solve problems at levels 

of proficiency necessary to function on 

the job, in the family, and in society.” 

— Workforce Investment Act of 1998, Section 203

Learn the Literacy Trends 

Annually, the National Center for Education 

Statistics issues the National Assessment 

of Educational Progress, the nation’s “report 

card” on what America’s students know and 

can do in reading and in other subject areas. 

You can find the latest results at: http://

nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/

The National Institute for Literacy, a federal 

agency, was created to help our nation better 

meet some of its current and emerging 

literacy challenges. It also makes available 

free literacy publications for families and 

educators of adults, youth, and children. 

Visit: www.nifl.gov

For over five years, The Schott Foundation 

for Public Education has tracked the 

performance of Black males in public 

education systems across the nation. It’s 

2008 report: Given Half a Chance: The Schott 

50 State Report on Public Education and 

Black Males, can be found at: http://www.

blackboysreport.org.

Why Literacy is Important

Literacy skills are the building blocks of 

high academic achievement and success in 

life. Low literacy skills are not just a problem for our work life and economy. There 

are also consequences for keeping families 

healthy and for improving one’s quality of 

life. Individuals with low health literacy are 

likely to struggle to find and understand the 

basic information required for appropriate 

decision-making on health matters.
10

foster a love for reading

literacy skills: the building blocks of academic achievement

Learning to read is one of the first skills 

a child must master to become a capable 

student. Teachers, parents, and mentors 

all can play an important role in helping 

children acquire the skills they need to 

become good readers. The skills children 

need include:

Phonemic awareness, or the ability 

to notice and work with the individual 

sounds in spoken words

Phonics, or the connection between letters and the sounds of spoken language

Fluency, or the ability to read a text 

accurately and quickly

Vocabulary, the words we must know 

to communicate effectively

Comprehension, or making sense of 

what we read

Literacy Resources You Can Use to 

Support Your Mentee:

The National Institute for Literacy has 

resources you can use to help encourage 

your mentee to develop good skills in reading and learning. Visit www.nifl.gov to:

Find tutorial and other support programs 

at the America’s Literacy Directory for 

children, youth, and adults who need 

help in learning to read. 

Obtain free publications on how children 

learn to read and to get copies of free 

materials to share with your mentee and 

his/her parent. 

You can also find children’s books and reading activities at Reading is Fundamental

(RIF). RIF, the nation’s oldest and largest 

non-profit children’s literacy organization, 

prepares and motives children to read by 

delivering free books and literacy organizations to those who need them most. Visit: 

www.rif.org or call 1(877)-RIF-READ
11

“

Every great dream begins with a dreamer...you have 

within you the strength, the patience and the passion 

to reach for the stars and change the world.

—Harriet Tubman

“

Share a book with your mentee during your 

time together. Reading with and to children 

can make a significant difference. Let them 

know you enjoy books and encourage them 

to tell you about the books they enjoy. 

Here are some things that you can do to help 

your mentee or the youth in your life to build 

literacy skills and a love of reading: 

Children in First, Second, 

and Third Grade

Talk with younger children to help them 

build listening and speaking skills that 

support their literacy development. 

Ask your mentee to bring a book from 

school or home to read to you. Be 

patient if your mentee reads slowly. Let 

the child know how proud you are of his 

or her reading and progress. 

Help your mentee spell and write. 

Encourage them to write a letter to a 

family member or friend. Or write a 

simple story about an activity you’ve 

done together. 

Middle School and High School Students

The focus of literacy skill building for many 

adolescents should be deepening background knowledge, expanding vocabulary, 

and staying motivated. Middle and high 

school students who are familiar with the 

concepts and vocabulary of their school 

subjects are in a good position to learn 

more. Understand your mentee’s interests 

and encourage him or her to develop more 

background knowledge about those subjects. For example, if your mentee is interested in other cultures or the environment, 

keep your eye out for books, specials on 

television or podcasts. 

Mentors can build on activities like visits 

to museums or local attractions by sharing 

websites, magazine stories or other information connected to the activity. 
12

we arethe solution

Mentors can also help build literacy skills 

through these activities:

Visit a bookstore or library and help your 

mentee choose engaging reading material that’s not overly difficult.

Find a few minutes to discuss the 

content, pointing out key ideas and 

vocabulary.

Play word games like Scrabble with your 

mentee, do crossword puzzles, enjoy 

poetry. Help your mentee become 

“word conscious.”

Reading with your mentee for even 10-15 

minutes a day can make a difference. 

Model good reading habits by letting your 

mentee see you enjoying books.

With the involvement of volunteer mentors 

and caring communities, young people 

can find support and enjoy the journey to 

becoming lifelong readers and learners. 

We hope you will be inspired to mentor a 

child who needs a caring adult. Become a 

catalyst, empower youth and their families 

to build basic literacy skills and foster a 

love for reading and learning.

how can you

get involved in

mentoring?

To connect with the 

National CARES Mentoring 

Movement and with a local 

mentoring organization, visit 

www.caresmentoring.com.
13

a pledge to rescue our youth by dr. maya angelou

Young women, young men of color, we 

add our voices to the voices of your 

ancestors, who speak to you over ancient 

seas and across impossible mountain tops.

Come up from the gloom of national 

neglect; you have already been paid for.

Come out of the shadow of irrational 

prejudice; you owe no racial debt 

to history.

The blood of our bodies and the prayers 

of our souls have bought you a future free 

from shame and bright beyond the telling 

of it.

We pledge ourselves and our resources 

to seek for you clean and well furnished 

schools, safe and nonthreatening streets, 

employment which makes use of your 

talents, but does not degrade your dignity.

You are the best we have.

You are all we have.

You are what we have become.

We pledge you our whole hearts 

from this day forward.
14

in partnership with 

National CASA 

Big Brothers Big Sisters of America

Concerned Black men

Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.

Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc.

Sigma Pi Phi

National Coalition of 100 Black Women

Mentoring USA 

NAACP

United Negro College Fund

Children’s Defense Fund

Girl Scouts of the USA

MAD DADS

Operation Hope

United States Navy

ESSENCE

BET J

and also with 

A host of other fraternities, sororities, 

civil rights organizations, and the major 

African-American faith communities

NATIONAL cares mentoring movement, a call for commitment to 

secure our young with the support of

100 Black Men of America, Inc.

National Urban League

The Links, Incorporated

YWCA USA

with expertise and resources from the National Institute for Literacy, MENTOR, and 

and The Twenty-First Century Foundation

Paid for by the National Institute for Literacy

This Guide contains information about and from public and private organizations for the reader’s information. Inclusion does not constitute an endorsement 

by the National Institute for Literacy or the U.S. Department of Education of any products or services offered or views expressed.

Copywriting/editorial support: B. Denise Hawkins, National Institute for Literacy

Design: Graves Fowler Creative