It's National Mentoring Month: Be a friend. Be a guide. Be interested. Just be there.

The First Tee loves National Mentoring Month! Why? Because there are more than 17,000 mentors and volunteers in our network we get to celebrate all month!

In a recent national report called The Mentoring Effect, young people who were at-risk for not completing high school but who had a mentor were 55 percent more likely to be enrolled in college than those who did not have a mentor. They were also:

• 81% more likely to report participating regularly in sports or extracurricular activities.
• 78% more likely to volunteer regularly in their communities.
• More than twice as likely to say they held a leadership position in a club or sports team.
• This same report found that one in three young people in our country will grow up without a mentor.

Your involvement as a mentor at your local chapter can not only change YOUR life, but just by being in the life of child or teen, you can also change their life.

Just ask Terry Mauney from The First Tee of Brunswick County. He has forever changed the life of participant Cameryn Smith by being a role model, coach and the father-figure she never had. Watch this video to see the difference that Terry has had on the leadership skills, confidence and character of this exceptional junior golfer. Be someone who matters to someone who matters. Mentoring works.

Get involved with The First Tee and become a mentor today!