January Sparks Health and Social Justice Awareness

January sparks health and social justice awareness campaigns and celebrations galore. Mark your calendars as the month is filled with activities and events sure to get you Socially Sparked®.

Health Observances this month include: Cervical Health Month; Thyroid Awareness Month and Awareness Months for National Birth Defects Prevention and Glaucoma.

Social Justice Causes include: National Slavery and Human Trafficking Month and The Women’s March.

A January Socially Sparked News Spotlight Cause is National Mentoring Month.

Awareness Days include: I am a Mentor Day on the 4th; Human Trafficking Awareness Day and The Blue Campaign on the 11th; International Mentoring Day on the 17th; Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is the 16th; Handwriting Day on the 23rd; Complement Day on the 24th and Inspire Your Heart with Art Day on the 31st.

It has never been as important as now to mentor our next generation of leaders. In honor of National Mentoring Month, we spotlight this important awareness initiative and several mentoring events happening throughout the month.

National Mentoring Month – celebrates mentoring and the positive effect it can have on young lives. The awareness campaign focuses national attention on the need for mentors, as well as how each of us—individuals, businesses, government agencies, schools, faith communities and nonprofits—can work together to increase the number of mentors to help ensure positive outcomes for our young people.

The goals of National Mentoring Month are to raise awareness of mentoring in its various forms; recruit individuals to mentor, especially in programs that have waiting lists of young people and to promote the rapid growth of mentoring by recruiting organizations to engage their constituents in mentoring..

January 4, 2018 – I Am a Mentor Day

-A day for volunteer mentors to celebrate their role and reflect on the ways mentees have enhanced their world.

January 11, 2018 – National Mentoring Month Kick-off Twitter Chat (3 p.m. ET/12 p.m. PT)

-A Twitter Chat to discuss all things National Mentoring Month and how mentoring is impacting local communities with partners America’s Promise Alliance, Athletes For Hope, Center for Promise, and Communities in School.
Particpate using hashtags #PromiseChat and #MentorIRL

January 15, 2018 – Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service

-A day to share in the inspirational words of Dr. MLK, Jr. and elevate the spirit of service through volunteerism.

january 17, 2018 – International Mentoring Day

-A day of international conversations on social media where photos, video and powerful mentoring stories messages are shared.

January 25, 2018 – #ThankYourMentor Day

-A day for all who have real-life mentoring experiences to thank those who helped them on their path to adulthood and beyond.

These are just a few of the many wonderful initiatives celebrated during the month of January. Happy New Year! – Abbe is Socially Sparked! Tweet @sosparkednews & @asparks01.