If, like us, you think that great mentoring relationships deserve to be recognized, then we invite you to nominate your most outstanding mentoring pairs for the inaugural MENTOR's Spotlight Award. This award will recognize an outstanding mentoring pair and demonstrate the tremendous benefits a mentoring relationship can bring to a young person.

From all of the nominations submitted, a panel of judges will select three mentoring pairs as finalists. All the finalists, plus each mentee’s parent or guardian and representative from the honoree's mentoring program, will receive an all-expenses paid trip to Washington, DC to attend the MENTOR's Spotlight Award gala on May 3, 2006. The finalists will also visit with their Congressional delegation and take part in media activities to highlight the importance of mentoring.

At the gala, one of the three finalist pairs will be selected to serve as the 2006 MENTOR's Spotlight Award recipient. The award for the winning pair consists of a $7,500 package that includes a $5,000 scholarship for the mentee, a $500 award for the mentor and a $2,000 donation to the pair's mentoring program.

Each mentoring program can nominate no more than two mentoring pairs. Nominated pairs must have been matched for at least nine months, and mentees must be between the ages of 10 and 19. As part of the application, mentees will be asked to create a testimonial (in written, audio or video format) about what their mentors mean to them.

Nomination forms are now available at http://www.mentoring.org/spotlightaward.
Please review the form for complete rules, eligibility criteria and instructions.

Nominations must be received no later than February 28, 2006.