Kindness of Strangers: Adult Mentors, Urban Youth, and the New Voluntarism (Revised)

Many of us care deeply about the fate of young people growing up in poverty. We worry about their future and the future of an increasingly fragmented society. We want to help, but often don't know how, or even, where to begin. The Kindness of Strangers reveals how caring adults in cities across America are trying to turn young lives around. It also tells of the much celebrated mentoring movement they have created. In a vivid portrayal of that movement, Marc Freedman shows how ordinary citizens can answer President Clinton's call for all Americans to reach out to the children who are growing up in poverty and community violence - all too often alone, exposed, and forgotten. Based on interviews with over 300 mentors, young people, scholars, and youth workers, The Kindness of Strangers takes a hard look at mentoring and asks some critical questions: How much can mentoring really accomplish? What does it take to be a successful mentor? What makes the difference between an effective program and one fraught with difficulties? Marc Freedman brings experience, research, and realism to these questions in an effort to present the truth about the mentoring movement sweeping America today.