The Kindness of Strangers Adult Mentors, Urban Youth, and the New Voluntarism [Paperback]

A vivid portrayal of the much-celebrated mentoring movement in America.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.Marc Freedman brings experience, research, and realism in an effort to present the truth about the mentoring movement sweeping America today.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.Marc Freedman brings experience, research, and realism in an effort to present the truth about the mentoring movement sweeping America today.The Kindness of Strangers tells the story of a group of concerned adults who mentor inner-city youth. It describes what volunteers can do to ameliorate the conditions of young people living in poverty. It chronicles the rise of the mentoring movement and examines its wider implications for education and social policy. 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 qlS„