Politicians and bureaucrats often discuss social problems with language that masks the human face of the issue, obscures the true scope and impact behind nice words or confusing phrasing.  A recent example is the use of the phrase "food insecurity" to refer to recent worldwide crises of hunger.  The human face of hunger calls us to action, while "food insecurity" allows us to sit back, assuming that someone else will take care of the problem.  Similar distancing has taken place around school reform, violence against women, and the human costs of war.

At Mentors, Inc. we take the opposite approach by highlighting the solution, the large collection of small individual acts creating tremendous and lasting change in the lives of DC's youth.  Celebrating the end of another successful year gives us an opportunity to reflect on the human face of our work.  We had more than 200 volunteers this year, doing everything from helping to clean up the office to responding to the everyday challenges and joys of our protégés.  We also had more than 200 protégés, whose lives have been enriched by their mentoring relationships, but who have also given back to their mentors, to Mentors, Inc. and to their schools and communities.  It is these faces that we cannot forget, that in fact keep us coming back each day, each year.