Calling all educators, counselors, guides and gurus. In honor of National Mentoring Month, Jewel and her husband Ty Murray are calling all adults to claim their roles in helping define grounded direction in the lives of troubled youth. The duo are partnering with Big Brothers. Big Sisters in the new campaign to Start Something.

“We are honored to be a part of this campaign,” Jewel and Murray said. “Start Something is a way for all of us to give that extra boost to help kids facing adversity improve in school and succeed in life.”

The first to take the pledge, both Jewel and Murray are serving as the Texas State Honorary Chairs for Big Brothers. Big Sisters. They have committed to help raise more awareness about the importance of youth-mentoring organizations and to encourage adults to play a more active role in shaping the values and morals of the next generation.

Big Brothers. Big Sisters. finds that children involved in their programs are:

• 46 percent less likely to begin using illegal drugs
• 27 percent are less likely to begin using alcohol
• 52 percent are less likely to skip school
• 37 percent are less likely to skip a class
• 33 percent are less likely to hit someone

This month marks the 10th anniversary of National Mentoring Month, an annual media campaign to recruit volunteer mentors for young people. Spearheaded by the Harvard Mentoring Project of the Harvard School of Public Health, MENTOR, and the Corporation for National and Community Service, this year’s campaign focuses on mentoring as a strategy for boosting academic achievement. The campaign’s tagline is “Help Them Get There. Become a Mentor.” Today, 15 million young people need a caring adult mentor in their lives.

Interested becoming a mentor? Learn more and get involved by donating or volunteering.