March 2022

Many of today's adults grew up recycling bottles, cans and paper products. That's made it easy to take the benefits of recycling for granted. Recycle Across America®, a nonprofit organization dedicated to expediting environmental progress, notes that there's much to learn about the many products that find their way into recycling bins and recycling centers every day.

Mentors have been driving forces behind the careers of some of the world's most accomplished individuals. According to the mentoring platform PushFar, 97 percent of individuals with a mentor feel those mentors are highly impactful and valuable, while 87 percent of mentors and mentees say that their mentoring relationships make them feel empowered and more confident. Women may benefit from mentors now more than ever, due to the greater disparity in the workforce brought on as a side effect of the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the Washington Post, around 52 million women worldwide were left jobless due to the pandemic. Estimates indicated the departure of women from the workforce would cause an $885 billion weakening of the economy over the following two years. Mentors can be vital in helping women define their ambitions in the workplace. Mentors also can bolster self-confidence and motivation to find new, stable jobs. Mentoring can provide women with the right skills and knowledge to excel in any industry. Seventy-one percent of Fortune 500 companies report having mentoring programs. Forbes indicates 76 percent of people think mentors are important, but only 37 percent have one. McCarthy Mentoring states that 25 percent of employees enrolled in a mentoring program had a salary-grade change, compared to 5 percent of workers who did not participate. In addition, mentees are promoted five times more often than those who are not in mentoring programs.