[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 41 Engrossed in House (EH)]

H. Res. 41

                In the House of Representatives, U. S.,

                                                      January 13, 2009.
Whereas mentoring is a longstanding concept in which a dependable, caring adult 
        provides guidance, support, and encouragement to facilitate a young 
        person's social, emotional, and cognitive development;
Whereas research on mentoring shows that formal, high quality mentoring focused 
        on developing the competence and character of the mentee, promotes 
        positive outcomes such as improved academic achievement, self-esteem, 
        social skills, and career development;
Whereas research on mentoring also indicates strong evidence of the success in 
        reducing substance use and abuse, academic failure, and delinquency;
Whereas mentoring, in addition to preparing young people for school, work, and 
        life, is also extremely rewarding for those serving as mentors;
Whereas more than 4,200 mentoring programs in communities of all sizes across 
        the United States focus on building strong, effective relationships 
        between mentors and mentees;
Whereas 3,000,000 young Americans are currently in solid mentoring relationships 
        due to the remarkable vigor, creativity, and resourcefulness of the 
        thousands of mentoring programs in communities throughout the Nation;
Whereas in spite of the progress made to increase mentoring, our Nation has a 
        serious ``mentoring gap'' with nearly 15,000,000 young people currently 
        in need of mentors;
Whereas public-private mentoring partnerships bring State and local leaders 
        together to support mentoring programs by preventing duplication of 
        efforts, offering training in industry best practices, and helping them 
        make the most of limited resources to benefit the Nation's youth;
Whereas the designation of January 2009 as National Mentoring Month will help 
        call attention to the critical role mentors play in helping young people 
        realize their potential;
Whereas the month-long celebration of mentoring will encourage more individuals 
        and organizations, including schools, businesses, nonprofit 
        organizations, faith institutions, and foundations, to become engaged in 
        mentoring across our Nation;
Whereas National Mentoring Month will, most significantly, build awareness of 
        mentoring and encourage more people to become mentors and help close the 
        Nation's mentoring gap; and
Whereas the President issued a proclamation declaring January 2009 to be 
        National Mentoring Month and calling on the people of the United States 
        to recognize the importance of mentoring: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) supports the goals and ideals of a National Mentoring Month;
            (2) recognizes with gratitude the contributions of millions of 
        caring adults and students who are already volunteering as mentors and 
        encourages more individuals to volunteer as mentors; and
            (3) encourages the people of our Nation to promote the awareness of, 
        and to volunteer involvement with, youth mentoring.
            Attest:

                                                                          Clerk.