[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 462 Introduced in House (IH)]

113th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. RES. 462

  Recognizing January as ``National Mentoring Month'' and encouraging 
   more people in the United States to mentor young people in their 
                              communities.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 16, 2014

Ms. Wilson of Florida (for herself, Ms. Ros-Lehtinen, Mr. Grijalva, Mr. 
Langevin, Mr. Hinojosa, Mr. Fattah, Mr. Holt, Ms. McCollum, Mrs. Davis 
of California, Mr. Polis, Mr. Schiff, Mr. Andrews, Ms. Jackson Lee, Ms. 
Bass, Mr. Conyers, Ms. Norton, Mr. Carson of Indiana, and Ms. Castor of 
Florida) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 
                Committee on Education and the Workforce

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
  Recognizing January as ``National Mentoring Month'' and encouraging 
   more people in the United States to mentor young people in their 
                              communities.

Whereas in 2002, the Harvard School of Public Health and MENTOR: The National 
        Mentoring Partnership created ``National Mentoring Month'';
Whereas the goals of National Mentoring Month are to raise awareness of 
        mentoring, recruit individuals to mentor, and encourage organizations to 
        engage and integrate mentoring into their efforts;
Whereas a mentor is a caring, consistent presence who devotes time to a young 
        person to help that young person discover personal strength and achieve 
        their potential through a structured and trusting relationship;
Whereas quality mentoring encourages positive choices, promotes self-esteem, 
        supports academic achievement, and introduces young people to new ideas;
Whereas mentoring programs have shown to be effective in combating school 
        violence, discipline problems, substance abuse, incarceration, and 
        truancy;
Whereas research shows that youth who participate in mentoring relationships 
        experience a multitude of positive benefits including being more engaged 
        in school, finishing high school, and continuing on to college;
Whereas youth are 5 times more likely to graduate if they have a meaningful 
        relationship with an adult;
Whereas research shows that young people who are matched with a caring adult 
        through a quality mentoring program are 46 percent less likely to use 
        illegal drugs, 27 percent less likely to start drinking, 52 percent less 
        likely to skip school, and 37 percent less likely to skip class, and are 
        more trusting of their parents or guardians;
Whereas youth development experts agree that mentoring is critical to the 
        social, emotional, and cognitive development of youth, helping them 
        navigate the path to adulthood more successfully;
Whereas mentors help young people set career goals and use their personal 
        contacts to help young people meet industry professionals and find jobs;
Whereas mentoring is a proven cost-effective investment, for every $1 invested 
        in mentoring, there is a $3 return to society;
Whereas despite these benefits, there is a ``mentoring gap'', a gap between the 
        availability of mentoring programs and the number of young people in 
        need of a mentor; and
Whereas according to new research released this month, 1 in 3 young adults say 
        they did not have an adult mentor in their lives while they were growing 
        up: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) recognizes ``National Mentoring Month'';
            (2) recognizes the men and women who serve as staff and 
        volunteers at quality mentoring programs and help our young 
        people find inner strength and reach their full potential;
            (3) acknowledges that mentoring is beneficial because it 
        encourages educational achievement, reduces juvenile 
        delinquency, and improves life outcomes;
            (4) promotes the creation and expansion of quality 
        mentoring programs across the United States to equip young 
        people with the tools needed to lead healthy and productive 
        lives; and
            (5) supports initiatives to close the ``mentoring gap''.
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