[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 16 (Tuesday, January 27, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E149]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


               REWARDING YOUTH MENTORSHIP IN THE NEW YEAR

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                         HON. CHARLES B. RANGEL

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, January 27, 2009

  Mr. RANGEL. Madam Speaker, I rise today to commend anyone who 
dedicates his or her time to mentoring this country's impressionable 
youth--in any capacity, in all capacities. There is no greater gift 
than the selfless giving of one's time and energies to the emotional, 
scholastic, and moral development of another. We can all trace back in 
our histories that one person or group of people who set us on the 
straight and narrow, from whom we drew inspiration, motivation, and a 
sense of purpose.
  For far too long, wayward youth have had few role models to emulate, 
few adults to guide them in an otherwise confusing, self-deprecating, 
and turbulent moment in their lives. For far too long, the corrosive 
influence of drugs, domestic abuse, academic failure, and delinquency 
have instilled in our youth a hopelessness that permeates far into 
their adolescence and even adulthood. These honorable many, who have 
taken the charge of leading these youngsters to the road of successes, 
deserve our praise and our respect, and I am thrilled to support naming 
this month of January ``National Mentoring Month'' in an attempt to do 
just that.
  Three million youngsters are currently benefitting from a mentoring 
relationship, but that just isn't enough. Five times as many kids are 
in urgent need of guidance, and it is up to us to demonstrably reward 
mentors for their vows of time, commitment, and effort. A mentorship is 
not a task taken up lightly or without the resolve to work diligently, 
generously, and openly--but it provides its participants such 
innumerable, intrinsic rewards that it becomes a challenge, and 
pleasure, certainly worthy of fulfilling.
  May mentors across this great Nation feel proud of the work they are 
doing, and may others take note of their tremendous example and develop 
a mentoring relationship of their own.

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