[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 19 (Tuesday, February 2, 2016)]
[Senate]
[Pages S489-S490]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 SENATE RESOLUTION 356--RECOGNIZING JANUARY 2016 AS NATIONAL MENTORING 
                                 MONTH

  Mr. ISAKSON (for himself, Mr. Whitehouse, Mr. Booker, Mr. Brown, Mrs. 
Capito, Mr. Cassidy, Mr. Cornyn, and Mr. Wyden) submitted the following 
resolution; which was considered and agreed to:

                              S. Res. 356

       Whereas, in 2002, the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public 
     Health and MENTOR: the National Mentoring Partnership 
     established National Mentoring Month;
       Whereas the goals of National Mentoring Month are--
       (1) to raise awareness of mentoring;
       (2) to recruit individuals to mentor; and
       (3) to encourage organizations to engage and integrate 
     quality in mentoring into the efforts of the organizations;
       Whereas young people across the United States make everyday 
     choices that lead up to the big decisions in life without the 
     guidance and support on which many other people rely;
       Whereas a mentor is a caring, consistent presence who 
     devotes time to a young person to help that young person--
       (1) discover personal strength; and
       (2) achieve the potential of that young person through a 
     structured and trusting relationship;
       Whereas quality mentoring--
       (1) encourages positive choices;
       (2) promotes self-esteem;
       (3) supports academic achievement; and
       (4) introduces young people to new ideas;
       Whereas mentoring programs have shown to be effective in 
     combating school violence

[[Page S490]]

     and discipline problems, substance abuse, incarceration, and 
     truancy;
       Whereas research shows that young people who were at risk 
     for not completing high school but who had a mentor were, as 
     compared to similarly situated young people without a 
     mentor--
       (1) 55 percent more likely to be enrolled in college;
       (2) 81 percent more likely to report participating 
     regularly in sports or extracurricular activities;
       (3) more than twice as likely to say they held a leadership 
     position in a club or sports team; and
       (4) 78 percent more likely to pay it forward by 
     volunteering regularly in their communities;
       Whereas 90 percent of young people who were at risk for not 
     completing high school but who had a mentor said they are now 
     interested in becoming mentors themselves;
       Whereas youth development experts agree that mentoring 
     encourages smart daily behaviors (such as finishing homework, 
     having healthy social interactions, and saying no when it 
     counts) that have a noticeable influence on the growth and 
     success of a young person;
       Whereas mentors help young people set career goals and use 
     the personal contacts of the mentors to help young people 
     meet industry professionals and find jobs;
       Whereas all of the described benefits of mentors serve to 
     link youth to economic and social opportunity while also 
     strengthening the fiber of communities in the United States; 
     and
       Whereas despite the described benefits, 9,000,000 young 
     people in the United States feel isolated from meaningful 
     connections with adults outside their homes, constituting a 
     ``mentoring gap'' that demonstrates a need for collaboration 
     and resources: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) recognizes January 2016 as National Mentoring Month;
       (2) recognizes the men and women who serve as staff and 
     volunteers at quality mentoring programs and who help the 
     young people of the United States find inner strength and 
     reach their full potential;
       (3) acknowledges that mentoring is beneficial because 
     mentoring encourages educational achievement, reduces 
     juvenile delinquency, improves life outcomes, and strengthens 
     communities;
       (4) promotes the establishment 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'' 
     that exists for the many young people in the United States 
     without meaningful connections with adults outside their 
     homes.

                          ____________________