[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 23 (Tuesday, February 6, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Page S655]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 SENATE RESOLUTION 394--RECOGNIZING JANUARY 2018 AS NATIONAL MENTORING 
                                 MONTH

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

                              S. Res. 394

       Whereas the goals of National Mentoring Month are--
       (1) to raise awareness of mentoring;
       (2) to recruit individuals to mentor;
       (3) to celebrate the powerful impact of caring adults who 
     volunteer time for the benefit of young people; and
       (4) 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 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 
     helping young people make positive choices;
       Whereas young people who meet regularly with mentors are 46 
     percent less likely than peers to start using illegal drugs;
       Whereas research shows that young people who were at risk 
     for not completing high school but who had a mentor were, as 
     compared with 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 the communities of young people;
       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 mentoring can play a role in helping young people 
     attend school regularly, as research shows that students who 
     meet regularly with a mentor are, as compared with the peers 
     of those students--
       (1) 52 percent less likely to skip a full day of school; 
     and
       (2) 37 percent less likely to skip a class;
       Whereas youth development experts agree that mentoring--
       (1) encourages positive youth development and smart daily 
     behaviors such as finishing homework and having healthy 
     social interactions; and
       (2) has a positive impact 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 train for and find jobs;
       Whereas each of the benefits of mentors described in this 
     preamble serve to link youth to economic and social 
     opportunity while also strengthening communities in the 
     United States; and
       Whereas, despite those described benefits, 9,000,000 young 
     people in the United States feel isolated from meaningful 
     connections with adults outside the home, constituting a 
     ``mentoring gap'' that demonstrates a need for collaboration 
     and resources: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) recognizes January 2018 as National Mentoring Month;
       (2) recognizes the caring adults who--
       (A) serve as staff and volunteers at quality mentoring 
     programs; and
       (B) help the young people of the United States find inner 
     strength and reach their full potential;
       (3) acknowledges that mentoring is beneficial because 
     mentoring supports educational achievement and self-
     confidence, 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 
     who do not have meaningful connections with adults outside 
     the home.

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