[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 18 (Tuesday, January 28, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Pages S641-S642]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




SENATE RESOLUTION 485--RECOGNIZING JANUARY 2020 AS ``NATIONAL MENTORING 
                                MONTH''

  Mr. WHITEHOUSE (for himself, Mr. Blunt, Mr. Blumenthal, Mr. Booker, 
Mr. Boozman, Mr. Braun, Mr. Brown, Mrs. Capito, Mr. Cornyn, Ms. 
Duckworth, Mr. Durbin, Ms. Ernst, Mr. Hawley, Mr. Jones, Ms. Klobuchar, 
Mr. Lankford, Mr. Markey, Mr. Murphy, Mr. Perdue, Mr. Peters, Mr. Reed, 
Ms. Rosen, Mr. Sanders, Ms. Smith, Mr. Sullivan, Ms. Warren, Mr. Wyden, 
Mr. Leahy, Mr. Van Hollen, and Mr. Barrasso) submitted the following 
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Health, Education, 
Labor, and Pensions:

                              S. Res. 485

       Whereas the goals of National Mentoring Month are to raise 
     awareness of mentoring, recruit individuals to mentor, 
     celebrate the powerful impact of caring adults who volunteer 
     time for the benefit of young people, and encourage 
     organizations to engage and integrate quality in mentoring 
     into the efforts of the organizations;
       Whereas there are young people across the United States who 
     make everyday choices that lead to the big decisions in life 
     without the guidance and support on which many other young 
     people rely;
       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 the potential of that 
     young person;
       Whereas quality mentoring encourages positive life and 
     social skills, promotes self-esteem, bolsters academic 
     achievement and college access, supports career exploration, 
     and nurtures youth leadership development;

[[Page S642]]

       Whereas mentoring happens in various settings, including 
     community-based programs, elementary and secondary schools, 
     colleges, government agencies, religious institutions, and 
     the workplace, and in various ways, including formal 
     mentoring matches and informal relationships with teachers, 
     coaches, neighbors, faith leaders, and others;
       Whereas mentoring programs have been shown to be effective 
     in helping young people make positive choices;
       Whereas studies have shown that incorporating culture and 
     heritage into mentoring programs can improve academic 
     outcomes and increases community engagement, especially for 
     Alaskan Native and American Indian youth;
       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 students who are chronically absent are more likely 
     to fall behind academically, and 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 
     encourages positive youth development and smart daily 
     behaviors, such as finishing homework and having healthy 
     social interactions, and 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 serves to link youth to economic and social 
     opportunity while also strengthening communities in the 
     United States; and
       Whereas, despite those described benefits, an estimated 
     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 2020 as ``National Mentoring 
     Month'';
       (2) recognizes the caring adults who serve as staff and 
     volunteers at quality mentoring programs and 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, supports young people in setting career goals and 
     expanding social capital, reduces juvenile delinquency, 
     improves positive personal, professional, and academic 
     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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