[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 1]
[Senate]
[Pages 521-522]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




SENATE RESOLUTION 294--DESIGNATING JANUARY 2004 AS ``NATIONAL MENTORING 
                                MONTH''

  Mr. KENNEDY (for himself, Mr. McCain, Mr. Allen, Mr. Akaka, Mr. 
Pryor, Mr. Kerry, Mr. Nelson of Nebraska, Mr. Dodd, Mr. Dayton, Ms. 
Mikulski, Mr. Grassley, and Mr. Cochran) submitted the following 
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary:

[[Page 522]]



                              S. Res. 294

       Whereas mentoring is a strategy for motivating and helping 
     young people succeed in life, by bringing them together in 
     structured and trusting relationships with caring adults who 
     provide guidance, support, and encouragement;
        Whereas mentoring offers a supportive environment in which 
     young people can grow, expand their vision, learn necessary 
     skills, and achieve a future that the young people never 
     thought possible;
        Whereas a growing body of research shows that mentoring 
     benefits young people in numerous ways, through improvements 
     in school performance and attendance, self-confidence, 
     attitudes and relationships with adults, and motivation to 
     reach their potential;
        Whereas mentoring is an adaptable, flexible approach that 
     can be tailored to focus on helping young people with 
     academics, social skills, career preparation, or leadership 
     development;
        Whereas over 15,000,000 young people in this Nation still 
     need mentors, falling into a ``mentoring gap'';
        Whereas mentoring relies principally on volunteer mentors, 
     so mentoring programs must recruit even more volunteers in 
     order to expand their program to help more young people;
       Whereas, in an effort to begin closing the mentoring gap, 
     this year Congress has significantly increased Federal grant 
     funding for local mentoring organizations to $100,000,000;
        Whereas the recipients of these grants and other entities 
     carrying out mentoring programs all across the country will 
     need an influx of volunteers to meet the growing demand for 
     mentoring;
        Whereas nonprofit groups and leading media companies have 
     joined together to designate January 2004 as National 
     Mentoring Month to recruit more mentors for young people; and
       Whereas the month-long celebration of mentoring will 
     encourage more adults to volunteer their time as mentors for 
     young people and enlist the involvement of nonprofit 
     organizations, schools, businesses, faith communities, and 
     government agencies in the mentoring movement: Now, 
     therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1)(A) designates the month of January 2004 as ``National 
     Mentoring Month''; and
       (B) requests that the President issue a proclamation 
     calling on the people of the United States and interested 
     groups to observe the month with appropriate ceremonies and 
     activities that promote awareness of and volunteer 
     involvement with mentoring;
       (2) praises individuals who are already giving their time 
     to mentor young people; and
       (3) supports efforts to recruit more adults as mentors, in 
     an effort to close the Nation's mentoring gap.

  Mr. McCAIN. Mr. President, I am pleased to join with Senator Kennedy 
in introducing a resolution designating January 2004 as ``National 
Mentoring Month.''
  We all agree that young people need a supportive environment based on 
structured and trusting relationships with adults. Mentors play a 
significant role in many young peoples' lives by sharing their 
experiences and providing the support and encouragement that children 
need in order to grow into responsible, caring adults. Mentors often 
are the key to helping a young person achieve the type of future they 
might never have thought possible.
  A growing body of research has shown the tremendous benefits of 
mentoring. Children with mentors are shown to improve in school 
performance and attendance; they are more self-confident; they have 
good social skills; and above all else, they're motivated to reach 
their full potential. Mentoring works. Unfortunately, a severe shortage 
of volunteers has left over 15 million young people without mentors.
  National Mentoring Month highlights the needs and goals of mentoring 
in this country. This month, non-profit organizations, schools, 
businesses, faith communities, and government agencies will join 
together to encourage adults to serve as mentors for our young people. 
Programs must be expanded to recruit more volunteers to help fill the 
mentoring gap. Mentoring has successfully helped many children in this 
country and we must work together to expand such valuable programs.

                          ____________________