[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 2]
[Senate]
[Page 2914]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




SENATE RESOLUTION 61--DESIGNATING JANUARY 2007 AS ``NATIONAL MENTORING 
                                MONTH''

  Mr. KENNEDY (for himself, Mr. McCain, Mr. Akaka, Mr. Bond, Mr. Burr, 
Ms. Cantwell, Mr. Carper, Mrs. Clinton, Mr. Cochran, Mr. Coleman, Mr. 
Conrad, Mr. Dodd, Mrs. Dole, Mr. Domenici, Mr. Durbin, Mr. Ensign, Mr. 
Grassley, Mr. Isakson, Mr. Kerry, Ms. Landrieu, Mr. Leahy, Mr. Levin, 
Ms. Murkowski, Mr. Pryor, Mr. Sanders, Mr. Reid, and Mr. Specter) 
submitted the following resolution; which was considered and agreed to:

                               S. Res. 61

       Whereas mentoring is a long-standing tradition with modern 
     applications in which an adult provides guidance, support, 
     and encouragement to help with a young person's social, 
     emotional, and cognitive development;
       Whereas research provides strong evidence that mentoring 
     can promote positive outcomes for young people, such as an 
     increased sense of industry and competency, a boost in 
     academic performance and self-esteem, and improved social and 
     communications skills;
       Whereas studies of mentoring further show that a quality 
     mentoring relationship successfully reduces the incidence of 
     risky behaviors, delinquency, absenteeism, and academic 
     failure;
       Whereas mentoring is a frequently used term and a well-
     accepted practice in many sectors of our society;
       Whereas thanks to the remarkable creativity, vigor, and 
     resourcefulness of the thousands of mentoring programs and 
     millions of volunteer mentors in communities throughout the 
     Nation, quality mentoring has grown dramatically in the past 
     15 years, and there are now 3,000,000 young people in the 
     United States who are being mentored;
       Whereas in spite of the strides made in the mentoring 
     field, the Nation has a serious ``mentoring gap,'' with 
     nearly 15,000,000 young people currently in need of mentors;
       Whereas a recent study confirmed that one of the most 
     critical challenges that mentoring programs face is 
     recruiting enough mentors to help close the mentoring gap;
       Whereas the designation of January 2007 as National 
     Mentoring Month will help call attention to the critical role 
     mentors play in helping young people realize their potential;
       Whereas the month-long celebration of mentoring will 
     encourage more organizations across the Nation, including 
     schools, businesses, nonprofit organizations and faith 
     institutions, foundations, and individuals to become engaged 
     in mentoring;
       Whereas National Mentoring Month will, most importantly, 
     build awareness of mentoring and encourage more individuals 
     to become mentors, helping close the Nation's mentoring gap; 
     and
       Whereas the President has issued a proclamation declaring 
     January 2007 to be National Mentoring Month and calling on 
     the people of the United States to recognize the importance 
     of mentoring, to look for opportunities to serve as mentors 
     in their communities, and to observe the month with 
     appropriate activities and programs: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) designates the month of January 2007 as ``National 
     Mentoring Month'';
       (2) recognizes with gratitude the contributions of the 
     millions of caring adults who are already serving as mentors 
     and encourages more adults to volunteer as mentors; and
       (3) encourages the people of the United States to observe 
     the month with appropriate ceremonies and activities that 
     promote awareness of, and volunteer involvement with, youth 
     mentoring.

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