III 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. RES. 394 

Recognizing January 2018 as National Mentoring Month. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 6, 2018 

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 

RESOLUTION 

Recognizing January 2018 as National Mentoring Month. 

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; 


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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 


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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 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) recognizes January 2018 as National Men3 toring Month; 

4 (2) recognizes the caring adults who— 

5 (A) serve as staff and volunteers at quality 

6 mentoring programs; and 


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1 (B) help the young people of the United 

2 States find inner strength and reach their full 

3 potential; 

4 (3) acknowledges that mentoring is beneficial 

5 because mentoring supports educational achievement 

6 and self-confidence, reduces juvenile delinquency, im7 proves life outcomes, and strengthens communities; 

8 (4) promotes the establishment and expansion 

9 of quality mentoring programs across the United 

10 States to equip young people with the tools needed 

11 to lead healthy and productive lives; and 

12 (5) supports initiatives to close the ‘‘mentoring 

13 gap’’ that exists for the many young people in the 

14 United States who do not have meaningful connec15 tions with adults outside the home. 

Æ 


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