IV 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. RES. 66 

Recognizing January 2017 as ‘‘National Mentoring Month’’, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 27, 2017 

Mrs. DAVIS of California (for herself, Mr. RENACCI, Mr. RYAN of Ohio, Mrs. 

WATSON COLEMAN, Ms. BASS, Mr. SCHIFF, Ms. MCCOLLUM, Ms. SEWELL of Alabama, Ms. ADAMS, Mr. VARGAS, Mr. KILMER, and Mr. GRIJALVA) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 

Committee on Education and the Workforce 

RESOLUTION 

Recognizing January 2017 as ‘‘National Mentoring Month’’, 

and for other purposes. 

Whereas in 2002, the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public 

Health and MENTOR: the National Mentoring Partnership created National Mentoring Month; 

Whereas 2017 is the 15th anniversary of National Mentoring 

Month; 

Whereas the goals of National Mentoring Month are to raise 

awareness of mentoring, recruit individuals to mentor, 

and encourage organizations to engage and integrate 

quality mentoring into their efforts; 


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Whereas young people across the Nation make everyday 

choices that lead up to life’s big decisions without sufficient guidance and support; 

Whereas a mentor is a caring, consistent presence who devotes time to help a young person discover personal 

strength and achieve his or her potential through a structured and trusting relationship; 

Whereas quality mentoring encourages positive choices, promotes self-esteem, supports academic achievement, and 

introduces young people to new ideas; 

Whereas mentoring programs have been shown to be effective 

in combating school violence, discipline problems, substance abuse, incarceration, and truancy; 

Whereas research shows that young people who were at risk 

for not completing high school but who had mentors were 

55 percent more likely to be enrolled in college, 81 percent more likely to report participating regularly in 

sports or extracurricular activities, more than twice as 

likely to say they held a leadership position in a club or 

sports team, and 78 percent more likely to pay it forward 

by volunteering regularly in their communities, and that 

90 percent 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 their mentors are 52 percent 

less likely than their peers to skip a day of school and 

37 percent less likely to skip a class; 

Whereas youth development experts agree that mentoring encourages smart daily behaviors such as finishing homework, having healthy social interactions, and saying no 


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when it counts, and has a noticeable influence on a young 

person’s growth and success; 

Whereas mentors prepare young people for professional careers by helping them set career goals, introducing them 

to industry professionals, and helping them train for and 

find jobs; 

Whereas mentoring relationships are a shared opportunity for 

learning and growth, changing both the mentor and the 

mentee; 

Whereas mentoring relationships have enabled mentors to improve their self-esteem and feel like they are making a 

difference, develop a greater appreciation for diversity, 

feel more productive, have a better attitude at work, and 

enhance their own relationships; 

Whereas all of the above listed benefits link youth to economic and social opportunity while also strengthening the 

fiber of our communities; and 

Whereas despite these benefits, 9 million young people in the 

United States feel isolated from meaningful connections 

with adults outside their homes, constituting a ‘‘mentoring gap’’ that demonstrates a need for collaboration 

and resources: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 

2 (1) recognizes National Mentoring Month; 

3 (2) recognizes the caring adults who serve as 

4 staff and volunteers at quality mentoring programs 

5 and who help our young people find inner strength 

6 and reach their full potential; 


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1 (3) acknowledges that mentoring is beneficial 

2 because it encourages educational achievement, en3 courages self-confidence, reduces juvenile delin4 quency, improves life outcomes, and strengthens 

5 communities; 

6 (4) promotes the creation and expansion of 

7 quality mentoring programs across the country to 

8 equip young people with the tools needed to lead 

9 healthy and productive lives; and 

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

11 gap’’. 

Æ 


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