Title: Recognizing January 2020 as "National Mentoring Month", and for other purposes.
Policy area: Education

Summary:
This resolution recognizes (1) National Mentoring Month, and (2) the staff and volunteers at quality mentoring programs who help young people reach their full potential.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 787 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. RES. 787

Recognizing January 2020 as ``National Mentoring Month'', and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 9, 2020

Mrs. Davis of California (for herself and Mr. Hurd of Texas) submitted 
   the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on 
                          Education and Labor

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
Recognizing January 2020 as ``National Mentoring Month'', and for other 
                               purposes.

Whereas the goals of National Mentoring Month are to raise awareness of youth 
        mentoring, recruit individuals to mentor, celebrate the powerful impact 
        of mentoring relationships that form and thrive each day because of the 
        caring adults who volunteer their time for young people, and encourage 
        mentoring programs to engage and integrate quality mentoring into their 
        efforts, and thank the mentors who made us who we are today;
Whereas many young people across the Nation make everyday choices that lead up 
        to life's big decisions without guidance and support;
Whereas mentoring relationships provide powerful tools for connection and are 
        critical for our Nation's future;
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;
Whereas quality mentoring supports positive life and social skills, promotes 
        self-esteem, bolsters academic achievement and college access, and 
        nurtures youth leadership development;
Whereas mentoring relationships are a shared opportunity for learning and 
        growth, positively impacting both the mentor and the mentee;
Whereas mentoring programs are run by many different organizations and agencies 
        with different goals for young people. Seventy-nine percent of programs 
        are nonprofits, 9 percent are K-12 schools or districts, 3 percent are 
        government agencies, 3 percent are higher education institutions, and 
        the remaining 6 percent are religious institutions, for-profits, 
        healthcare facilities, and others;
Whereas forty-seven percent of mentoring programs note that mentor recruitment 
        is a large challenge for them, and caring adults volunteering as mentors 
        in their communities can help solve this challenge and provide critical 
        human capital to programs;
Whereas mentoring programs have been shown to be effective in helping young 
        people make healthy choices, and youth who meet regularly with their 
        mentors are 46 percent less likely than their peers to start using 
        illegal drugs;
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 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 all of the above listed benefits link youth to economic and social 
        capital while also strengthening 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
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) recognizes National Mentoring Month;
            (2) recognizes the caring adults who serve as staff and 
        volunteers at quality mentoring programs and who help our young 
        people find inner strength and reach their full potential;
            (3) acknowledges that mentoring is beneficial because it 
        supports educational achievement, encourages self-confidence, 
        supports young people in setting career goals and expanding 
        social capital, and improves positive personal, professional, 
        and academic outcomes;
            (4) promotes the creation and expansion of quality 
        mentoring programs across the country to equip young people 
        with the tools needed to lead healthy and productive lives; and
            (5) supports initiatives to close the ``mentoring gap'' by 
        highlighting the powerful impact every adult can have by 
        becoming a mentor.
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