Recognizing January 2021 as "National Mentoring Month", and for other purposes.

IV 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. RES. 33 Recognizing January 2021 as ‘‘National Mentoring Month’’, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JANUARY 11, 2021 Ms. SCANLON (for herself and Ms. HERRERA BEUTLER) submitted the fol- lowing resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor RESOLUTION Recognizing January 2021 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 rela- tionships that form and thrive each day because of the caring adults who volunteer their time for young people, encourage mentoring programs to engage and integrate quality mentoring into their efforts, and thank the men- tors who made us who we are today; Whereas many young people across the Nation make every- day choices that lead up to life’s big decisions without guidance and support; VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:35 Jan 12, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR33.IH HR33 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HRES 33 IH 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 de- votes 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 achieve- ment and college access, and nurtures youth leadership development; Whereas mentoring relationships are a shared opportunity for learning and growth, positively impacting both the men- tor and the mentee; Whereas mentoring programs are run by many different or- ganizations and agencies with different goals for young people, and 79 percent of programs are nonprofits, 9 per- cent are K–12 schools or districts, 3 percent are govern- ment agencies, 3 percent are higher education institu- tions, and the remaining 6 percent are religious institu- tions, for-profits, health care facilities, and others; Whereas 47 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 cap- ital 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 per- VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:35 Jan 12, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR33.IH HR33 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HRES 33 IH cent 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 them- selves; 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 ca- reers 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 eco- nomic and social capital while also strengthening commu- nities; 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 ‘‘men- toring gap’’ that demonstrates a need for collaboration and resources: Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 1 (1) recognizes ‘‘National Mentoring Month’’; 2 (2) recognizes the caring adults who serve as 3 staff and volunteers at quality mentoring programs 4 and who help our young people find inner strength 5 and reach their full potential; 6 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:48 Jan 12, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HR33.IH HR33 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HRES 33 IH (3) acknowledges that mentoring is beneficial 1 because it supports educational achievement, encour- 2 ages self-confidence, supports young people in set- 3 ting career goals and expanding social capital, and 4 improves positive personal, professional, and aca- 5 demic outcomes; 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’’ by highlighting the powerful impact every adult 12 can have by becoming a mentor. 13 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:35 Jan 12, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\HR33.IH HR33 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS