Supporting the goals and ideals of National Mentoring Month.

Mr. Speaker, as a cochair of the Congressional Mentoring Caucus, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 908, supporting the goals and ideals of National Mentoring Month.

Thank you, Chairman Kildee and Chairman Miller, for bringing this legislation so quickly to the floor. I would also like to thank the other Chairs of the mentoring caucus, Ms. Davis of California, Mr. Keller of Florida and Mr. Rogers of Michigan, who are the original cosponsors of this legislation.

The term ``mentor'' is from a Greek story in mythology. Odysseus asked his friend, Mentor, to teach and watch his young son, Telemachus, as he was off to fight in the Trojan War. This special relationship between Telemachus and his mentor was centered on education, friendship and advice, something we all need from time to time. Mentoring was then, and continues to be, a special caring and supportive relationship between two people based on mutual trust and respect.

Mentoring relationships are between a mentor, an adult, and a mentee, a young adult or child, that focuses on the need of that young person. Caring adults, parents, teachers, counselors, religious leaders, they are all mentors, and they are all able to influence a child's life, and they are able to do that because they provide a foundation of love, support and guidance.

Millions of individuals across this country serve as mentors to young men and women, encouraging them to develop strong characters and have healthy identities of themselves, so that as an adult they will be able to contribute back to our society.

In a review of 10 mentoring programs, there are indicators that one- on-one mentoring significantly enhances positive youth development in ways that we can measure: better school performance, better social skills, but most importantly, the ability for them to want to continue on with higher education and college. And that is according to a recent national youth conference that was held at the University of Minnesota.

In Minnesota alone, there are 335 mentoring organizations. One of them, the Mentoring Partnership of Minnesota, was formed in 1994 as a community initiative to promote mentoring for Minnesota's youth, particularly for those who are at risk and may not have an opportunity to have many positive role models in their life. This program has made a significant positive improvement in the lives of those children.

Another wonderful mentoring program is Big Brothers and Big Sisters.

In the St. Paul-Minneapolis region alone, there are more than 307,000 children that benefit from this mentoring program with the time, energy and commitment from more than 3,200 volunteers.

The new Youth Initiative Mentoring Academy is another successful program in Minnesota. This energetic program works with children at risk. These young children receive hands-on learning experiences about career opportunities, building confidence and self-esteem, and develop valuable leadership skills.

Mentoring is also an important part of our global competitiveness. For example, in my district, Century College offers a preengineering program that includes the Century College Robot Show. Engineering students enter their projects, the college invites practicing engineers to judge the show, and Century College also extends an invitation to high school students to come so that they are able to see the opportunities available to them if they choose to study engineering. But it also gives them a chance to hook up with students and professionals who can help them steer interests in the right direction towards a successful career.

I would also like to take time to thank all the congressional staff members, including many from my staff, who take time to mentor youth in programs such as Everyone Wins, Horton's Kids, and the Calvary Homeless Shelter.

We all have an important role to play in the lives of children around us. We all need to be part of the process in shaping young lives so that they can achieve their fullest potential. Our youth need caring adults to make the connection in order to provide guidance and emotional support, to make a positive impact on their lives so that young children can become responsible, productive citizens.

I encourage all of my colleagues to support this resolution, and I look forward for opportunities to be a mentor myself again in the future as I had been in the past. But I also encourage my colleagues to look for opportunities to be mentors as well.

Madam Speaker, as co-chair of the Congressional Mentoring Caucus I rise today in strong support of H. Res. 908 supporting the goals and ideals of National Mentoring Month.

Thank you Chairman Kildee and Chairman Miller for bringing this legislation to the floor so quickly.

I would also like to thank the other chairs of the Congressional Mentoring Caucus, Ms. Davis of California, Mr. Keller of Florida, and Mr. Rogers of Michigan, who were original cosponsors of this legislation.

The term ``mentor'' derives from a Greek mythology where Odysseus asked his friend, Mentor, to teach and watch his son, Telemachus, as he took off to fight the Trojan War.

This relationship was centered on advice, education and friendship.

Mentoring was a special, caring, and supportive relationship between two people based on mutual trust and respect.

In modern context, mentoring relationships are between the mentor (an adult) and a mentee (youth) that focuses on the needs of youth.

Caring adults--parents, teachers, counselors, mentors and religious leaders are the most important influence in every child's life because they provide the foundation of love, support, and guidance.

Millions of individuals across the country serve as mentors to young men and women--encouraging and promoting the development of strong characters and identities for youth who may not have a strong adult presence in their lives.

A review of 10 mentoring programs indicates that one-on-one mentoring significantly enhances positive youth development like better school performance--youth develop better social skills, and more likely they will go on to college or higher education--that's according to data from a recent National Youth Conference held at the University of Minnesota.

Minnesota is home to the Mentoring Partnership of Minnesota, which formed in 1994 as a community initiative to promote mentoring for Minnesota youth, particularly those who are at risk and may lack positive role models in their lives.

There are over 350 mentoring programs in Minnesota that connect youth with positive role models.

One valuable mentoring program is Big Brothers Big Sisters. In the St. Paul/Minneapolis region alone, more than 3,700 children benefit from this mentoring program with the time and energy of more than 3,200 volunteers.

The Youth Initiative Mentoring Academies (YIMA) is another successful program in Minnesota. YIMA utilizes a mentoring model through aviation education. Through this program, at risk youth receive hands-on learning experiences about career opportunities, build confidence and self-esteem, and develop valuable leadership skills.

Mentoring is also important to our global competitiveness. In my district, Century College offers a pre-engineering program that includes the Century College Robot Show. The college invites practicing engineers to judge the show, providing the opportunity for mentorship of the pre-engineering students. Century College also invites high schools students to attend the show so they are able to see the opportunities available through the study of engineering but also to introduce them to student and professionals who can help steer interested students in the right direction.

I would like to take this time to thank Congressional staff members, including my staff, who take time to mentor youth in programs such as Everybody Wins, Horton's Kids, and Calvary homeless shelter.

We all need to be part of the process in shaping young people's lives so that they can achieve their fullest potential.

Young people need caring adults to make the connection, to provide guidance, caring and emotional support--all these are contributing to making positive impact on their lives--so that young can become responsible and productive citizens.

I encourage all of my colleagues to support this resolution and to look for opportunities to be a mentor themselves.

Ms. Linda T. Sanchez of California. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

I yield myself as much time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of House Resolution 908 which recognizes National Mentoring Month. National Mentoring Month celebrates mentors who are positively impacting the lives of young people and highlights the need for additional mentors to make themselves available to America's youth. I applaud Representative McCollum for sponsoring this resolution, and as a cosponsor I look forward to further bipartisan efforts to draw attention to support this very important issue.

Mentors give their time and energy to improve the lives of American young people who are increasingly spending less time with concerned adult role models. Young people with mentors are less likely to drop out of school, use illegal drugs, or engage in criminal behavior. The positive effects of mentoring include higher self-esteem, higher graduation rates, and higher academic achievement. I have personally seen the positive impacts of mentoring firsthand. As a young boy, I benefited from having a mentor from the Big Brother Big Sisters program. As I became an adult, I then became a mentor to two high school students at my alma mater, Boone High School, who were at risk of dropping out of high school, but fortunately stayed in school and graduated.

I then became chairman of the board of the COMPACT mentoring program, which is the largest mentoring program in central Florida and it is targeted at at-risk students in high schools and middle schools who possibly may drop out of school. I am pleased to report that we were able to recruit 700 new mentors and the COMPACT program has a 95 percent success rate of kids staying in school and going on to graduate. In fact, one of the mentors for the COMPACT program itself is none other than Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, who has spent a great deal of time with the leaders of the COMPACT program and the children themselves every year.

When I was elected to Congress in 2000, one of the first things I did was join together with then-Congressman Tom Osborne, the famous coach of the Nebraska Cornhuskers, to author the Mentoring for Success Act which Coach Osborne and I were able to successfully include in No Child Left Behind to provide substantial funding for mentoring programs. As we move forward with the No Child Left Behind reauthorization, we will work again to make sure that this language is included and stays in existing law.

One of the big benefits of a mentoring program is in the area of crime prevention. Roughly eight out of 10 inmates in Florida's jails and prisons are high school dropouts. We see mentoring programs like the COMPACT program in Orlando having a 95 percent success rate of keeping kids in school. That's making a difference in these children's lives and also helping us as taxpayers because we pay $20,000 a year for people in State prisons and $25,000 a year for folks in Federal prison.

President Bush himself has praised the importance of mentoring programs. On December 19, 2007, President Bush proclaimed January 2008 as National Mentoring Month, giving public recognition to mentors who serve as role models. Specifically the President stated, ``By sharing their knowledge and experiences, mentors serve as examples for young people and help teach them the skills they need to succeed in life.''

By honoring mentors and mentoring programs, we recognize the importance of mentoring programs implemented in our local schools and communities. We also draw attention to the components of a quality program, including appropriate screening of potential mentors and careful matching of youth with adults who have a genuine interest in providing guidance and being exemplary role models.

Mentoring programs are varied and unique. They can be school-based or faith-based. They may be established through community organizations or corporate initiatives. I encourage people across the country to take time to discover what mentoring programs exist in their communities and see what they can do to help. Many volunteers are needed to meet the growing demand for mentors.

Again, I am pleased to cosponsor House Resolution 908, recognizing the important work of mentors and quality mentoring programs, and I urge Members to support this resolution.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, we have no further speakers. If I can inquire if the other side has any further speakers.

Madam Speaker, I would urge all my colleagues, then, to vote ``yes'' on H. Res. 908 and will yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 908) supporting the goals and ideals of National Mentoring Month.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.

Mr. Speaker, at this time, I would like to yield as much time as she may consume to the author of this bill, the gentlewoman from Minnesota (Ms. McCollum).

I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, at this time I am pleased to yield such time as she may consume to my distinguished colleague from California (Mrs. Davis).

Just one remaining and that would be me.

Madam Speaker, I just want to mention in support of this bill that mentors are so important in helping today's children grow up to live productive and fulfilling lives. Unfortunately, there is still an acute need for more people to become involved in this rewarding venture and I hope that today's resolution convinces others to get involved as mentors.

Again, I want to express my support for the National Mentoring Month resolution and recognize all the hard work that mentors put in on a daily basis. I urge my colleagues to support this resolution.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to support the designation of January 2008 as ``National Mentoring Month'' and to applaud the efforts of mentors who work tirelessly to support America's children.

I am pleased today to honor mentoring organizations across the country, including those who serve the young people of my own community, such as: Catholic Big Brothers/Big Sisters; The Watts- Willowbrook Boys and Girls Club; Girlfriends, Inc. of Long Beach; Helpline Youth Counseling, Inc.; and ELLAS, which stands for Embracing Latina Leadership Alliances.

Mentors serve as advocates for children. They make sure that children know that they matter.

Mentors actively support children's academic achievement, personal and social growth, and career development.

Helping students achieve academically is a critical part of a mentor's role. Through tutoring and encouragement, mentors can help mentees appreciate the importance of staying in school and working hard to achieve success.

Not only are young people who have been mentored less likely to fail in school and get in trouble for delinquency, they are also more likely to graduate and attend college. So mentoring doesn't just defend against unwanted outcomes, it promotes good ones.

Mentoring isn't just for one kind of kid. It can benefit boys and girls, urban and rural, white and Latino. If a young person is coping with a divorce, being pressured to join a gang, or has just moved to a new school, mentors can help. They can offer guidance while building self-esteem and a sense of purpose.

Mentoring isn't just for one kind of mentor, either. Mentors can come in all shapes and sizes. A mentor can be a lawyer, a mechanic, a religious leader, or an older brother. Anyone with a little extra time and a desire to help the next generation can become a mentor.

By exposing youth to positive life experiences, mentors help children develop new skills and interests and get used to interacting with adults.

By setting ambitious goals with their mentees, mentors can help today's children become the leaders of the future. Truly, a mentor can help a young person make her dreams a reality. Knowing all this, who wouldn't want to be a mentor?

I hope I have succeeded in encouraging my colleagues to become mentors or to help promote mentoring in their communities. Our children can't raise themselves. I salute those who have served as mentors, and those who will do so in the future.

Madam Speaker, once again I express my support for ``National Mentoring Month'' and recognize all the hard work mentors put in on a daily basis.

I urge my colleagues to support H. Res. 908.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in strong support of House Resolution 908. I want to thank my colleague from Minnesota for sponsoring this important resolution.

I want to share with you an inspirational story about a young man from my district in San Diego. Eduardo Corona was only in the ninth grade when he got into trouble with the law. Because of this mistake, he faced up to 6 years in a juvenile correctional facility. Instead of going to that facility, the judge met with him and spoke with him and allowed Eduardo to participate in a mentoring program called Reality Changers. I have had an opportunity to meet with the young people in that program and I can tell you, they are inspirational and very engaged in their lives and hoping to change the community someday.

Reality Changers brings at-risk youth in San Diego together with their mentors, half of which are college students from the University of California at San Diego, and for about 3 hours a week over a 4-year time, these mentees study with their peer mentors, they take weekly practice SAT tests, do homework together, listen to guest speakers and take part in leadership development seminars.

In addition to that, Reality Changers also sends its participants, all of which come from low-income families, to a summer program at UCSD where they take college level courses and prepare for higher education. With the help of his mentors in Reality Changers, Eduardo was able to turn his life around. In just 30 days, and this is kind of remarkable to me as I had a chance to work with some of the issues that he had to deal with, Eduardo doubled his

GPA to 3.8. He attended UCSD's summer program and won two awards in mechanical engineering. And although he is just a sophomore in high school, he has already earned college credit and is well on his way to becoming the first member of his family to attend college.

In fact, I need to tell you that all of Reality Changers' participants who have completed this 4-year program have gone on to a 4-year university. Not bad, considering all of these young people are the first in their families to attend college. I think Eduardo's story really tells us and proves that with the right role models and people who truly care about them, our society's most challenged youth, challenged in many different ways, can turn their lives around and become leaders in our community.

But we know that Eduardo fortunately and even programs like Reality Changers are not unique to San Diego. At this very moment, there are countless mentors across the Nation who, through their hard work and dedication, are making miracles happen every single day. And so that's why I rise today to encourage my colleagues to support this resolution that Congresswoman McCollum has brought forward and join all my colleagues here, and I am pleased to see them, to support House Resolution 908.

In addition to this resolution, I ask all my colleagues to join me in support of increased funding for our Nation's mentoring programs, because we know that with that help, we can replicate Eduardo's success all around the country.

Madam Speaker, I am pleased to recognize January 2008 as Mentoring Month and I am proud to offer my support to H. Res. 908, Supporting the goals and ideals of National Mentoring Month.

The history of mentorship nationwide and in my district is a rich one. In Washington State alone, there are approximately 190 organizations specifically dedicated to placing young people into formal mentoring relationships. These organizations spent approximately $30 million in 2006 to forge and maintain those relationships--much of that money coming from private citizens. Most important, all that work has amounted to approximately 29,000 young people in Washington State taking part in a positive mentoring relationship.

One organization in particular that has had a tremendous and lasting impact on many disadvantaged youth in my district is Big Brothers Big Sisters. In 2007, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Puget Sound provided more than 2,500 children with mentoring matches and has a vision to provide successful mentoring relationships for all children who need and want them, contributing to better schools, brighter futures, and stronger communities for all.

Many of us know personally or have heard first-hand the heartbreaking accounts of young people who veered off the path of success or, because of a variety of circumstances, never even knew where to find that path. Mentoring can be a promising approach to enriching the lives of disadvantaged children and youth by discouraging juvenile delinquency, improving school attendance and performance, and by providing positive adult role models.

A young man from my district, Lorenzo, is a shining example of the unique way in which mentoring enriches the lives of our youth. Lorenzo moved to Washington State from West Samoa in 2006, and immediately received mentoring help from Ken--an individual who has consistently given of his time to mentor and nurture young people in my home community. Ken helped this young man through the discomfort of transitioning into a new environment, through the academic process, and into positive relationships with his new peers. Upon graduating from Kent-Meridian High School--my alma mater--Lorenzo gained admission to Central Washington University and is a wonderful example of the power of responsible and caring adult guidance.

Today, as Congress recognizes January 2008 as National Mentoring Month, I encourage all citizens, businesses, public and private agencies, religious and educational institutions to support mentoring and give young people in our community the gift of time and friendship through Big Brothers Big Sisters of Puget Sound or other mentoring programs throughout Washington State and our Nation.