III
113th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. RES. 9
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
January 23 (legislative day, January 3), 2013
Ms. Landrieu (for herself, Mr. Isakson, Mr. Cardin, Mr. Carper, Mr. Lautenberg, Mrs. Murray, Mrs. Gillibrand, Mr. Wyden, Ms. Hirono, and Mr. Schumer) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
January 28, 2013
Committee discharged; considered and agreed to
RESOLUTION
Designating January 2013 as National Mentoring Month.
Whereas mentoring is a longstanding tradition in which a dependable, caring adult provides guidance, support, and encouragement to facilitate the social, emotional, and cognitive development of a young person;
Whereas continued research on mentoring shows that formal, high-quality mentoring focused on developing the competence and character of the mentee promotes positive outcomes, such as improved academic achievement, self-esteem, social skills, and career development;
Whereas further research on mentoring provides strong evidence that mentoring successfully reduces substance use and abuse, academic failure, and delinquency;
Whereas mentoring, in addition to preparing young people for school, work, and life, is extremely rewarding for the people who serve as mentors;
Whereas more than 5,000 mentoring programs in communities of all sizes across the United States focus on building strong, effective relationships between mentors and mentees;
Whereas approximately 3,000,000 young people in the United States are in formal mentoring relationships due to the remarkable vigor, creativity, and resourcefulness of the thousands of mentoring programs in communities throughout the United States;
Whereas, in spite of the progress made in increasing mentoring, the United States has a serious mentoring gap, with nearly 15,000,000 young people in need of mentors;
Whereas mentoring partnerships between the public and private sectors bring State and local leaders together to support mentoring programs by preventing duplication of efforts, offering training in industry best practices, and making the most of limited resources to benefit young people in the United States;
Whereas the designation of January 2013 as National Mentoring Month will help call attention to the critical role mentors play in helping young people realize their potential;
Whereas a month-long celebration of mentoring will encourage more individuals and organizations, including schools, businesses, nonprofit organizations, faith institutions, and foundations, to become engaged in mentoring across the United States; and
Whereas, most significantly, National Mentoring Month—
will build awareness of mentoring; and
will encourage more people to become mentors and help close the mentoring gap in the United States: Now, therefore, be it
That the Senate—
designates the month of January 2013 as National Mentoring Month;
recognizes with gratitude the contributions of the millions of caring adults and students who are already volunteering as mentors; and
encourages more adults and students to volunteer as mentors.