[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Printing Office]
[S. Res. 728 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







110th CONGRESS
  2d Session
S. RES. 728

       Designating January 2009 as ``National Mentoring Month''.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           December 10, 2008

  Mr. Kennedy (for himself, Mr. McCain, Mr. Akaka, Mr. Specter, Mrs. 
    Lincoln, Ms. Landrieu, Mr. Lieberman, Mr. Kerry, Mr. Leahy, Mr. 
  Lautenberg, Mr. Feingold, Mr. Bayh, Mrs. Clinton, Ms. Collins, Mr. 
Levin, Mr. Sanders, Mr. Ensign, and Mr. Pryor) submitted the following 
    resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
       Designating January 2009 as ``National Mentoring Month''.

Whereas mentoring is a longstanding tradition in which a dependable, caring 
        adult provides guidance, support, and encouragement to facilitate a 
        young person's social, emotional, and cognitive development;
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 those serving as mentors;
Whereas more than 4,200 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 solid 
        mentoring relationships due to the remarkable vigor, creativity, and 
        resourcefulness of the thousands of mentoring programs in communities 
        throughout the Nation;
Whereas, in spite of the progress made to increase mentoring, the Nation 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 2009 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 National Mentoring Month will, most significantly, build awareness of 
        mentoring and encourage more people to become mentors and help close the 
        mentoring gap in the United States: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) designates the month of January 2009 as ``National 
        Mentoring Month'';
            (2) 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; and
            (3) encourages the people of the United States to observe 
        National Mentoring Month with appropriate ceremonies and 
        activities that promote awareness of, and volunteer involvement 
        with, youth mentoring.
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