WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) yesterday co-sponsored a bipartisan Senate resolution recognizing January 2019 as “National Mentoring Month.” The purposed of the resolution is to raise awareness of the power of mentors to help young people determine their goals and reach their full potential.

The resolution recognizes the benefits of mentoring, as well as mentoring programs, and volunteers who serve as mentors. It also highlights the positive effects having a mentor has on young people. According to MENTOR: The National Mentoring Partnership, these benefits include students who are: 

  • 46 percent less likely than their peers to start using illegal drugs.
  • 55 percent more likely to be enrolled in college.
  • 81 percent more likely to report participation in sports or other extracurricular activities.
  • More than twice as likely to say they held a leadership position in a club or a sports team.
  • 78 percent more likely to volunteer regularly in their communities.

The resolution also recognizes that an estimated nine million young people feel isolated from meaningful connections with adults outside the home, constituting a “mentoring gap” and underscoring the importance of more adults investing their time in the future of America’s youth.

The full text of the resolution can be found here.

In addition to Senator Capito, the 2019 National Mentoring Month resolution is cosponsored by U.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), John Boozman (R-Ark.), Mike Braun (R-Ind.), John Cornyn (R-Texas), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), Doug Jones (D-Ala.), James Lankford (R-Okla.), Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass). 

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