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Declaring January 2016 as National Mentoring Month in the City of Philadelphia
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WHEREAS, In 2002, the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and MENTOR: The National Mentoring Partnership created National Mentoring Month; and
WHEREAS, The goals of National Mentoring Month are to raise awareness of mentoring, recruit individuals to mentor and encourage organizations to engage and integrate quality in mentoring into their efforts; and
WHEREAS, A mentor is a caring, consistent presence who devotes time to a young person to help that young person discover personal strength and achieve their potential through a structured and trusting relationship; and
WHEREAS, Quality mentoring encourages positive choices, promotes self-esteem, supports academic achievement and introduces young people to new ideas; and
WHEREAS, Mentoring programs have shown to be effective in combating school violence and discipline problems, substance abuse, incarceration and truancy; and
WHEREAS, Research shows that young people who were at risk for not completing high school but who had a mentor were 55 percent more likely to be enrolled in college, 81 percent 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 volunteer regularly in their communities; and
WHEREAS, Youth development experts agree that mentoring is critical to the social, emotional and cognitive development of youth, helping them navigate the path to adulthood more successfully; and
WHEREAS, Mentors help young people set career goals and use their personal contacts to help young people meet industry professionals and find jobs; and
WHEREAS, All of the above listed benefits serve to link youth to economic opportunity while also strengthening the fiber of our communities; and
WHEREAS, Despite these benefits, one in three youth will reach age 19 without a mentor – constituting a “mentoring gap” that demonstrates a need for collaboration and resources; and
WHEREAS, City Council calls upon public officials, business and community leaders, and educators, to encourage all Philadelphians to observe this month with appropriate ceremonies, activities and programs in order to recognize the men and women who serve as staff and volunteers at quality mentoring programs and who help our young people find inner strength and reach their full potential; acknowledge that mentoring is beneficial because it encourages educational achievement, reduces juvenile delinquency, improves life outcomes and strengthens communities; promote the creation and expansion of quality mentoring programs across the country to equip young people with the tools needed to lead healthy and productive lives; and support initiatives to close the “mentoring gap”; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED. BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, That Council does hereby declare January 2016 as National Mentoring Month in the City of Philadelphia.
FURTHER RESOLVED, That an Engrossed copy of this resolution be presented to Abigail Ellis, Executive Director of the Mentoring Partnership & Resource Center (“MPRC”) as evidence of the sincere sentiments of this legislative body.
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