U.S. Senate Passes National Mentoring Month Resolution

The U.S. Senate has officially recognized January as National Mentoring Month 2010 with a resolution introduced by Senators John McCain (R-AZ) and John Kerry (D-MA).

The ninth annual National Mentoring Month begins January 1 with General Colin L. Powell as its key spokesperson and with the theme "Expand Your Universe. Mentor a Child." Lead local partners coast-to-coast have planned events, media campaigns and activities to highlight mentoring and the opportunity for adults to become mentors to the 17 million children who need and want a caring adult in their lives.

Last January, more than 500,000 individuals responded to the campaign by seeking information about local mentoring programs needing more volunteers.

Additional cosponsors for the resolution (S Res. 380) were Senators Begich (D-AK), Burr (R-NC), Cochran (R-MS), Collins (R-ME), Feingold (D-WI), Grassley (R-IA), Inouye (D-HI), Lincoln (D-AR), Murkowski (R-AK) and Specter (D-PA).

U.S. House Representatives Betty McCollum (D-MN), Mike Rogers (R-MI) and Susan Davis (D-CA) have introduced a similar resolution that should be addressed when Congress resumes following the new year.

National Mentoring Month is spearheaded by the Harvard Mentoring Project of the Harvard School of Public Health, MENTOR and the Corporation for National and Community Service. Media partners include: CBS, FOX, NBC, MTV, Comcast, Time Warner and the National Association of Broadcasters.

To contact your U.S. House representative to ask for cosponsorship of the National Mentoring Month Resolution, please visit www.house.gov. For more information on National Mentoring Month, visit www.nationalmentoringmonth.org.