Supporting National Mentoring Month

SUPPORTING NATIONAL MENTORING MONTH -- (Extensions of Remarks - February 15, 2005)

SPEECH OF
HON. BETTY McCOLLUM
OF MINNESOTA
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2005

Ms. McCOLLUM of Minnesota. Mr. Speaker, as one of the co-chairs of the Mentoring Caucus, I rise today in support of House Resolution 46, to express the sense of Congress and the House of Representatives regarding the many benefits of mentoring.

Mentoring programs, as we are talking about them here today, link children with caring, responsible adults to provide opportunities for young people to develop strong character and new capabilities. Mentoring opportunities are a proven method, as has been pointed out, to help children who may be struggling in school or at home or just in life. We need to take advantage of mentoring opportunities to allow every child to become self-sufficient, have better self-esteem, and feel that they too can achieve the American Dream.

In my own state of Minnesota, there are over 350 mentoring programs that connect youth with positive role models. One valuable mentoring program is Big Brothers Big Sisters. In the St. Paul/Minneapolis region alone, more than 2,000 children benefit from this mentoring program. In 2005, they hope to reach 5,000 children.

Sergeant Mamie Singleton, of the St. Paul Police Department and founder of Youth Initiative Mentoring Academies, is one example of many in Minnesota who in her spare time mentors youth. Youth Initiative Mentoring Academies is a non-profit organization for at-risk youth that utilizes a mentoring model through aviation education. I cannot tell you how proud I am when I go to their gradation day and each and every one of those children receives a certificate for their aviation education and for their civic education projects. It is a special time for the mentors as well, as they witness their generous gifts of time and hard work payoff for these children.

Mentors make a difference, for a mentor can be a friend, a listener, a coach, a tutor, or just a confidante. A mentor is simply a person who cares enough to be a good listener at times and to offer the opportunity to open new doors and new worlds by offering encouragement and support along the way.

I encourage all of my colleagues to support this resolution, and to look for opportunities for Members to be mentors themselves. As the gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. OSBORNE) pointed out, many of our staff are mentors. J.D. Burton, who recently left my staff, was a mentor for Horton's Kids. He tutored for 3 years, and, at times, we worked our schedule around his mentoring schedule. I have many others in my office who are also mentors, and each and every one of them says that they get more out of the opportunity of mentoring than they could ever imagine.

I would also like to thank the sponsor of this bill, the gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. OSBORNE), for, you see, his family comes from a mentoring background. His cousin, the Honorable Kathleen Vellenga, took time to be a mentor of mine when I was in the Minnesota House of Representatives. Mentoring-you never know where it might lead you.

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