Title
To recognize January as National Mentoring Month in the City of Columbus and to celebrate the leadership of the Brown Girls 614 Mentoring program and their commitment to mentoring and improving the lives of young ladies in Central Ohio and beyond.
Body
WHEREAS, relationships with caring mentors offer youth valuable support - guiding them toward making positive, healthy life choices - mentoring programs also offer effective student interventions - improve student attendance and behavior, academic performance, increase High School Graduation rates, and in a significant number of instances culminate in college attendance; and
WHEREAS, youth mentorship programs help young people improve their self-esteem, enhance their relationships with family members and peers - ultimately helping them to feel a greater sense of connectedness with their community and their schools; and
WHEREAS, the Brown Girls 614 Mentoring program, founded by Mrs. Jamie Blunt and Mrs. Rolanda Beacham was developed in August of 2016 within the Beatty Recreation Center, "To empower young brown girls of all shades, to help them to recognize their beauty, to understand their worth, to encourage them to strive for excellence while helping them to embrace their natural beauty by not conforming to societal standards, comparisons to one another, or standards dictated by the mainstream media - the goal of the program is predicated on helping young girls to form lifelong bonds of sisterhood, to build confidence, and to see that every BROWN girl wins; and
WHEREAS, the Brown Girls 614 Mentoring program is a leadership development program for girls ages 5-17 - teaching girls cultural awareness, social skill enhancement, educational enrichment, leadership, social change, and community service - in fact, the Brown Girls Mentoring Program is committed to planting seeds for abundant growth, paying it forward, by helping young girls to understand that, “I can be beautiful,“ and reminding them that, “I am my sisters keeper,“ - the program has more than 50 girls in the Columbus (614) Chapter and includes a chapter at Hampton University (757) in Hampton, Virginia and Chapter (813) located in Tampa, Florida; and
WHEREAS, the Brown Girls 614 Mentoring program is consistent with the work and mission of the Columbus Commission on Black Girls as it works to ensure that opportunities, successful futures, and the achievement of a high quality of life for future generations of women is achieved in Columbus; and
WHEREAS, January has been designated as National Mentoring Month a time dedicated to focusing national attention on the need for mentors to ensure brighter futures for young people; now therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF COLUMBUS: That this Council does hereby recognize January as National Mentoring Month in the City of Columbus and celebrates the leadership of the Brown Girls (614) Mentoring program and their commitment to mentoring and improving the lives of young ladies in Central Ohio and beyond.