Title
To acknowledge and celebrate January 24, 2008 as Thank Your Mentor Day and to recognize the entire month of January 2008 as National Mentoring Month in the City of Columbus.
Body
WHEREAS, the month of January is nationally recognized as National Mentoring Month and this year's addition of Thank Your Mentor Day on January 24 is intended to highlight the importance of mentors in young people's lives and increase awareness of the need for mentors; and
WHEREAS, over 40 partner agencies of the Mentoring Center together serve over 6,000 of the community's most vulnerable children and youth; and
WHEREAS the Mentoring Center actively helps increase the quantity and quality of mentoring in Central Ohio by providing services and guidance to partner organizations; and
WHEREAS, Columbus City Schools and Big Brothers Big Sisters launched Project Mentor, the major initiative that has created mentoring programs in all 27 Columbus City Schools middle schools; and
WHEREAS, 1,000 new mentors have become involved in Project Mentor this year and are expected to help further improve the rates of high school graduation from the current rate of 72.9% to 90% by 2012; and
WHEREAS, research has shown that mentoring has a definitive impact on young people by increasing attendance at school, improving rates of high school graduation and college attendance, and decreasing involvement with drugs, alcohol and violent behavior; and
WHEREAS, Columbus City Schools, through Project 2012, is working to increase the graduation rate to 90%, having already burgeoned the graduation rate from 55% in 2001 to 72.9% in 2007; and
WHEREAS, beyond academic and school related benefits quality mentoring programs like those partnered with the Mentoring Center encourage improved self esteem and social skills, as well as develop the competence and character of our youth; now, therefore
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF COLUMBUS:
That the Columbus City Council ...
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