PRO-2020-001 National Mentoring Month Proclamation

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ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS NATIONAL MENTORING MONTH PROCLAMATION WHEREAS , the people of Orange County honor caring adult mentors who support young people by showing up for them every day and demonstrating their commitment to helping them thrive ; and WHEREAS , mentoring programs such as MENTOR North Carolina make our local communities , our state and our nation stronger ; and WHEREAS , quality mentoring promotes healthy relationships and communication , positive self- esteem and growth of a young person ; and WHEREAS , students who meet regularly with their mentors are more than fifty - two percent [ 52 % ] less likely than their peers to skip a day of school , and youth who face an opportunity gap and have a mentor are fifty -five percent [ 55 % ] more likely to be enrolled in college than those who had no mentor ; and WHEREAS , youth who regularly meet with their mentors are forty - six percent [ 46 % ] less likely than their peers to start using drugs and twenty - seven percent [ 27 % ] less likely to start drinking alcoholic beverages ; and WHEREAS , two -thirds of adults consider it highly important for young people to have mentors , and that same population estimates that only a quarter of youth have the mentors they need , and WHEREAS , research shows that forty -four percent [44 % ] of adults not yet mentoring are willing to consider mentoring , and that mentoring is poised for growth ; and WHEREAS , almost half of young adults today report having a mentor in their youth and those rates appear to have been rising steadily over the past several decades ; and WHEREAS , National Mentoring Month is the time of year where engagement from community members interested in becoming a mentor is highest , NOW , THEREFORE , the Orange County Board of County Commissioners does hereby proclaim January 2020 as National Mentoring Month in Orange County , and encourages all residents to take this opportunity to celebrate , elevate and encourage mentoring in communities across the county . This the 21 st day of January 2020 . , yr 17PIN " z Penny Rich , Chair Orange County Board of Commissioners F3f '=Leo ;