Last Updated on February 13, 2022 8:46 am
A proclamation declaring January as Mentoring Month has been signed by Boone Mayor Rennie Brantz.
The proclamation says that January 2019 will mark the 18th anniversary of National Mentoring Month, an annual campaign to recruit volunteer mentors for young people. In 2018, volunteers in Western Youth Network’s Mentoring program spent over 4,770 hours with youth in Watauga County totaling more than $115,147.80 worth of donated time to benefit our community, the proclamation goes on to say.
Thank Your Mentor Day is January 31.
Thank Your Mentor Day and Mentoring Month Proclamation
WHEREAS, January 2019 will mark the 18th anniversary of National Mentoring Month, an annual campaign to recruit volunteer mentors for young people.
WHEREAS, National Mentoring Month celebrates the benefits of youth mentoring across the country. Every day in communities across the country, caring adults volunteer their time with mentoring programs to create consistent and supportive relationships to young people. At its most basic level, mentoring is successful in real life because it guarantees a young people has an adult to turn to and that they have a guiding hand to help them in dealing with day-to-day challenges. At a more complex level, there is a powerful mentoring effect that ultimately makes our communities stronger and;
WHEREAS, Quality mentoring programs are proven to build relationships that help improve school attendance and academic achievement, promote responsible decision-making, and provide skills to better navigate relationships at school, socially and at home and;
WHEREAS, in 2018, volunteers in Western Youth Network’s Mentoring program spent over 4,770 hours with youth in Watauga County totaling more than $115,147.80 worth of donated time to benefit our community; and
WHEREAS, “Thank Your Mentor Day” (January 31) promotes three ways to honor your mentor (1) contact your mentor directly to express your appreciation; (2) pass on what you received by becoming a mentor to a young person in your community; and (3) write a tribute to your mentor for posting on www.WhoMentoredYou.org; and
WHEREAS, the Watauga County community is dedicated to realizing the promise and power of mentoring.
NOW THEREFORE, I, Rennie Brantz, Mayor of the Town of Boone, as a demonstration of the value of volunteerism to this community, do hereby proclaim January 31st, 2019 as “THANK YOUR MENTOR DAY” and January 2019 as Mentoring Month, celebrated by the Watauga County community, and urge our citizens to recognize this day, to consider mentoring a young person in their community, and to celebrate this month with appropriate ceremonies, activities, and programs.
Mayor Brantz presenting the document to Western Youth Network employees Charlene Grasinger (Left) and Angela McMann (Right). Photo: Town of Boone
