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RESOLUTION DECLARING JANUARY 2017, AND EVERY JANUARY THEREAFTER, AS NATIONAL MENTORING MONTH IN MIAMI-DADE COUNTY

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WHEREAS, each year thousands of Miami-Dade County residents, individually and through nonprofit and faith-based organizations, devote time and energy to mentoring our youth; and
WHEREAS, Big Brothers Big Sisters Miami has been matching mentors with at-risk youth in Miami-Dade County for over 50 years, yielding improved school attendance, academic performance and behavior; and
WHEREAS, Educate Tomorrow serves Miami-Dade County�s foster care youth by offering resources such as skill-building workshops, academic support, and mentoring; and
WHEREAS, Take Stock in Children focuses on education as the means by which low-income youth can escape poverty, providing the children of Miami-Dade County mentorship that begins in middle school and awarding them college scholarships; and
WHEREAS, 5000 Role Models of Excellence, initiated over 20 years ago by the School Board of Miami-Dade County, challenges the men of Miami-Dade County to intervene in the lives of at-risk youth and impart advice, guidance and educational assistance; and
WHEREAS, the Circle of Brotherhood assists at-risk youth in Miami-Dade County through mentorship and social activism; and
WHEREAS, for nearly 40 years, Communities in Schools has been helping students achieve in school, graduate and go on to bright futures by providing community services inside schools which include health care, counseling, academic assistance, and positive role models; and
WHEREAS, Up2Us is a national service program that hires and trains role models to mentor and guide youth to make better decisions and stay healthy; and
WHEREAS, Honeyshine, which was founded as the Honey Shine Mentoring Program in 2002 by Tracy Wilson Mourning, provides mentors for young girls to help guide them to a healthy and happy future; and
WHEREAS, City Year Miami works to bridge the gap in high-poverty communities between the support that students actually need and what their schools are designed and resourced to provide by placing highly trained young adults who provide individualized support to at-risk students; and
WHEREAS, Women of Tomorrow engages highly accomplished professional women as mentors in small group settings to inspire young women to reach their full potential; and
WHEREAS, these and countless other organizations offer mentorship services to the youth in Miami-Dade County; and
WHEREAS, in recognition of the dedication and effort of mentors and the invaluable societal benefit youth mentorship confers, National Mentoring Month is celebrated every January by the federal government; and
WHEREAS, this Board wishes to recognize the mentorship contributions of our citizenry and the various nonprofit and faith-based organizations operating in Miami-Dade County,
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, FLORIDA, that this Board declares January 2017, and every January thereafter, as National Mentoring Month in Miami-Dade County.