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| Wilson Endorses National Mentoring Month |
January 23, 2002 |
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Designation increases participation in mentoring programs
Washington, DC-Congresswoman Heather Wilson wants to see more New Mexico businesses and individuals commit to mentoring high school students and, at the same time, is looking for students interested in serving an internship in her Albuquerque Congressional office. Today, as Congress reconvenes for the second half of the 107th Congress, Wilson is throwing her support behind an initiative that designates January as “National Mentoring Month.”
Many children throughout the United States face difficult circumstances in their lives and a relationship with a caring and responsible adult can be life-changing. Through mentoring, kids can develop an improvement in school attendance and academic achievement, decreased substance abuse, and reduced violent behavior.
“I’ve seen mentoring make a difference,” said Wilson. “With the recent passage of the Leave No Child Behind Act, we’ve substantially increased our financial investment in education, and we’ve given parents and teachers the flexibility to meet our kids’ needs. But our investment in our kids shouldn’t end there. I encourage everybody in New Mexico to reach out to a child. Teach him or her what you know and how to be a responsible adult. We can all be a part of the solution.”
As part of a mentoring program called Albuquerque’s Promise-the local spin-off to America’s Promise-Albuquerque area business and community organizations have been asked to make promises of activities, programs, or projects which fall within one or more of these five categories:
an ongoing relationship with a caring adult
a safe place with structured activities during non-school hours
a healthy start
a marketable skill through effective education
an opportunity to give back through community service
Wilson pledged to develop an internship program in her Albuquerque office for high school students to give them an opportunity to learn about government and service to the community. In the nearly three years since its inception, 73 high school students have served in Wilson’s office in Albuquerque. These students assist with drafting letters, database maintenance, constituent services, research, and maintaining Wilson’s website and weekly e-newsletter.
“One of the best ways to gain practical experience in the working world is through an internship,” said Wilson. “Not only does it give a young student a chance to learn about serving people, it also gives them invaluable experience for getting their first job.”
Students interested in serving an internship in Wilson’s office can find more information at http://wilson.house.gov/Services.asp or by calling Wilson’s Albuquerque office at 505-346-6781.
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