Whereas the goals of National Mentoring Month are to raise awareness of youth mentoring, recruit individuals to mentor, celebrate the powerful impact of real life mentoring relationships that form and thrive each day because of the caring adults who volunteer their time for young people, and encourage mentoring organizations to engage and integrate quality mentoring into their efforts, and thank the mentors who made us who we are today; Whereas many young people across the Nation make everyday choices that lead up to life’s big decisions without guidance and support; Whereas mentoring relationships provide powerful tools for connection and are critical for our Nation’s future; Whereas a mentor is a caring, consistent presence who devotes time to help a young person discover personal strength and achieve his or her potential; Whereas quality mentoring supports positive life and social skills, promotes self-esteem, bolsters academic achievement and college access, and nurtures young leadership development; Whereas mentoring relationships are a shared opportunity for learning and growth, positively impacting both the mentor and the mentee; Whereas, mentoring programs are run by many different organizations and agencies with different goals for young people. Seventy-nine percent of programs are nonprofits, 9 percent are K12 schools or districts, 3 percent are government agencies, 3 percent are higher education institutions, and the remaining 6 percent are religious institutions, for-profits, healthcare facilities, and others; Whereas mentoring programs have been shown to be effective in helping young people make healthy choices, and youth who meet regularly with their mentors are 46 percent less likely than their peers to start using illegal drugs