National Lieutenant Governors Association Passes Resolution in Support of Quality Youth Mentoring

WARWICK, RI – The National Lieutenant Governors Association (NLGA) has passed a resolution in support of quality youth mentoring.  The resolution was co-sponsored by Rhode Island Lt. Governor Daniel J. McKee along with six other Lieutenant Governors from around the country.  The resolution was then overwhelmingly approved by the NLGA at its annual meeting in Indianapolis earlier this month.

“I was happy to co-sponsor this resolution recognizing the positive effects mentoring has on our youth, and encouraging the expansion of quality youth mentoring programs across the country in an effort to close the mentoring gap,” said Lt. Governor McKee. “I know the RI Mentoring Partnership is working hard to close that gap here in our state, and I applaud them for their efforts.”

The Mentoring Effect, a comprehensive 2014 national survey by MENTOR: the National Mentoring Partnership discovered that 1 in 3 young people were unable to identify an adult mentor in their lives.  Working to close this mentoring gap has become an important goal for all mentoring partnerships across the country.

“Here in Rhode Island, we are working to close the gap by coordinating 5 youth mentoring programs and serving as the statewide experts in quality youth mentoring for a network of about 60 mentoring programs,” said Jo-Ann Schofield, President & CEO of the RI Mentoring Partnership (RIMP).  “By offering training and best practices to our network of programs, we are helping provide more than 5,000 Rhode Island youth with the powerful benefits that come from having a mentor.  We are thankful to have Lt. Governor McKee’s support as we work to ensure that all children who need a mentor, get one!”

Youth with mentors generally have positive outcomes across social, emotional, behavioral, and academic areas of youth development.  Youth with mentors are more likely to set and attain goals, and see improvement both academically and socially.  They are less likely to skip school and more likely to avoid drugs and violence.  Ultimately, they are more likely to become community assets as opposed to community liabilities.

About RI Mentoring Partnership

Our mission is to enhance the lives of Rhode Island youth through mentoring.  Our philosophy is simple: when we invest today in expanding our community’s capacity to mentor our youth, we will see an incredible return in the lives of our children and the health of our communities for generations to come.  RIMP serves as an umbrella organization for dozens of mentoring programs around Rhode Island offering help with recruitment, training, and other support.  RIMP is also directly responsible for the coordination of the school-based mentoring programs in Warwick, Woonsocket, Newport, Middletown, & Cranston.