HomeMy WebLinkAbout01-20-2021_Open Session_General Public Comment_O'Farrell, Jennifer_National Mentoring Month_RedactedFrom:Jennifer O"Farrell
To:Public Comments
Subject:General Public Comment for CC Meeting 1/20/2021
Date:Tuesday, January 5, 2021 2:50:56 PM
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Dear City Clerk team,
January is National Mentoring Month, below is our submitted comment we would like to
make for the General Public Comment for 01/12/2021 CC.. Thank you.
Honorable Mayor and City Council Members,
I want to be the first to wish you Happy National Mentoring Month!
Mentoring energizes communities. It empowers youth to envision a brighter future. It
unlocks new career pathways and educational opportunities.
Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Inland Empire, serving San Bernardino City youth andengaging residents as mentors, celebrates with each of you the incredible potential ofour city’s youth and the mentors who are helping them achieve success and self-sufficiency. But our work is far from over — there are hundreds of children still waitingto be matched. National Mentoring Month raises awareness for this growing needand helps drive critical volunteer recruitment efforts.
Mentoring is one of the longest social institutions we have that make the fabric of ourneighborhoods and cities work. And mentoring is the most cost effective long termeconomic investment strategy for keeping underserved youth in school and providingaccess to workforce experience.
The children we serve face barriers beyond their control - poverty, contact with thecriminal justice system, and unresolved trauma – and that was all before thepandemic. These barriers create isolation and disconnection resulting incomplications in school and future work.
Yet with the connection of a Big Brother or Big Sister we are proud to share that:
60% increase in school attendance
80% increase in 2 academic subjects
100% refrain from criminal activityAnd 100% this last year graduated high school in 74% of them were 1st in theirfamily to have a diploma
Join Big Brothers Big Sisters this month in volunteering to be a mentor andcelebrating with us our youth and their mentors!
Honored to be the Executive Director of your Big Brother Big Sisters,