National Mentoring Month, 2013

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Title 3--
The President

Proclamation 8922 of December 31, 2012

National Mentoring Month, 2013

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

Our American family is bound together by caring
individuals who make it their mission to serve others.
During National Mentoring Month, we pay special tribute
to the men and women who enrich the lives of our young
people and fortify the unbreakable bonds between one
generation and the next.

Mentors know that helping a child unlock their full
potential begins with care, guidance, and support--
which is why my Administration is proud to celebrate
mentorship nationwide through programs that help young
people see the strength within themselves. We created
the Corporate Mentoring Challenge, which encourages
businesses across our country to open or expand
mentoring programs that equip our youth with the tools
to achieve. We have connected young men and women in
the Washington, DC, area with mentors at the White
House, and we have partnered with groups across the
public, private, and nonprofit sectors to build
pathways to summer job opportunities for low-income and
disconnected youth. And since 2010, we have worked to
build strong connections between children and
responsible adults through our Fatherhood and Mentoring
Initiative.

A supportive mentor can mean the difference between
struggle and success. As we mark this important
occasion, I encourage all Americans to spend time as a
mentor and help lift our next generation toward their
hopes and dreams. To learn more about how to get
involved, visit www.Serve.gov/Mentor.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the
United States of America, by virtue of the authority
vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the
United States, do hereby proclaim January 2013 as
National Mentoring Month. I call upon public officials,
business and community leaders, educators, and
Americans across the country to observe this month with
appropriate ceremonies, activities, and programs.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
thirty-first day of December, in the year of our Lord
two thousand twelve, and of the Independence of the
United States of America the two hundred and thirty-
seventh.