WASHINGTON, D.C. — Congressman Adam Smith today released the following statement in honor of National Mentoring Month:
“Mentoring programs play a crucial role in supporting positive outcomes for youth, providing valuable experience in the field, and building supportive relationships that carry on throughout their careers. Programs like these foster new ideas about policies that can expand access to quality mentoring for young people and Congress should continue to increase support for the critical work they do every day.
“One of these programs in Washington’s Ninth District is the Bright Future program—a mentor program established through a partnership between the Washington State Auto Dealers Association, Toyota of Renton owned by the O’Brien Auto Group, Walker’s Subaru/Mazda, Renton School District, Communities in Schools of Renton and Mentoring Works Washington. The program pairs youth from Renton School District with mentors and provides a paid position at a local new car and truck dealership where they participate in a collaborative learning and career exploration experience. This initiative embodies the important aspects of these mentoring programs, giving at-risk youth the opportunity to gain relevant work skills and guidance they need to succeed. The exposure and hands-on experience they gain is invaluable for those in the program and ultimately strengthens the workforce in the district and beyond.
“In honor of National Mentoring Month, I’m a proud co-sponsor of the National Mentoring Month resolution. My staff was pleased to meet with representatives from MENTOR Washington, who shared about their work to provide positive and supportive role models for young people across the state of Washington.”
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