CPS CEO Arne Duncan Launches Chicago's National Mentoring Month

Recognizes Mentors and Issues Call for New Mentors to Address Critical Shortage

CHICAGO, Jan. 7 -- Recognizing the important contribution that mentoring can make in the successful education of hundreds of thousands of Chicago children, Arne Duncan launched National Mentoring Month today at a special celebration. The event saluted the outstanding efforts of Chicago-area mentors and kids as well as served to jump-start a massive drive to recruit new mentors.

"I know firsthand how important a mentor can be to a child's education. My mother and my basketball coach served as my mentors when I was a child and they helped me become the person I am today," said Arne Duncan, Chief Executive Officer, Chicago Public Schools. "Every child should have at least one adult who will support and motivate them to be their best. We need more adults to step up to the plate and mentor a child."

Duncan encouraged adults interested in mentoring to visit: http://www.chicagovolunteer.net/ or call 312-725-5314.

The need for mentors is huge. Only about one thousand of the more than one million school-age children in the Chicago area are fortunate enough to have a mentor. A mentor is an adult who, along with parents, provides young people with support counsel, friendship and a constructive example. The average mentor spends 8-10 hours a month with his or her mentee, on activities such as doing homework, bowling, going to the library, playing in the park, and shooting basketball.

"We know that mentoring works," said Susan McGee, Chief Executive Officer of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Metropolitan Chicago. "A caring adult offers guidance to an at-risk child or teen -- that's what mentoring is -- and the relationship offers a positive, successful compass for a kid to follow."

Mentoring provides major benefits for children. Studies* show that young people who are mentored are 59 percent more likely to receive better grades and 46 percent less likely to take drugs.

The mentors say they benefit just as much as the young people they are trying to help.

"This has been the most gratifying experience I've ever had," said Tim Goodsell, President and CEO of Hyde Park Bank, who has been a mentor with Big Brothers Big Sisters for many years. "I wanted to make a difference in my community, and in someone's life and I can truly say that I have done that with my little brother for the past three years."

At the kick-off event, Duncan also recognized the valuable contributions of current mentors and the enormous benefits they provide to children.

"Mentors throughout Chicago are real unsung heroes to these kids and are deserving of our praise," added Duncan. "Their efforts will ultimately result in more students graduating, fewer kids dropping out of school and our kids performing better academically."

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Metropolitan Chicago is spearheading a number of local events to mark National Mentoring Month, partnering with organizations including Boys & Girls Clubs of Chicago, Chicago Public Schools, Community Resource Network, Cook County Juvenile Court Mentoring Network, Horizons for Youth, Jewish Children's Bureau, Lifelink Latino Special Services Program, Mercy Home for Boys & Girls, Uhlich Children's Advantage Network and Working In the Schools. WMAQ-NBC 5, Quaker Oats/PepsiCo and WTMX Radio are sponsors of the 2005 National Mentoring Month activities which include:

   -- "Be a Mentor, Bring a Mentor", a National Mentoring Month Appreciation
      and Recruitment Reception featuring special guest Eric Liu, author of
      the official book of National Mentoring Month, "Guiding Lights: The
      People Who Lead us Toward Our Purpose in Life", on Wednesday,
      January 19, 2005, 6:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. at Moretti's Restaurant,
      1645 W. Jackson, Chicago.  This event is open only to invited mentors,
      prospective mentors and the media.

January 2005 marks Chicago's fourth annual National Mentoring Month which is led at the national level by the Harvard mentoring Project and MENTOR/National Mentoring Partnership. The goal is to focus attention on how mentoring benefits children, adults and society as a whole.

* Study was conducted by Public/Private Ventures using youth matched in Big Brothers Big Sisters programs.