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A MEMORIAL

DECLARING FRIDAY, JANUARY 25, 2008, "BIG BROTHERS BIG SISTERS

YOUTH MENTORING DAY" AT THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.

WHEREAS, more boys and girls in New Mexico than ever

before grow up in circumstances that place them at severe risk

of dropping out of school, youth crime and violence, drug and

alcohol abuse and teen pregnancy; and

WHEREAS, the big brothers big sisters mission is to

bring caring adults into the lives of young people in order to

prevent destructive behavior and instill positive values and

life skills; and

WHEREAS, New Mexico's big brothers big sisters programs

served over three thousand children in 2007 in counties across

the entire state and these programs were nationally recognized

for their Hispanic and Native American mentoring initiatives;

and

WHEREAS, science-based research has shown that a young

person who is matched with a big brother or big sister

volunteer is:

A. forty-six percent less likely to start using

illegal drugs;

B. twenty-seven percent less likely to start

drinking;

C. fifty-two percent less likely to skip a day of

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school;

D. thirty-seven percent less likely to skip a

class; and

E. less likely to engage in violence; and

WHEREAS, the positive impact of big brothers big sisters

has proved that one adult caring for one child is the most

powerful force to keep young people in school, off drugs and

alcohol and out of trouble with the law; and

WHEREAS, New Mexico's big brothers big sisters programs

and its school-based partners have grown twice as fast as the

national average, increasing the number of youth matched with

adults by nearly sixty percent to three thousand one hundred

big-little matches in the past year; and

WHEREAS, with waiting lists for all of its programs and

a torrent of requests from unserved counties in New Mexico,

the big brothers big sisters programs in New Mexico are

committed to bringing its life-changing program to all

children in the state, regardless of where they reside;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF

REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the invaluable

contributions of big brothers big sisters be recognized and

that Friday, January 25, 2008, be declared "Big Brothers Big

Sisters Youth Mentoring Day" at the house of representatives.