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A MEMORIAL

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

YOUTH MENTORING DAY" AT THE SENATE.

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 SENATE 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 senate.