Two minutes to air, one minute to live streaming.

Good afternoon, Bull City, good afternoon, Durham, North Carolina.

It is great to be back.

I hope that everyone had a wonderful holiday.

And it was relaxing, so I hope everybody got a chance to at least get some downtime.

Um welcome back, colleagues.

It is great to see you all.

I know we uh were supposed to take a break, but many of us were talking and somewhat working over the break, so uh makes me feel glad to be a part of this council, uh, because you care so much.

All right.

And I was just getting the hang of this and I just sat down here is like, wait, what do I do first again?

So uh pardon me.

I am calling us to order, that is right.

Thank you so much.

All right, and at this time we will have a moment of silence.

Uh led by Councilmember Freeman.

I'm gosh, that is the Pledge of Allegiance.

If we can have a moment of silence, please.

Now we will have the Pledge of Allegiance.

I'm here.

Councilmember Baker.

Here.

Councilmember Caballero here.

Councilmember Freeman.

Present.

Councilmember Rist.

Present.

And at this time.

Do we have any um announcements?

Colleagues.

That is right, we do.

Okay.

Uh we have one ceremonial item tonight.

We will go ahead and um I highlight this.

Uh and oftentimes you'll see council members reading different uh proclamations.

Uh I've been selfish tonight.

This is something that's personal to me, so I'll read this one.

Yes.

All right.

And um could she refresh this minus.

I got it.

Thank you.

All right, tonight I have the honor of uh reading the proclamation.

Mr.

Langley here standing with me.

This proclamation reads whereas created in 2002 by the Harvard School of Public Health and Mentor, the National Mentoring Partnership, January is National Mentoring Month, an annual campaign to focus attention on the need for quality, consistent, and competent mentors.

And whereas the goals of National Mentoring Month are to raise awareness of mentoring, recruit mentors, equip mentors with the skills needed to support youth, encourage organizations to engage, integrate quality mentoring into their efforts with a focus on mental wellness, academic support, life skills training, and career readiness, workforce preparation to motivate youth to excel.

And whereas a mentor is a caring, dependable, and authentic person that provides support, guidance, advice, assistance, and devotes time to a young person to help youth discover personal strength, to persevere and achieve their potential through a structured and trusting relationship on a regular basis.

And whereas quality mentoring encourages and empowers youth to make positive choices, promote self-esteem and character development, support academic achievement, social emotional learning, leadership and professional development, college readiness and career exploration.

And whereas during the COVID-19 pandemic, mentoring programs stepped up to fill gaps for youth and families, connecting them with resources and ensuring mentoring relationships continue to prevent social disconnection and mitigate learning loss.

And whereas research has demonstrated that mentoring programs have a significant positive impact on a variety of academic achievement measures, including truancy, absenteeism, scholastic efficacy, and engagement, school-related misconduct and peer support.

And whereas mentors serve a critical role in helping youth successfully complete high school and gain admission to college or training programs.

Earn a post-secondary credential or certification, build new in-demand skills, prepare for the future of work and succeed in ever-changing workforces.

And whereas mentoring programs must incorporate work-based learning to prepare and connect youth with real life work experiences, whereas they can apply academic technical and soft skills and develop their enjoyability, employability while in exploring career pathways.

And whereas the City of Durham's strategic plan goals include shared economic prosperity and creating a safety community together.

And whereas the City of Durham supports community-based mentoring programs as key community partners to support youth and their families.

And whereas National Mentoring Month is the time of year to celebrate, elevate, and encourage mentoring and recruit caring adult mentors in the city of Durham.

Now, therefore, I, Leonardo Williams, mayor of the City of Durham, North Carolina, do hereby proclaim January 2024 national mentoring month in the city of Durham and hereby call upon public officials, business and community leaders and educators, and encourage all citizens to observe this month with appropriate ceremonies, activities, and programs to one recognize the valuable contributions to staff of staff and volunteers in quality mentoring programs that empower youth, enabling them to discover inner strength and realize their full potential potential, to acknowledge the manifold between mentoring, the manif the manifold benefits of mentoring, including fostering healthy identity development, promoting educational achievement, reducing general juvenile delinquency, enhancing career readiness, improving life skills and outcomes, and fortifying communities.

Three, advocate for the establishment expansion, sustainability, and funding of quality programs throughout Durham, aiming to provide youth with the necessary tools of leading healthy, productive, and meaningful lives and for support initiatives aimed at bridging academic achievement, opportunity, and mentoring gaps, emphasizing critical mentoring to assist boards.

Thank you, Mayor Williams, for their proclamation.

Um, I know it's rather wordy.