The bills, will develop a new DC government office to support youth mentoring and offer a $2000 tax credit to mentors. Ms Spain will testify before the Council's Committee on Human Services chaired by Councilmember Tommy Wells at 1350 Pennsylvania Ave. in Room 412.
Included are portions of Ms. Spain's testimony supporting tax incentives for mentors in building and preserving the delicate, trusting mentor/mentee relationship:
"DC needs to provide the financial backing to encourage residents to volunteer. At Mentoring ToDAY, we have repeatedly debated whether or not we should pay our mentors. Ultimately, we have decided not to financially compensate our mentors. This is primarily because the youth in the juvenile justice system have countless professionals assigned to work with them, but the youth often feel that these adults are offering their assistance simply because it is their job to do so.
"When our youth first learn that our mentors are volunteers, they do not believe us. They ask repeatedly how much our mentors get paid and, when hearing that the mentors are volunteer, are very interested to know why someone would volunteer their time to mentor them. Ultimately, these conversations are often the start of a trusting relationship. When youth learn that adults wants to support them simply because the adults care about them and their futures, they are much more willing to open up and allow those adults into their worlds.
"But this is not to say that mentors should not be recognized in some fashion for the incredibly hard work they do, or that our community should not support them in their ventures. The work that our mentors do improves the safety and well-being of our city and we need to compensate them appropriately. The work is not easy. We've talked mentees into putting down guns, into moving out of abusive home environments, into receiving grief counseling, and into college and their first jobs. Mentors deserve to be compensated. By offering individuals a tax credit for their efforts, the District of Columbia could recognize the value of mentors without undermining the very relationship they strive to form with our youth. As the CEO of Mentoring ToDAY, I would be delighted to be able to tell our mentors that the DC government will give them compensation for their work, while simultaneously being able to tell our mentees that our mentors are volunteers."
Ms. Spain and Co-founder Whitney Louchheim founded Mentoring ToDAY in February 2005 as law students at American University's Washington School of Law. Mentoring ToDAY serves youth who are returning from incarceration at the Oak Hill Youth Center and reintegrating into the DC community. Mentoring ToDAY provides the youth with dedicated mentoring and advocacy services as they strive to establish safe and fulfilling lives.
Mentoring ToDAY will be recruiting mentors at the Capital Hip Hop Soul Fest on July 26, 2008 at Marvin Gaye Park. The Capital Hip Hop Soul Fest, developed by Liberated Muse Productions, is a project developed to link young adults to small businesses, local music and local volunteer opportunities.
"We wanted to bring young adults together to hear great music while learning of all the different ways to be involved in community service" says Liberated Muse Productions co-founder, Khadijah Ali-Coleman. Twenty local artists will perform on two stages from 11 am to 8 pm while concert goers discover options for community participation.
To receive a complete transcript of Ms.Spain's testimony or to learn how to be a Mentoring ToDAY mentor please email info@mentoringtoday.org.
