[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 36 Introduced in House (IH)]

114th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 36

     Honoring the 22 years of mentoring, guidance, and educational 
 assistance provided by the 5000 Role Models of Excellence Project and 
recognizing its positive impact on the lives of at-risk boys and men of 
                                 color.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 14, 2015

  Ms. Wilson of Florida submitted the following resolution; which was 
        referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
     Honoring the 22 years of mentoring, guidance, and educational 
 assistance provided by the 5000 Role Models of Excellence Project and 
recognizing its positive impact on the lives of at-risk boys and men of 
                                 color.

Whereas, the 5000 Role Models of Excellence Project will celebrate its 22nd 
        Annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Unity Scholarship Breakfast on 
        Monday, January 19, 2015;
Whereas, the 5000 Role Models of Excellence Project, an in-school dropout 
        prevention/mentoring program for at-risk minority boys ages 9-19, was 
        created to boost the self-image, social skills, and academic performance 
        of young minority boys and men by motivating them to interact with 
        successful males in their communities;
Whereas, in 1993, as a member of the Miami-Dade County School Board, 
        Congresswoman Frederica S. Wilson founded the 500 African American Male 
        Role Models of Excellence program;
Whereas, in 1994, the 500 African American Male Role Models of Excellence 
        program's name was changed to the 5000 Role Models of Excellence Project 
        as a response to increased enrollment of mentors and students;
Whereas, the 5000 Role Models of Excellence Project believes the entire 
        community must be involved in the process of changing the direction of 
        our youth;
Whereas, the vision of the 5000 Role Models of Excellence Project is that each 
        minority male student graduate from high school, go to college, 
        vocational school, or the military, and be positioned to become a 
        contributing and self-sustaining member of society;
Whereas, the goals of the 5000 Role Models of Excellence Project are to place 
        at-risk boys in supportive relationships with positive and successful 
        men in the community who they can emulate, educate program participants 
        about the consequences of succumbing to societal pitfalls and expose 
        them to alternatives to self-destructive behaviors, and provide a 
        program infrastructure that will empower adult community Role Models to 
        assume responsibility for preparing young men to effectively deal with 
        the challenges and struggles that threaten their success;
Whereas, mentors meet with students at least once per week in-school for two 
        hours during the school year, and at least three to four times per year 
        for an extracurricular activity on weekends or during the summer;
Whereas, the 5000 Role Models of Excellence Project consists of 26 components 
        including alcohol, tobacco, and other drug awareness ``Fridays,'' 
        employment opportunities, and African-American history and culture;
Whereas, the 5000 Role Models of Excellence Project allows at-risk youth to take 
        part in tours of colleges, courtrooms, hospitals, and prisons, as well 
        as seminars on anger management, relations with law enforcement, respect 
        for the law, respect for women, and violence prevention;
Whereas, teachers have reported a drastic reduction in the number of students 
        with disciplinary problems and over 95 percent of the students who begin 
        the program graduate without further violations of student conduct codes 
        or the law;
Whereas, the 5000 Role Models of Excellence Project is funded through generous 
        donations from individuals, corporations, local colleges, hospitals, and 
        civic and social agencies;
Whereas, in April 1997, the 5000 Role Models of Excellence Project played a 
        major role in the formation of America's Promise Alliance born from the 
        Presidents' Summit for America's Future held in Philadelphia;
Whereas, the 5000 Role Models of Excellence Project was featured in the article 
        titled A Program That Works, by syndicated columnist Leonard Pitts, Jr., 
        as part of a series on successful programs that work for African-
        American youth;
Whereas, the list of prominent Americans involved with the 5000 Role Models of 
        Excellence Project is comprised of leading figures in politics, 
        literature, space exploration, and entertainment, including Presidents 
        Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Jimmy Carter, and Gerald 
        Ford; Vice President Al Gore; Secretary of State Hillary Clinton; Gen. 
        Colin Powell; Governor Jeb Bush; Lt. Governor Buddy McKay; Senators Bob 
        Graham and Bill Nelson; actors Danny Glover, Malik Yoba, Kerry 
        Washington, Charles ``Roc'' Dutton, Tommy Ford, Christopher ``Play'' 
        Martin, and JoMarie Payton-Noble; media personalities Tom Joyner, Tavis 
        Smiley, Bill O'Reilly, and Montel Williams; musicians Harry Belafonte 
        and Bobby Jones; astronauts Winston Scott and Charles Bolden; authors 
        Jawanza Kunjufu, Leonard Pitts, Nathan McCall, Dr. Leah Tutu, Maya 
        Angelou, James McBride, Dr. Randall Pinkett, and Dr. Alvin Poussaint; 
        athletes Lester Jean, Udonis Haslem, Alonzo Mourning, Shaquille O'Neal, 
        Billy Thompson, Irvin Thomas, Isiah Thomas, Oronde Gadsden, Keith 
        Jackson, Jim Brown, and Tiger Woods; and activists the Rev. Al Sharpton, 
        Martin Luther King, III, and the Rev. Jesse Jackson;
Whereas, the 5000 Role Models of Excellence Project serves over 8,000 students 
        in 101 schools through the efforts of over 6,000 volunteers within 
        Miami-Dade County Public Schools;
Whereas, over $10 million in college scholarships have been awarded to students 
        successfully completing the program; and
Whereas, the 5000 Role Models of Excellence Project has received numerous 
        accolades, including the Miami-Dade County Public Schools--National 
        Mentoring Month Service Award (2014), Incorporated Southern Area 
        Services Youth Award (2013), A Program That Works (2013), the Theodore 
        R. Gibson Memorial Fund, Inc. Dedication to Service Award (2012), the 
        National Medical Association's Scroll of Merit Award (2008), Florida's 
        First Union Kids Count Award (1998), Florida's Promise to Youth Award 
        (1998), M-DCPS School Board's Magna National Award (1998), Florida's 
        Promise to Youth Award (1998), the President's Summit for America's 
        Future Teaching Example for the Nation (1997), The Bold and Blood Award 
        Pennsylvania Legislature (1995); in addition to being recognized by The 
        Links, Inc., the National Conference of Black Mayors, the National 
        Association of Black Journalists, and the Miami-Dade County--Office of 
        the Mayor for extraordinary service to the community and to the youth: 
        Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the U.S. House of Representatives--
            (1) honors the 5000 Role Models of Excellence Project on 
        its 22 years of making a difference in the lives of at-risk 
        minority boys and men;
            (2) recognizes and commends Congresswoman Frederica S. 
        Wilson for founding an organization devoted to improving the 
        self-image, social skills, and academic performance of young 
        minority boys and men;
            (3) applauds the mentors for dedicating their time and 
        efforts to enriching the lives of the students who participate 
        in the program; and
            (4) celebrates the young minority boys and men who have 
        graduated successfully from the program and have gone on to 
        become productive members of society.
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