[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 56 (Tuesday, May 10, 1994)]
[Senate]
[Page S]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: May 10, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                         ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS

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  TRIBUTE TO THE GENERAL ELECTRIC ELFUN SOCIETY AND GENERAL ELECTRIC 
                               FOUNDATION

 Mr. DODD. Mr. President, I rise today to congratulate and 
honor two organizations that have distinguished themselves by jointly 
becoming one of only 21 recipients nationwide of the 1994 President's 
Volunteer Action Award. These two organizations, based in my home 
State, are not only sources of pride for Connecticut, but for the 
entire United States of America. The organizations to which I am 
referring are the General Electric Elfun Society and the General 
Electric Foundation.
  The GE Elfun Society is a volunteer organization of GE employees and 
retirees, and the GE Foundation is a trust established to provide 
grants to nonprofit organizations. Together, they established the 
College Bound Program to promote systemic change in poor, inner-city 
schools and to increase the number of youths from these schools 
continuing on to higher education.
  The College Bound Program represents a $20 million commitment to 
double the number of college-bound students from selected poor and 
inner-city schools by the year 2000. The GE Foundation provides 
multiyear grants of up to $1 million to achieve that goal, while local 
chapters of the Elfun Society provide a cadre of volunteers to serve as 
tutors, mentors, and friends to high school students.
  Since 1989, 12 schools have participated in the College Bound Program 
and have developed 3- to 5-year plans to double the number of college 
entrants. These 12 programs are made possible through the work of more 
than 2,000 GE volunteers, whose efforts have yielded some staggering 
results.
  At Aiken High School in Cincinnati, OH, the college matriculation 
rate has jumped from 23 to 47 percent in just 5 years. At Western High 
in Louisville, KY, the rate went from 25 to 59 percent, and at Valley 
High in Albuquerque, MN, the rate has increased from 22 to 57 percent, 
far exceeding the goal of doubling the number of college entrants.
  As you know, Mr. President, I have joined a number of my colleagues 
in working to make college a realistic option for all of America's 
youths, regardless of their home environment or financial situation. We 
have seen progress, but significant progress cannot be made by the 
Government alone. To truly ensure a better future for all of America's 
children, we need the helping hands of communities and the 
organizations found within them.
  The GE Society and the GE Foundation are excellent examples of these 
helping hands. And through their efforts, hundreds of young lives have 
been significantly brightened. For that, we should all be 
grateful.

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