[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 100 (Tuesday, July 9, 1996)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1222]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    IN RECOGNITION OF VICTOR BACELIS

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. FORTNEY PETE STARK

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, July 9, 1996

  Mr. STARK. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Mr. Victor 
Bacelis on the receipt of the Jefferson Public Service Award, which he 
received on Wednesday, June 19, 1996. The Jefferson Award was founded 
in 1972 by Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and Senator Robert Taft, Jr., and 
is presented each year by the American Institute for Public Service as 
part of a celebration of service to America. Mr. Bacelis is a model 
constituent who received this award as the result of a selfless act 
which helped a fellow Californian.
  Victor's native Mexican village in the Yucatan Peninsula was so poor 
there were no schools. His family never had much in the way of material 
luxuries, but was rich in the values of hard work, generosity, and 
kindness. He was working between 96 and 100 hours a week at three 
different jobs to support himself and those he cared about. He was 
mopping the floor in a Fremont McDonalds when he found $600 on the 
floor. Most people would have kept it and told no one. After all, it 
was cash, and certainly would have tempted even the most honest person. 
But Victor did as the law instructed; he reported it. The money 
remained unclaimed. Victor then made a decision that very few people 
would make. Even though he was saving to buy a house, he gave the money 
to charity.
  A local family had recently made a public plea for help. Adrian 
Sandoval, a 22-month-old boy, needed a bone marrow transplant, and his 
parents could not afford the procedure. Victor was touched by the story 
of this family, which had already lost one young child to the same rare 
genetic disease. Mr. Bacelis contributed the cash he had discovered and 
in doing so, saved a young and innocent life. He says, and I quote, ``I 
couldn't accept what was happening at the time. I would have traded 
places with that baby, but that's impossible and I had to be a realist 
and take another form of action. * * * It was not my intention to be 
recognized as a `hero,' I just wanted to help. It's part of my 
obligation as a human to help others.''
  His involvement in the Sandovals' lives did not end with the $600 
contribution. He makes an effort to support transplant patients by 
recruiting potential bone marrow donors for other children. He 
volunteers his time to the San Francisco-based Latino Marrow Donor 
Program. And even as public recognition of his efforts grows, he 
continues to decline any personal gain. He has been offered money 
awards, a full scholarship and housing at Stanford University, and even 
a job with the San Francisco 49'ers, but none of these offers 
interested him. Instead, he wants everyone who finds value in his 
actions to become registered donors.
  Mr. Speaker, Victor Bacelis has found a cause in which he believes. 
Through a simple twist of fate, he has taken the opportunity to touch 
the lives of others more needy than himself. His story restores and 
reinforces faith in the integrity of the American people. Mr. Speaker, 
I ask that you and my colleagues join me in recognizing Victor Bacelis 
for his magnanimous contribution to the lives of transplant patients. I 
wish him much success in all his future endeavors.

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