[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 94 (Wednesday, July 15, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1312]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


            HONORING LAKESIDE FAMILY AND CHILDREN'S SERVICES

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. BENJAMIN A. GILMAN

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, July 15, 1998

  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the Lakeside Family 
and Children's Services on their Seventy-fifth Anniversary. Lakeside 
Family and Children's Services has been a shining example of what a 
community together can accomplish and what effect the selfless service 
of individuals can have on children.
  On October 1, 1998 Lakeside Family and Children's Services will 
celebrate this special anniversary. The Gala Dinner will be held at the 
New York Hilton Hotel and Towers, and will celebrate the ``Jewels of 
Lakeside,'' the children and the families that it serves.
  Three individuals deserve special recognition for the care and love 
they have shown as foster parents. Rufina Rodriguez, Felix and Ingrid 
Simeon have each provided warm loving homes to children and are being 
honored by Lakeside for the tremendous service that they have 
performed. Nothing can be more difficult than to open your life to a 
child and act as a parent for a short time. Giving your entire heart to 
the child, who in many cases has gone without the love of a parent for 
far too long, is one of the most trying experiences an individual can 
face. Rufina, Felix and Ingrid must be commended for their 
accomplishment, and for the love that they have given to such deserving 
children.
  Seventy-five years is a very long time for an organization to 
maintain a high quality service, yet Lakeside Family & Children's 
Services has accomplished just that. Lakeside was a beacon of light to 
countless children during the darkest hours of the Depression, a home 
to children while the world was torn by war, and a launching pad for 
children today as they reach the 21st century.
  When Lakeside first began in 1923 it was an orphanage, providing a 
home to children who had lost their parents and had no family to turn 
to. Orphanages played a very important role in that era as many 
children were left by parents who had to search for work and eke out an 
existence during one of the darkest times in our nation's history.
  Today Lakeside Family and Children's Services provides so much more. 
Lakeside matches children to foster parents so that a child can have 
the feeling of a real home. For many fortunate children Lakeside 
is able to find adoptive parents who take a child in as their own. 
Lakeside also provides adolescents with group homes and greater chances 
for independent living. As Lakeside has grown, so have the options 
available to the children it serves.

  Lakeside has also become an active service to children with 
disabilities. Today, Lakeside offers residential alternatives for 
mentally retarded and developmentally disabled children. This specific 
service shows how the role Lakeside has undertaken has grown over 75 
years. Lakeside Family and Children's Services has adapted to the 
community as our needs change. Today it is as critical to the youths in 
our community as it was 75 years ago.
  Lakeside Family and Children's Services must be commended for the 
superb job that it has done for our society. Life has changed in many 
ways over the last 75 years, but one thing has remained constant, the 
need for caring individuals. Our children are the most vulnerable to 
the dangers of our society, and are in critical need of the services 
provided by Lakeside and organizations like it throughout our nation.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to join in honoring Lakeside 
Family and Children's Services and foster parent honorees Rufina 
Rodriguez, Felix and Ingrid Simeon. We should encourage more 
individuals to be like them and to help extraordinary organizations 
like Lakeside.

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