[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 145 (Tuesday, October 13, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2131]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         A TRIBUTE TO H.E.R.O.

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                          HON. ROBERT A. BRADY

                            of pennsylvania

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, October 13, 1998

  Mr. BRADY of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor H.E.R.O., the 
Philadelphia based non-profit organization which endeavored, and 
succeeded, to make a positive change in our local community. Their 
motto, which is ``Helping to Energize and Rebuild Ourselves'', has 
become a prophecy fulfilled. They have served a dual role since their 
inception, gathering teens off the street to participate in positive 
events, while also helping to ease the pain of those who have suffered 
great loss.
  H.E.R.O. came into the spotlight about two years ago after the 
Philadelphia community was emotionally torn over the grueling murder of 
Aimee Willard, a 22 year old star athlete who was killed after leaving 
a bar in Wayne, PA. In an effort supervised by Dorris Phillips, the 
assistant director of H.E.R.O., the organization transformed the site 
of where Aimee's body was found. Instead of allowing this site to 
remain a source of angst in the community, these volunteers decided to 
turn it into a source of pride.
  They have put in an astounding effort to create a memorial for Aimee. 
Today, the place where Willard was found is marked by two plastic 
covered photos of her and a two-foot cross draped with a graduation 
tassel and rosary, set amid fifteen flower pots. Finding lots of help 
from neighbors, unions, and various city agencies, H.E.R.O. has 
assisted in planting a garden, building picnic tables and gazebos, and 
painting a mural of Aimee which was presented to the Willard family on 
September 13th of this year.
  These contributions cannot go unnoticed. In the wake of tragedy, 
H.E.R.O. has emerged as an organization that is predicated on positive 
change in the Philadelphia community. Their success in changing the 
perceptions of the local youth are typified in the comments of one of 
its youth volunteers, Eugena Humphrey. As Humphrey stated in an article 
for the Philadelphia Inquirer, ``People always talk bad about it; I 
know I sometimes do. Maybe if you make one change, other changes will 
develop.'' With organizations like H.E.R.O. around, positive change 
does not remain an intangible dream, but is rather allowed to become a 
reality. For this, the City of Philadelphia owes its sincerest thanks.

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