[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 1 (Monday, January 24, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Page S43]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    HONORING BROTHER RONALD GIANNONE

 Mr. BIDEN. Mr. President, I rise today to salute a true 
champion of humanity. A man whose whole life has been a gift of service 
without material reward. A man whose work has as much meaning for the 
poor and disenfranchised in Sudan as it does for the poor and 
disenfranchised in his Wilmington community. A man whose faith in the 
human spirit abounds. A man that I proudly call my friend, the 
Executive Director of Delaware's Ministry of Caring, Brother Ronald 
Giannone.
  This week, business and community leaders and hundreds of Brother 
Ronald's closest friends from across the State of Delaware will gather 
to celebrate his fiftieth birthday. This Golden Birthday bash 
principally is to thank him fifty-times over for his countless years of 
service to our community. We will salute him because of who Brother 
Ronald is, what he represents and how much he means to improving the 
quality of life in my home State.
  Let me be specific. Brother Ronald is the kind of guy who when asked 
by a man or a woman down on his or her luck, ``Can you spare a dime?'' 
responds with a meal, a place to stay and a rigorous routine of 
training and education to help keep that man or woman from the throes 
of homelessness and despair. He is hope to the hopeless, an oasis of 
strength and inspiration for all those who benefit from his generosity.
  For these reasons, Brother Ronald is a true Delaware treasure, but 
still there is so much more. Brother Ronald is an exemplary 
administrator. There is, quite simply, no other organization like his 
Ministry of Caring. His 32 full-time facilities address every need of 
an individual or family who finds themselves homeless, destitute and/or 
in transition. He clothes, he shelters, he feeds, he takes care of 
children, he helps develop skills, he finds jobs, he provides medical 
care, he cares. He teaches those who need his assistance all the things 
they must do to be self-sufficient. And for those who seek to provide 
real change, he exemplifies just what it takes to make real differences 
in one life.
  Still, it does not stop there. Brother Ronald understands that while 
he feeds someone in the Emmanuel Dining Room, someone else is starving 
in Sudan. Consequently, his work and Ministry extend far beyond 
American borders and into the lives of people throughout the world. Few 
people could have such grand vision and still focus so directly on 
those suffering in their own hometown. Such is the case with Brother 
Ronald.
  Though I could say much more about this outstanding American, I will 
add only this. In the words of my hero, my dad, Joseph R. Biden, Sr., 
``it is a lucky man that wakes up each morning, puts his feet on the 
floor, goes to work and believes that it matters.'' Even luckier is the 
man that does these things, and inspires everyone around him to believe 
the same. Happy 50th Birthday, Brother Ronald.

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