[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 2 (Wednesday, January 8, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E47]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        THE ARC OF LUZERNE COUNTY CELEBRATES 50 YEARS OF SERVICE

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                         HON. PAUL E. KANJORSKI

                            of pennsylvania

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, January 8, 2003

  Mr. KANJORSKI. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to call the attention of the 
House of Representatives to the service to the community of the Arc of 
Luzerne County, PA, which was founded in 1952 as the Wyoming Valley 
Council for the Mentally Retarded. The Arc will hold its 50th 
anniversary celebration on January 15, 2003.
  Like many nonprofit organizations, the Arc of Luzerne County started 
as a small group of parents trying to make a better life for their 
children. Today, the Arc has become an influential advocacy 
organization serving all people with mental retardation and related 
developmental disabilities and their families. The local organization 
also benefits from its affiliation with the state and national Arc.
  Among the many accomplishments of the Arc of Luzerne County is the 
Community Resource Center, which opened in July 2000 to serve people in 
six northeastern Pennyslvania counties. Since opening, the center has 
provided a creative arts program and other community integration 
activities, as well as up-to-date information and a place for the 
people it serves to meet with each other and with caregivers and 
service providers.
  The Arc of Luzerne County also has a long history of working to 
improve the support services offered to children and adults with mental 
retardation and related developmental disabilities. In addition, the 
organization provides representative payee services and independent 
monitoring teams that assess the quality of residential facilities.
  Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to call to the attention of the House of 
Representatives the half-century of service to the community of the Arc 
of Luzerne County, and I commend its members for their hard work and 
dedication.

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