[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 138 (Thursday, October 2, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1961]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              RECOGNIZING THE WORK OF THE CARON FOUNDATION

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                          HON. JOSEPH R. PITTS

                            of pennsylvania

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, October 2, 2003

  Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, the Caron Foundation is a not-for-profit 
organization whose mission is to provide an enlightened and caring 
treatment community in which all those affected by alcoholism or other 
drug addiction may begin a new life.
  The great work of this organization began when Richard J. Caron, an 
industrialist and recovering alcoholic from Reading, PA, and his wife 
Catherine, spent hours in their home ``chit chatting'' with people who 
came to them for help.
  Dick published a newsletter, which he called Chit Chat, to reach out 
to others who needed support and an encouraging word. In 1957, after 
years of opening their home to those needing a guiding hand in 
recovery, they established a halfway house. Before long, this too 
proved to be inadequate to accommodate the many individuals who sought 
their counsel.
  In 1959, the Carons purchased a historic resort hotel on South 
Mountain in Wernersville, PA, and opened Chit Chat Farms--a facility 
that has gained an international reputation for excellence as one of 
the first and foremost chemical dependency treatment centers in the 
United States.
  Now in its fifth decade of providing quality services, Caron offers a 
full spectrum of gender-specific chemical dependency treatment programs 
to meet the needs of everyone--from adolescents to seniors. Today, the 
Caron Foundation, rooted in the ``Chit Chat'' tradition, stands as a 
beacon of hope to individuals and families whose lives have become 
unmanageable because of chemical dependency.
  The Caron Foundation, one of the Nation's oldest and largest not-for-
profit chemical dependency treatment providers, is located in a serene 
mountain setting in Berks County, PA. The Foundation is nearing 
completion of a 4-year $16 million master campus improvement and 
renovation project. This facility will enable Caron Foundation to 
continue to serve thousands in need of help.
  On Sunday, October 19, 2003, the Foundation will host an official 
campus dedication ceremony, appropriately themed, A Celebration of 
Growth and Change. John Schwarzlose, President and CEO of the Betty 
Ford Center will be the keynote speaker; among the honored guests will 
be the well-known philanthropist, Mrs. Leonore Annenberg.
  This celebration will allow Caron's Board of Directors and leaders to 
recognize the many donors whose generosity and support made this 
project possible.
  It will also provide Caron with an opportunity to showcase the newly 
constructed buildings, as well as the beautifully restored historic 
buildings that have been part of Caron's history for more than 45 
years.
  It's time that we pay proper tribute to the people and organizations 
that make such a profound difference in the lives of people in 
desperate need to hope. The Caron Foundation has given so many the 
opportunities to make a new choice and start a new life.

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