[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 43 (Wednesday, March 31, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E489]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


   IN HONOR OF MATTIE RHODES CELEBRATING 100 YEARS OF SERVICE IN 2004

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                          HON. KAREN McCARTHY

                              of missouri

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, March 31, 2004

  Ms. McCARTHY of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor an 
agency that has supported Kansas City area children, families and 
communities for 110 years. The Mattie Rhodes Center provides social 
services, mental health counseling and provides emerging artists a 
venue for their work.
  The center is named for Mattie Rhodes, a young woman who worked for 
the less fortunate with a group of Sunday school friends call the 
Little Gleaners. In 1890, at the age of 19 she died of typhoid fever. 
Mattie left $500 to be used for the benefit of children. The Little 
Gleaners honored her wish and founded the Mattie Rhodes Memorial 
Society in 1894 with this pledge: ``I promise to do all I can to help 
the needy and suffering by working for them, learning about them, 
giving for them, and trying to interest others in them.''
  That pledge made 110 years ago remains a reality today. The mission 
of the Mattie Rhodes Center is to ``strengthen children, families and 
community by providing social services, mental health counseling and 
art experiences in a bilingual, culturally sensitive environment.'' 
Mattie Rhodes offers services such as individual and family counseling, 
Hispanic mental health programs, job readiness and placement and 
educational experiences for children. More than 650 individuals and 
families access family services each year through the Mattie Rhodes 
Center. The majority are of Mexican descent and are recent immigrants 
who speak little or no English. Each year more than 1,700 children 
benefit from mentoring programs, youth support groups and arts 
education geared to youth from the suburbs and Kansas City's urban 
core. The Mattie Rhodes Art Center continues to be a place where 
children can have fun, learn about, appreciate and create art. In 1999, 
the Mattie Rhodes Center reached out to Hispanic artists and art 
patrons by establishing the Mattie Rhodes Art Gallery. It provides a 
unique experience for Latino artists to display their work, and for the 
community to view and appreciate. The exhibits educate children and the 
public about the importance of Latino arts in the West Side community 
and the greater metropolitan area.

  Area daycare centers, elementary and high schools, community 
organizations and individuals constitute the broad based sector reached 
by Mattie Rhodes Center programs. These groups include Garcia School, 
McCoy School, Northeast High School, Rose Brooks Domestic Violence 
Shelter, Hand-In-Hand and the Missouri Division of Family Services, 
Hispanic artists and patrons.
  Mr. Speaker, please join me in honoring the Mattie Rhodes Center in 
Kansas City, Missouri for its 110 years of outstanding service. I 
congratulate this excellent organization in conjunction with The Mattie 
Rhodes Art of the Mask Auction on April 3, 2004. The auction has grown 
from a children's art center project into a community celebration. This 
year's auction will be the twelfth in Mattie Rhodes Center's history. I 
am proud to have contributed by creating a clay mask for the event.
  Ms. Mattie Rhodes would have been proud of these accomplishments. 
Eleven decades after her wish, the Mattie Rhodes Center continues to 
care for those less fortunate by providing programs that help children 
and families become more self reliant, confident, creative and 
productive members of their communities. From the humble beginnings of 
a committed young girl's dying wish to her name sake agency that now 
serves thousands of Kansas Citians, the Mattie Rhodes Center is keeping 
her promise alive and making a dramatic difference in the lives of the 
less fortunate.

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