[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 92 (Wednesday, July 7, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1299]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               CONGRATULATIONS TO BROOKE AND MIKE MAROTH

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. JO ANN EMERSON

                              of missouri

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, July 6, 2004

  Mrs. EMERSON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Brooke and 
Mike Maroth--the recipients of the 2004 Bill Emerson Good Samaritan 
Award. Mr. and Mrs. Maroth have provided food aid to thousands of the 
nation's less fortunate. By greatly expanding the Rock and Wrap it Up! 
program, they are feeding the hungry in Detroit and around the nation.
  Mr. and Mrs. Maroth's innovation came at Mike's workplace--he has 
been a pitcher for the Detroit Tigers since 2002. After games at 
Comerica Park, leftover food would simply be thrown away. Brooke and 
Mike connected their effort to distribute that food with Rock and Wrap 
It Up--a program which donated leftover food from concert events--and 
started a whole new facet of the mission. Sports Wrap was the new 
venture, using the leftover food recovered from the stadium and 
clubhouse at Comerica. They have fed over 5,000 people in the Detroit 
area since 2003.
  Programs are underway at other stadiums throughout the country. 
Because of the philanthropic vision of Mr. and Mrs. Maroth, their good 
work has been repeated in other major-league cities. That is the mark 
of great volunteers--that others repeat their example. This is truly 
the case with Mr. and Mrs. Maroth.
  This is the vision my husband Bill Emerson had for domestic food aid 
programs when he worked to pass the Good Samaritan Food Act protecting 
these donations from liability.
  Mr. and Mrs. Maroth have more than earned the Bill Emerson Good 
Samaritan Award. Bill's hopes for hunger relief in America were very 
high when he worked to make Rock and Wrap It Up! possible in 1990.
  Rock and Wrap It Up! is a volunteer hunger relief charity, which has 
fed over 20 million since its inception. With over 4,000 volunteers in 
500 cities across America, its dedicated supporters recover food in 
schools, colleges, music concerts, sporting events, and political and 
corporate functions. Rock and Wrap It Up! was adopted by resolution in 
2003 by the United States Conference of Mayors to teach its successful 
strategies to cities to fill America's food pipeline to feed the 
indigent.
  Brooke and Mike are a major reason the program continues to gain 
notoriety and grow. They are proof that our commitment to feed 
America's hungry can always use new initiative and better ideas. As 
long as there are men, women and children who need the helping hand of 
other Americans, others like Brooke and Mike Maroth have proven they 
will be there with a helping hand to offer.
  Thank you for your kind service to our nation, Mr. and Mrs. Maroth. 
Congratulations on earning the 2004 Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Award. 
Best of luck to both of you as you continue your noble work.

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