[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 120 (Wednesday, September 29, 2004)]
[House]
[Pages H7802-H7804]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               COMMENDING FESTIVAL OF CHILDREN FOUNDATION

  Mr. OSBORNE. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to 
the resolution (H. Res. 759) commending the Festival of Children 
Foundation for its outstanding efforts on behalf of children and 
expressing the support of the House of Representatives for the 
designation of a ``Child Awareness Month,'' as amended.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                              H. Res. 759

       Whereas children represent the Nation's future and numerous 
     individuals and organizations across the United States devote 
     precious time, energy, and resources to enrich that future by 
     helping children advance their hopes and dreams and to 
     realize their aspirations;
       Whereas it is in the public interest to increase awareness 
     of children's special needs and the demonstrably effective 
     efforts of those making a real difference in children's 
     lives, which in turn and over time will serve to strengthen 
     the social fabric of our country;
       Whereas the Festival of Children Foundation has been 
     established in southern California (1) to showcase those non-
     profit groups performing exemplary works, so that they may 
     through increased exposure secure and sustain the volunteer, 
     leadership, and financial support necessary to be successful, 
     (2) to provide a free resource to such groups so that they 
     might more easily leverage scarce resources through creative, 
     collaborative efforts to serve their shared constituencies 
     for the betterment of the community at large, and (3) to 
     provide a free and effective platform to facilitate such 
     groups sharing lessons learned in bringing a results 
     orientation to community mobilization, strategic planning, 
     and overall best practices;
       Whereas during the last two years more than 100 non-profit 
     groups in southern California have benefited enormously from 
     exposure they could not otherwise have received but for the 
     Festival of Children Foundation, principally through programs 
     and activities at partner organizations such as retail, 
     commercial, and cultural centers;
       Whereas September is a time, as children return to school, 
     that families and the Nation as a whole are especially 
     mindful of children and their special needs and 
     opportunities; and
       Whereas in September 2004 the Festival of Children 
     Foundation, working with its partners, has invited 50 
     agencies and organizations that serve children throughout 
     southern California to have a month of high profile exhibits 
     along with another 50 such groups to participate in other 
     programs and activities as part the Foundation's ongoing 
     mission: Now, therefore, be it--
       Resolved,  That the House of Representatives commends the 
     Festival of Children Foundation of southern California--
       (1) for its outstanding efforts on behalf of children; and
       (2) for the difference that it is making in the communities 
     in which it is active and in the lives of children.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Nebraska (Mr. Osborne) and the gentlewoman from California (Ms. 
Woolsey) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Osborne).


                             General Leave

  Mr. OSBORNE. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their 
remarks and include extraneous material on H. Res. 759.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Nebraska?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. OSBORNE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H. Res. 759 offered by the 
gentleman from California (Mr. Rohrabacher). This resolution honors the 
Festival of Children Foundation for its outstanding efforts on behalf 
of children.
  Children represent the Nation's future, and numerous individuals and 
organizations across the United States devote precious time, energy and 
resources to enrich that future by helping children advance their hopes 
and dreams and to realize their aspirations.
  The Festival of Children Foundation is one such organization that has 
experienced overwhelming success serving the needs of children in the 
Orange County community. Through collaboration with numerous charities, 
the foundation seeks to improve the lives of children and families 
living in the community by fostering education, community involvement 
and the arts. Instead of operating independently, charities are able to 
pool both their resources and ideas to better serve the children and 
families of southern California.
  The Festival of Children Foundation expands the reach of the 
nonprofits in their community, and their efforts on behalf of children 
should be emulated. I would like to take this opportunity to commend 
their work on behalf of children and also their efforts to increase 
awareness of children's special needs.
  I thank my colleague from California for introducing this resolution 
and urge my colleagues to support it.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. WOOLSEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself as much time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, Walt Disney once said that ``our greatest natural 
resource is the minds of our children.''
  Today, we honor the Festival of Children Foundation, an organization 
that improves the lives of children and families in Orange County, 
California, by collaborating with local children's charities to promote 
education, community involvement and the arts.
  In the last 2 years, more than 100 nonprofit groups in southern 
California have benefited enormously from the exposure, partnership and 
assistance of the Festival of Children Foundation. In particular, the 
foundation has declared September 2004 as a month to ``Celebrate the 
Magic of Childhood.'' It is working with 52 agencies and organizations 
to serve the children of southern California with high-profile exhibits 
to continue with the foundation's mission.
  I would like to congratulate the foundation on its excellent work to 
strengthen their community and to benefit the lives of children, and I 
would like to thank the gentleman from California (Mr. Rohrabacher) for 
introducing this meaningful legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. OSBORNE. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the 
gentleman from California (Mr. Rohrabacher).
  Mr. ROHRABACHER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman very much for the 
time.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support for my own bill, H. Res. 759 
commending the Festival of Children. Millions of good-hearted American 
volunteers donate their time, their talent and their personal treasure 
to help lost and needy children, but no matter how noble the cause, 
these wonderful charities and their volunteers must struggle just to 
let the community know

[[Page H7803]]

what is available to those who are in need. Clearly, children's 
charities struggle to find private sources of money to sustain their 
benevolent programs.
  Mr. Speaker, in Orange County, California, we are trying to do our 
best to do the best. Our needy children are put in this spotlight by a 
month-long event dedicated to assist organizations that are working 
with deprived and neglected children.
  The Festival of Children Foundation hosts the activities of Child 
Awareness Month at South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa, California, which 
is part of my district.

                              {time}  1800

  South Coast Plaza is a premier commercial and shopping location; yet 
with generosity and kindness, this center also becomes a center of love 
and caring for children.
  There, among the upper crust and upper level stores and shops, you 
will find new ways during this month of helping children and helping 
those organizations that are designed to help children. Each year, 
during the month of September, scores of charities, like the Make-a-
Wish Foundation and the Blind Children's Learning Center, are given 
tremendous support to come together under one roof, and not just one 
roof but under the roof of one of California's most visited shopping 
centers, to reach out to tens of thousands of families and then make a 
difference in the lives of multitudes of children.
  Too often in our communities many families have not even been aware 
that certain charities exist; and at the same time, there are many who 
are willing to volunteer their energy and their resources to help these 
charities, yet they do not know these charities even exist. In the 
meantime, we see there are charities that spend much of their scarce 
resources that should be going directly to the children to overcome 
this gulf that separates them from both the donors and the needy.
  Well, I take this problem very seriously, and I take caring for the 
children very seriously. I always have, but that has been brought home 
to me in a very special way, because yesterday marked the 5-month 
anniversary of the birth of my three children, my triplets, Amika, 
Christian, and Trestin. These are lovely little babies, but it 
certainly has impressed upon me that we need to care for all the 
babies. We need to make sure that all the children of this world can 
reach their potential and have a happy life.
  And so I applaud those individuals who are engaged in this noble, 
noble effort. I especially applaud the individual initiative of Sandy 
Segerstrom Daniels, the founder of the Festival of Children. She took 
the initiative to form a private nonprofit organization bringing all of 
Orange County's children's charities together. She enlisted nationally 
known celebrities, like Arnold Schwarzenegger, Olivia Newton-John and 
Pat Riley, and others to boost the participation in the children's 
charities at the Festival of Children.
  The effort has paid off. Hundreds of charities and thousands of 
families now look forward to the month of September when they can 
gather at the Festival of Children, there at the South Coast Plaza. I 
am pleased to see this example of a private initiative for a public 
charity is catching on and that the Festival of Children is expending 
into other States.
  So with this pride in the accomplishment and the benevolence and the 
good hearts of some of my constituents, I ask my colleagues to join me 
in congratulating the Festival of Children.
  Ms. WOOLSEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to the 
gentlewoman from California (Ms. Loretta Sanchez).
  Ms. LORETTA SANCHEZ of California. Mr. Speaker, I thank the 
gentlewoman from California (Ms. Woolsey), and I rise today in strong 
support of H. Res. 759, a bill that recognizes and commends the 
important work of the Festival of Children Foundation.
  The Festival of Children Foundation is an umbrella organization that 
helps foster collaboration between children's charities in the areas of 
education, community involvement, and arts appreciation. I want to 
acknowledge Sandy Segerstrom Daniels, who is here with us today, for 
her work with respect to this festival.
  We in Congress need to increase the public awareness of children's 
special needs and to recognize our local organizations who lead the way 
in providing the services in a very local way, in a very humane way, in 
a very loving way in our own districts, particularly through private 
and voluntary efforts. That is why I am a cosponsor of this bill with 
my friend and colleague, the gentleman from California (Mr. 
Rohrabacher), and why I would urge my colleagues to support and to vote 
for this.
  Through its extensive network of community organizations, the 
Festival of Children Foundation offers resources, such as training and 
workshops, operation and technical support, and planning for 
conferences and special events to over 100 organizations. The highlight 
of all these activities is the Festival of Children, a month-long 
celebration of children, featuring the work of local children's 
charities.
  Just last year, over 55 children's organizations from Orange County, 
as well as a select group from Los Angeles County, gathered at the 
South Coast Plaza retail center in Costa Mesa, California, for 
exhibits, for lectures, presentations, and lots of entertainment. The 
event was cosponsored by South Coast Plaza, and again I thank the 
Segerstrom family and Children's Hospital of Orange County, which 
actually sits in my district, and featured groups such as Elizabeth 
Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, Juvenile Diabetes Research 
Foundation, Make-a-Wish Foundation, Special Olympics, and the list goes 
on and on of all the people who participated to help our special kids 
in Orange County.
  Over one million people visited South Coast Plaza during the 
festival. Not only did we have the festival going on, but of course 
there is great shopping there too; and we are very proud of that in 
Orange County. But the charities really reaped the rewards of this 
great opportunity because they were able to market themselves to our 
community. I, for example, have a young adult student organization that 
is a task force from all the high schools in my area, and they 
participate in trying to get their young people to these volunteer 
organizations because they have time on their hands. They just need to 
know the information. This is a great way when we hold this at South 
Coast Plaza.
  In addition, all the programs that were presented that day were free 
to the public. The Orange County Board of Supervisors and the 
California legislature have already commended officially the Festival 
of Children and even recognized the month of September as Child 
Awareness Month.
  I join my colleagues here today in recognizing the Festival of 
Children as a model for organizing communities to provide for the needs 
of their children.
  Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, Walt Disney once said that ``Our 
greatest natural resource is the minds of our children.'' Today we 
honor the Festival of Children Foundation, an organization with the 
specific purpose to improve the lives of children and families 
throughout Orange County, California by fostering education, community 
involvement, and the arts by collaborating with local children's 
charities.
  Through their hard work and efforts, the Festival of Children 
Foundation has been able to showcase the work of non-profit groups as a 
way to increase exposure and sustain volunteer, leadership and 
financial support for these groups. The Foundation, being an umbrella 
organization, has made it possible to serve as a free recourse to these 
groups by encouraging collaborative efforts to serve the community as 
well as a place for groups to share ideas and lessons on community 
mobilization, planning and overall best practices. In the last two 
years, over 100 non-profit groups in southern California have benefited 
enormously from the exposure, partnership and assistance from the 
Festival of Children Foundation.
  As another way to truly reach out and assist children, the Festival 
of Children Foundation had declared September 2004 as a month to 
``Celebrate the Magic of Childhood,'' working with 52 agencies and 
organizations to serve the children of southern California with high 
profile exhibits to continue with the Foundation's mission.
  I would like to congratulate the Foundation on their excellent work 
and assisting to strengthen their community--most importantly, their 
efforts to benefit the lives of children.
  Mr. BOEHNER. Mr. Speaker, I rise as Chairman of the Education and 
Workforce Committee to add my voice to my voice to my distinguished 
California colleagues in paying tribute to the Festival of Children 
Foundation.

[[Page H7804]]

  I believe the exceptional contributions and services of the Festival 
Foundation--both to the community and to the State of California--
deserves national recognition. The Festival is a good example of 
private, non-profit groups and charities coming together to serve the 
public interest--in this case for the benefit of children. Mr. Speaker, 
the Education committee is always looking for children's programs that 
are creative, voluntary and community based. Helping our young people--
whether it be in the area of children's education, health care, 
personal development or special needs--should be our highest calling.
  This month-long Festival will bring together over 50 private, 
charitable organizations all under one roof. The goal is to improve 
collaboration, provide free resources and offer a forum for issues 
ranging from children's health care to the arts. It has become an 
invaluable resource for children's charities in Orange County, 
California.
  I commend Sandy Segerstrom Daniels for her leadership in founding the 
Festival and the Foundation. It is truly a model for other communities 
in our country to follow.
  Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Speaker, I strongly support this Resolution and to 
recognize the Festival of Children Foundation for its valuable service 
to the Orange County and Southern California communities.
  As my colleagues said, the Foundation is an umbrella group with the 
specific purpose to improve the lives of children and families. Sandy 
Segerstrom Daniels, the founder, has had the vision and commitment to 
create the Festival and the ability to bring together people and 
organizations devoted to children's issues.
  Groups involved in the fields of health, education and the arts all 
collaborate in the Festival. Lectures, exhibits and information booths 
at South Coast Plaza take place for the entire month of September. I 
credit the Festival for increasing public awareness of children's 
issues and for providing opportunities for the public and non-profit 
organizations to donate their time and resources. I am told that over 
two million visitors have seen the Festival's exhibits in the past.
  Because of the success of the Festival, the California State Assembly 
and the Orange County Board of Supervisors have taken official actions 
commending the Festival. I believe it is now fitting and timely for the 
U.S. Congress to also recognize the Festival of Children by this 
Resolution.
  I encourage all my colleagues to support the Resolution and thank my 
colleague Dana Rohrabacher for presenting the Resolution.
  Mr. OSBORNE. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  Ms. WOOLSEY. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Bonner). The question is on the motion 
offered by the gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Osborne) that the House 
suspend the rules and agree to the resolution, H. Res. 759, as amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor 
thereof) the rules were suspended and the resolution, as amended, was 
agreed to.
  The title was amended so as to read: ``A resolution commending the 
Festival of Children Foundation for its outstanding efforts on behalf 
of children''.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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