[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 38 (Thursday, March 30, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E477]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     IN TRIBUTE TO LORRAINE CARTER

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. GWEN MOORE

                              of wisconsin

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 30, 2006

  Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize a 
compassionate leader and true visionary from the Fourth Congressional 
District, Lorraine Carter. For over 35 years, Mrs. Carter has operated 
the VE Carter Child Development Center, and has served as forceful 
advocate for low-income children and their families.
  Mrs. Carter came to Milwaukee from Nebraska in 1958, and worked as a 
special-education teacher before starting the VE Carter Child 
Development Center. Inspired by her own upbringing, she strove to 
provide a loving, stable and supportive environment for the young 
children she encountered in Milwaukee. VE Carter Child Development 
Center, one of the first childcare centers owned and operated by an 
African-American woman in Milwaukee, has grown into a city institution, 
with five centers that serve almost 500 children and employ over 150 
workers.
  Mrs. Carter advocated for quality childcare for low-income children 
long before its connection to lifelong success was widely acknowledged. 
Her work with children has taken her deeply into the lives of the 
families she serves. She has a passion for working with single mothers, 
helping them develop stable home lives for their children and assisting 
them in identifying and overcoming obstacles to their own success. In 
addition to VE Carter Child Development Center, she also operates a 
social service agency that serves nonviolent offenders--many of them 
parents--assisting them with finding employment and supporting their 
families and communities.
  Mrs. Carter's leadership extends throughout the State, not only as an 
accomplished and articulate childcare advocate, but also as an advocate 
of education more generally. She has served on the board of the 
Wisconsin Technical College System, working to ensure that education 
and skills development continue to be accessible to low-income parents, 
helping them move out of poverty and create a better life for their 
children.
  Mr. Speaker, for all these reasons and many more, I am honored to 
have this opportunity to pay tribute to Mrs. Carter's numerous and 
profound contributions to the Fourth Congressional District. I thank 
her for her love of children, her commitment to their families, and her 
visionary leadership in Milwaukee.

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