[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 15 (Monday, January 26, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E136]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           IN HONOR OF THE GABILAN CHAPTER OF KINSHIP CENTER

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. SAM FARR

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Monday, January 26, 2009

  Mr. FARR. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the Gabilan Chapter of 
Kinship Center for their fifty-three years of service dedicated to 
children in need of foster and adoptive families. On behalf of the 
whole House, I am honored to extend to the Gabilan Chapter of Kinship 
Center the gratitude of the Congress and the American people for their 
past and future service.
  San Benito County, in Central California, is a region of rich farm 
and ranch land that has generously served the families of the area for 
generations. But perhaps the most valuable resource of that community 
is the people themselves, as represented by the women of the Gabilan 
Chapter of Kinship Center. For fifty-three years, this group of 
philanthropically-minded women has raised critically needed funds to 
help the most needy and at-risk children in the county--the neglected, 
abused and abandoned children who need a safe, permanent home through 
foster care and adoption.
  In 1989, the Gabilan Chapter partnered with the Monterey County based 
Kinship Center which shared their mission to create permanent homes for 
the area's most vulnerable children. Through this twenty-year 
partnership, the Gabilan Chapter women have continued to dedicate 
themselves to their mission as the Gabilan Chapter of Kinship Center. 
Each year, funds raised by the Gabilan Chapter support vital services 
to children in transition and new families struggling to meet the needs 
of children in their care. Kinship Center celebrates its twenty-fifth 
anniversary this year--success due in no small way to the steadfast 
support of the Gabilan Chapter.
  Each year the dedicated Gabilan Chapter volunteers organize one of 
the oldest wine tasting festivals in California, as well as a historic 
home tour. They sell cookbooks, aprons and hand crocheted quilts. They 
award an annual post-secondary scholarship to a local student from a 
foster, adoptive or group home. Their efforts are a year-round 
operation run with professional effectiveness by women who also have 
full-time careers managing businesses, ranches, farms, vineyards and 
households.
  The women of Gabilan are more than a group of hardworking volunteers. 
They represent the best of our Nation. They are an icon of the American 
spirit of caring and hard work forged by the pioneers who settled this 
land. After three generations, they have created a tradition of active 
philanthropy that is an institution in their community.
  Madam Speaker, in closing, I want to hold up the Gabilan Chapter of 
Kinship Center as a model of public service, an expression of what 
makes our Nation a worldwide leader in strong and compassionate 
philanthropy. May their continued success inspire many more generations 
to become involved in their communities here at home and throughout the 
world.

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