[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 67 (Monday, May 4, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Page S5064]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  HONORING THE NEW HAMPSHIRE STUDENT HONOREES IN THE 2009 PRUDENTIAL 
                       SPIRIT OF COMMUNITY AWARDS

 Mrs. SHAHEEN. Mr President, I would like to congratulate and 
honor two young New Hampshire students who have achieved national 
recognition for exemplary volunteer service in their communities. 
Edward Zaremba III of Hampstead and Colleen Slein of Salem have just 
been named State Honorees in the 2009 Prudential Spirit of Community 
Awards program, an annual honor conferred on only one high school 
student and one middle school student in each State.
  Mr. Zaremba was nominated by Pinkerton Academy for his work in 
cofounding a club at his school that promotes awareness and inclusion 
of students with developmental disabilities. The club sponsors social 
events throughout the year so that classmates with and without 
disabilities cannot only have fun together, but learn from each other 
as well.
  Ms. Slein was nominated by St. Joseph Regional Catholic School for 
her work raising money for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. She baked 
cookies and cupcakes every night for 2 months and sold them at school 
the next day, raising a total of $440 for this very worthy 
organization.
  It is important that we encourage and support the kind of selfless 
contributions these young people have made. People of all ages need to 
think more about how we, as individual citizens, can work together at 
the local level to ensure the health and vitality of our towns and 
neighborhoods. Young volunteers such as Mr. Zaremba and Ms. Slein are 
examples to all of us, and I commend them for their service.
  I would also like to congratulate two other young people in my State 
of New Hampshire who were named Distinguished Finalists by the 
Prudential Spirit of Community Awards for their outstanding volunteer 
service. Rachel Liff of Bedford prepared a handbook for Special 
Olympics athletes and volunteers, and Jane Stark of Merrimack raised 
money to purchase water filtration systems for people living in 
developing countries.
  All these young people have demonstrated a level of commitment and 
accomplishment that is encouraging in today's world, and they deserve 
our admiration and respect. Their initiative shows that young Americans 
can--and do--play important roles in their communities, and that 
America's community spirit continues to hold great promise for the 
future.

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