[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 131 (Wednesday, September 16, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2291]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    ANNIVERSARY OF FOCUS ON RENEWAL

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. MICHAEL F. DOYLE

                            of pennsylvania

                    in the house of representatives

                     Wednesday, September 16, 2009

  Mr. DOYLE. Madam Speaker, I rise to observe the 40th anniversary of 
Focus On Renewal, a community service organization serving the 
municipalities of Stowe Township and McKees Rocks in Pennsylvania's 
14th Congressional District.
  Forty years ago, Father Don Fisher and Sister Paulette Honeygosky 
laid the foundation for Focus On Renewal. Together, they envisioned an 
organization made up of individuals who believed that every person must 
be treated with dignity.
  In 1975, Father Regis Ryan assumed the leadership at Focus On 
Renewal. He was amazed by all the service activities that had been 
initiated during the first six years of Focus On Renewal. For instance, 
a pediatric health center had opened in the basement of a storefront at 
610 Chartiers Avenue. Within that small facility, lunch was served five 
days a week; a dental hygienist provided preventive oral care; books 
were acquired and distributed as a rudimentary library was forming; 
crisis care needs were addressed on a daily basis; community meetings 
were called; and one simple, donated van was used to transport elderly 
folks to medical appointments.
  Initially, Father Ryan believed he would remain only a few years, but 
everyone is glad that didn't happen. Instead, he has become known in 
the Sto-Rox community as a loving, generous and respectful leader.
  What started as a small storefront serving the social service and 
health needs of the community has become a major non-profit agency. 
Today, Focus On Renewal operates more than a dozen programs from 
various sites throughout Allegheny County, providing comprehensive 
health services, early childhood and adult education programs, 
transportation services, a library, an arts center, a credit union, 
employment and training classes, and a broad range of social services.
  Countless members of staff, boards, administration and volunteers 
have spent the last 40 years creating and fostering the community of 
care into which Focus On Renewal has evolved. Beyond the many human 
services, which have touched thousands of lives, Focus On Renewal has 
offered employment to hundreds of men and women, some of whom have 
served for more than 30 years.
  Focus On Renewal is like the weaving of a great patchwork quilt, bits 
and pieces old and new, held together with common threads, worked by 
many hands, bordered with love, and blanketing the community with its 
warmth.
  I want to thank Father Ryan and everyone at Focus On Renewal for the 
important services they have provided the Sto-Rox community over the 
last 40 years and wish them well as they continue to serve this 
community in the same exemplary fashion in the coming years.

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