[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 139 (Wednesday, September 30, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Pages S9978-S9979]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS

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              RECOGNIZING THE PARKS AND PEOPLE FOUNDATION

 Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, today I congratulate the Parks and 
People Foundation of Baltimore, which is celebrating its 25th 
anniversary. Community activist Sally Michel founded Parks and People 
in 1984. Since then, Parks and People has grown from Sally's kitchen 
counter to a planned, eco-friendly, LEED Platinum-certified 
headquarters.
  Today, Parks and People Foundation, under the leadership of Jackie 
Carrerra and the creative energy and advocacy

[[Page S9979]]

of Sally Michel, is working hard to make Baltimore green, to educate 
and enable our communities to get involved in that effort, and to make 
sure that our children grow up knowing about the importance of the 
environment and their role in protecting it, whether as a landscaper, 
arborist, scientist, a business owner, or homeowner.
  Parks and People also has become a leader in enriching the lives of 
Baltimore-area children. Its Kids Grow program provides afterschool 
environmental curriculum and instruction. SuperKids Camp has become a 
national model for summer learning, providing rising 2nd and 3rd 
graders in the public schools an opportunity to sharpen reading and 
math skills as well as experience the cultural and academic resources 
in the Baltimore area. Sports Leagues provide coaches, equipment, 
transportation, and referees for volleyball, lacrosse, soccer, and 
baseball teams in public middle schools without athletic programs. 
Participants are required to have good school attendance and grades.
  In the 1980s, when support for Baltimore's parks was waning due to 
budget cuts and lack of leadership, the Parks and People Foundation 
took up the challenge and worked to establish and financially support 
groups interested in maintaining and creating parks throughout the 
city. Partnership for Parks provides grants for projects ranging from 
garden bed improvement and planting to new fences and benches. 
Watershed 263 is an ambitious experiment to improve the quality of 
surface water runoff on 930 acres in 13 urban communities. Parks and 
People works with residents to reduce litter, clean streets, increase 
recycling, create community gardens, install storm water management 
facilities and clean and green vacant lots and plant trees. Improvement 
here will lead to a cleaner, healthier Chesapeake Bay and serve as a 
model for other urban watershed areas.
  I know the entire Senate will join me in congratulating the Parks and 
People Foundation on celebrating its 25th anniversary and in thanking 
the foundation for its work to improve the quality of life in Baltimore 
for future generations.

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