[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 24 (Wednesday, February 24, 2010)]
[House]
[Pages H795-H796]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
RECOGNIZING KANSAS STATE UNIVERSITY'S PROUD CAMPAIGN
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the
gentleman from Kansas (Mr. Moran) is recognized for 5 minutes.
Mr. MORAN of Kansas. Mr. Speaker, I rise this evening to recognize
Kansas State University's Proud campaign. K-State Proud was founded in
the fall of 2006 as an effort for students to help other students. This
year's event will be celebrated this Saturday, February 27, during the
Missouri-Kansas State men's basketball game. This is a great concept
that reflects our Kansas values of family, community, and stewardship.
There are many people who take college experience for granted.
Leaving home to pursue an education is not a given for many families.
Certain amounts of financial, emotional, and spiritual support are
needed to ensure a student's success. Sometimes bad things happen and
students' families fall on hard times. And it's heartbreaking to see a
student's dreams and hard work jeopardized by events beyond their
control.
The K-State Proud campaign was started in an effort to keep these
struggling students in school. It was started by students, for
students. Students continue to organize, plan, and execute K-State
Proud's activities. This year's co-chairs are Anna Zeiger, Reed
Pankratz, and Robert Swift. That is what makes this effort so unique.
There are no benefactors or trust funds paying an annuity that funds
the tuition or living expenses for a struggling student. This program
allows these kids to collect money from their peers and to distribute
to those most in need. As a society, we should take a step back and
look at what K-State Proud has accomplished. They have had a genuine
compassion for complete strangers. They do more than pay lip service to
the concept of charity. They put their money where their mouth is.
For a $10 donation, the donor receives a K-State Proud t-shirt to be
worn for the designated K-State basketball game. Special thanks should
be
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given to GTM for donating the t-shirts and Cox Communications for their
generous support. A quarter of a million dollars raised by K-State
Proud over the course of 3-plus years emphasizes the enormous impact
this campaign has had on K-State's student body. The results are real
and undeniable.
K-State Proud allowed a student whose hometown of Greensburg, Kansas,
which was destroyed by a tornado, to stay in school despite the
enormous loss of life and property. K-State Proud provided support to a
cancer survivor that would otherwise have had a difficult time
completing a college degree. K-State Proud provides these financial
awards while also providing the recipients with an emotional boost to
overcome their struggles. Money is a necessity, but knowing that
someone recognizes your pain and is there to support you is very
powerful as well. This sense of community, that we're all in this
together, has made K-State Proud a huge success. Some people worry
about the future of our country. When I see the K-State Proud movement
at work, I realize that there is a new crop of compassionate,
principled leaders preparing themselves to better our State and our
Nation.
K-State Proud has become a model for other universities searching for
a way to unite their student bodies and communities. People familiar
with K-State know how special this university is. It is only fitting
that the rest of this country learns how special it is as well. I urge
you to tune in to the basketball game this Saturday and witness this
student body's commitment to each other.
I have used the word ``proud'' many times in these remarks. I'm the
proud father of two current K-State students. I'm proud to be
associated with such great ambassadors for our State. And I'm proud to
be a Kansan. In this case I'm proud to be a K-State Kansan.
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