[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 91 (Thursday, June 17, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1136-E1137]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       HONORING KATHLEEN GARABED

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. GEORGE RADANOVICH

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, June 17, 2010

  Mr. RADANOVICH. Madam Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Kathleen 
Garabed upon her retirement as the founder and Executive Director of 
Stone Soup in Fresno, California after almost twenty years of dedicated 
service. Ms. Garabed will be honored on Saturday, June 19, 2010.
  In 1992, Ms. Garabed was working as a resettlement officer for Church 
World Service; the office was located in a foursquare block of Fresno 
that was notorious for high crime. One day, an eight year old Cambodian 
boy visited Wesley United Methodist Church where her office was located 
and placed a pistol on her desk. He told her he was supposed to shoot

[[Page E1137]]

someone to join a gang; he had come to her in search of help and hope. 
Ms. Garabed immediately jumped into action with faith and a vision for 
the community. Without a building, program or money, she started a 
summer program for children on the church lawn.
  Ms. Garabed worked tirelessly and continued to knock on doors that 
remained closed for many years. She was determined to gain support and 
cultivate good will for this young boy and many others like him. She 
found a few volunteers that were willing to share their time, skills 
and talent to replace their violent activities with role models and 
productive programs. Over the years, the original summer program grew 
into Stone Soup Fresno, a multi-million dollar community center, 
offering health services, education, cultural preservation and 
leadership development.
  Stone Soup Fresno, under Ms. Garabed's leadership, has impacted a 
number of lives. The literacy rate of almost one thousand children 
served by the organization has shown dramatic improvement, based on 
pre-post test scores from standardized tests. More than one hundred and 
twenty young leaders from the neighborhood have graduated from the 
Stone Soup's leadership program, increasing leadership in the 
community. There are two hundred new Hmong refugee families in the 
process of becoming new Americans who have participated in civic 
activities through Stone Soup. Ms. Garabed also helps to empower young 
Hmong women to become advocates in their community.
  Since the conception of Stone Soup Fresno, Ms. Garabed has been 
recognized for the exemplary work she does. The organization has 
received the ``Presidential Points of Light Award'', ``Distinguished 
Public Service Award'' from Delta Gamma Chi State chapter, the Fresno 
Police Department's ``Outstanding Citizen Award'', ``Temple Beth Israel 
Social Action Award'', ``Spirit Award'' from the Volunteer Bureau, and 
``Leadership Award'' from the Central California Forum on Refugee 
Affairs. HUD has recognized Stone Soup's stewardship as a ``Best 
Practice'' in developing the community center.
  Madam Speaker, I rise today to commend and congratulate Kathleen 
Garabed upon her dedicated service to, and retirement from, Stone Soup 
Fresno. I invite my colleagues to join me in wishing Ms. Garbed many 
years of continued success.

                          ____________________