[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 96 (Thursday, June 24, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1209]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    COMMENDING KATHY DIXON AND RECOGNIZING THE IMPORTANCE OF FOSTER 
                               CAREGIVERS

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                         HON. ALCEE L. HASTINGS

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, June 24, 2010

  Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Madam Speaker, I rise to commend the 
heartfelt commitment of Kathy Dixon and foster caregivers for their 
tireless, selfless efforts to transform the lives of children who need 
another chance in life. Foster parents like Kathy wrap the necessities 
of life in the warm heart of family, providing the opportunity for 
children and young adults to recover from their pasts and reclaim their 
lives. Foster caregivers remind us that the act of building a quality 
life for others is truly a remarkable and honorable achievement. All 
children deserve the best shot at life. Foster caregivers are those who 
have determined that the best shot does not end with heartbreak, but 
ends instead with the resolution to succeed.
  I received letters from two of Kathy Dixon's foster children, Tynequa 
and Tony Wardlow. Kathy represents the very best in foster parenting, a 
courageous woman who has devoted her heart and soul to caring for young 
children who needed someone to care for and nurture them. As Tynequa 
writes, ``She took me in when I had nowhere to go.'' Tony says that, 
``she is the one who picks me up when I fall.'' He writes that he 
prayed God would send him a mother who ``would hold on to me like 
someone with a big heart.'' God, he said, sent him Kathy, ``and so much 
more.'' Tynequa insists that Kathy has not only saved her life, but 
also has taught her ``to stand up for what I believe in, have faith in 
myself, be responsible and respectful, get my education, don't be fake, 
don't have low self-esteem, don't buy friendship, and most importantly, 
don't give up on hope.'' I cannot imagine a greater gift in this world 
than what Kathy has given to her children.
  I am pleased to work with many foster care organizations in my 
district in South Florida. Just recently I met with a group of foster 
youth--in their late teens and early twenties now--who came to 
Washington, DC as part of the Broward County Trip of a Lifetime, an 
annual effort to bring these young adults to our nation's capital to 
meet their congressional representatives and learn how our government 
works. I take enormous pride in the opportunity I had to sit down with 
these young men and women and hear their stories and hopes and dreams 
for the future. Several of these youth have children of their own now 
and are working hard to impart to their children the wisdom, love, and 
affection given to them by their foster families. And it is because of 
the support they had from their foster families that these youth now 
dream of becoming engineers, entrepreneurs, social workers, nurses, and 
much else. In South Florida, organizations like Forever Family have 
proved enormously successful at changing lives, finding stable homes 
for children and young adults in need, and setting hundreds of young 
people on the right path in life.
  Madam Speaker, American society is forever indebted to the hard work, 
deep commitment, determined sacrifice, and unconditional live 
demonstrated by people like Kathy Dixon. She is an inspirational role 
model, not just to myself or any one of us here in Congress but, more 
importantly, to her own children, who recognize the transformation she 
brought about in their lives. As Tony writes, ``God has blessed me with 
so many gifts that I will never forget.''

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