[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 162 (Thursday, December 9, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2105]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




RECOGNIZING THE 60TH ANNIVERSARY OF GIRLS INCORPORATED OF THE ALBEMARLE

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                         HON. G. K. BUTTERFIELD

                           of north carolina

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, December 9, 2010

  Mr. BUTTERFIELD. Madam Speaker, let me take this opportunity to honor 
the 60th anniversary of Girls Incorporated of the Albemarle in 
Elizabeth City, North Carolina.
  North Carolina's first Girls Club was founded in Elizabeth City in 
1950. It was the culmination of over a year's effort on the part of a 
local group of women to organize a club to provide recreation and 
training for the city's girls.
  In 1951, the club affiliated with Girls Clubs of America. When the 
Girls Clubs of America voted to change its name to Girls Incorporated 
in April 1990, the Elizabeth City Girls Club's Board of Directors 
followed the requirements of affiliation, changing the local club's 
name to Girls Incorporated of the Albemarle in May 1990.
  Today, Girls Incorporated of the Albemarle continues to actively 
pursue its mission: to meet the needs of girls; to develop their self-
worth and emotional maturity; to develop their capacity to be self-
sufficient responsible members of their community; and to serve as a 
vigorous advocate for them.
  Girls Incorporated of the Albemarle's staff and volunteers are 
superior role models for our youth and deliver a wide variety of 
wonderful after-school and summer camp programs.
  Girls Incorporated of the Albemarle also collaborates with our local 
communities and corporate partners to allow girls to interact with 
other women in various professions and experience hands on activities 
and events that they may otherwise not have exposure to. These partners 
include Museum of the Albemarle, United States Coast Guard Base, 
Elizabeth City State University, Hopeline, 4-H, Circuit Court Judges 
and Attorneys, Port Discover, NC Cooperative Extension Service and the 
Tobacco Cessation Coalition.
  This is the only organization in northeastern North Carolina that 
offers such comprehensive programming designed specifically for girls.
  To their credit, the organization's goal is to reach all girls 
regardless of socio-economic status, and they recognize that girls in 
at-risk communities have greater need for their programs. Of the girls 
they serve, 65 percent come from families earning less than $25,000 a 
year and approximately one-half are from single-parent homes headed by 
women.
  Madam Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in applauding Girls 
Incorporated of the Albemarle on their 60th anniversary and for the 
great service they have provided the community over these many years.

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