[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 22 (Friday, February 11, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E209]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        HONORING DANIELLE COLSON

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. MARIO DIAZ-BALART

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                       Friday, February 11, 2011

  Mr. DIAZ-BALART. Mr. Speaker, I would like to congratulate and honor 
a young lady from South Florida, who has achieved national recognition 
for exemplary volunteer service in her community. Danielle Colson, 18, 
of Pembroke Pines has been named one of the top honorees in Florida by 
the 2011 Prudential Spirit of Community Awards program, an annual honor 
conferred on the most impressive student volunteers in each state and 
the District of Colombia.
  Ms. Colson, a senior at American Heritage School in Plantation, is 
being recognized for distributing 4,500 backpacks filled with school 
supplies and toiletries to needy children and people living in homeless 
shelters since 2007. Danielle, who volunteers at the shelter and has 
also collected other items for its residents, encourages members of the 
community and students at local schools to make donations to support 
her backpack project.
  In light of numerous statistics that indicate Americans today are 
less involved in their communities than they once were, it's vital that 
we encourage and support the kind of selfless contribution this young 
citizen has made. People of all ages need to think more about how we, 
as individual citizens, can work together at the local level to ensure 
the health and vitality of our town and neighborhoods. Young volunteers 
like Ms. Colson are inspiring examples to all of us, and are among our 
brightest hopes for a better tomorrow. Prudential Financial created the 
program that brought this young role model to our attention in 
partnership with the National Association of Secondary School 
Principals in 1995 to impress upon all youth volunteers that their 
contributions are critically important and highly valued, and to 
inspire other young people to follow their lead. Over the past 16 
years, the program has become the nation's largest youth recognition 
effort based solely on community service, and has more than 95,000 
young volunteers at the local, state, and national level.
  Mr. Speaker, I heartily applaud Ms. Colson for her initiative in 
seeking to make her community a better place to live, and for the 
positive impact she has had on the lives of many. She has demonstrated 
a level of commitment and accomplishment that is truly exemplary, and 
deserves our sincere admiration and respect. Her actions show that 
young Americans can, and do, play important roles in our communities, 
and American's community spirit endures and holds promise for the 
future.

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