[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 57 (Thursday, April 19, 2012)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E590]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




CONGRATULATING RICK AND KELA ELLIS OF RHINELANDER, WISCONSIN, ON BEING 
    NAMED A 2012 NATIONAL ``MAKE A DIFFERENCE DAY'' AWARD RECIPIENT

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                           HON. SEAN P. DUFFY

                              of wisconsin

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, April 19, 2012

  Mr. DUFFY. Mr. Speaker, today, I would like to acknowledge the great 
work of the volunteers of Rhinelander, Wisconsin, especially those who 
worked to benefit the Ronald McDonald House of Marshfield, Wisconsin. 
They have been selected as a one of the 2012 ``Make A Difference Day'' 
winners and I could not be more proud.
  Make a Difference Day celebrates the power of neighbors helping 
neighbors. Created by USA Weekend, this annual day of service mobilizes 
more than three million volunteers to create change in their community.
  This group of outstanding volunteers from Rhinelander has made a 
substantial impact on their community by collecting aluminum cans for 
the local Ronald McDonald House. Rick and Kela Ellis were heartbroken 
when they lost their 2-year-old daughter, Ashley, to brain cancer in 
1989. But within a year they had found a way to honor her memory--by 
recycling aluminum cans to benefit the Ronald McDonald House of 
Marshfield, Wisconsin, their ``home'' while Ashley was hospitalized. 
Since giving their ``Cans for Cancer'' collection a huge boost by tying 
it to Make A Difference Day in 1998, the Ellises have recycled 6,000 
pounds of aluminum, raising more than $2,500.
  Rick and Kela will be honored at the Make A Difference Day event 
presented by Points of Light here in Washington, DC, on April 19, 2012. 
I congratulate them for this great service in the midst of such loss.

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