[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 93 (Tuesday, June 19, 2012)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1085]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     IN RECOGNITION AND CELEBRATION OF THE LIFE OF YOLANDA SANCHEZ

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. CHARLES B. RANGEL

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 19, 2012

  Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to mourn the loss of Yolanda 
Sanchez, a fierce advocate for Puerto Rican youth and women in my 
district. It is with a heavy heart that I stand here today to 
memorialize her.
  Ms. Sanchez was a pioneer in El Barrio and I am honored to have 
partnered with her over the years to improve the lives of Puerto Rican 
youth and women. She dedicated herself for over 50 years to the 
community, a community she was born and raised in. Ms. Sanchez began 
her career as a community organizer and advocate in 1962, when she was 
asked to join the staff of Aspira; a non-profit organization focused on 
educational advancement and further development of Puerto Rican and 
Hispanic youth. Ms. Sanchez never stopped working for children, women 
and the Puerto Rican community; she never took a day off from her 
goals.
  A graduate of City College and the Columbia University School of 
Social Work, Ms. Sanchez continually sought out and worked in positions 
that maximized her positive impact on the community. These positions 
ranged from Executive Director of the Puerto Rican Association for 
Community Affairs, to founding member and later president of the 
National Latina Caucus, to president of the East Harlem Council for 
Human Services, to Director of CUNY's office of Puerto Rican programs.
  Ms. Sanchez was successful in playing a key role in the creation of 
three critical institutions for the underserved in El Barrio. The Taino 
Towers (section 8 housing), Boriken Health Center (primary care) and 
Casabe Houses (elderly housing) owe their existence partially to the 
tireless efforts of Ms. Sanchez.
  This year Ms. Sanchez received the first Social Work Trailblazer 
Award from the Silberman School of Social Work in honor and recognition 
of her invaluable and tireless efforts made in the community. This 
award is an acknowledgment of a true heroine, feminist and champion of 
the downtrodden.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask you and my colleagues to please join me in 
celebrating and remembering the life of a fierce advocate for children, 
women and the disadvantaged. In her life, she truly made our community 
and thus the world a better place than how she found it. She will be 
missed by her loved ones, she will be missed by the community, but her 
spirit will carry on through philanthropy and in the spirit of others 
just like her.

                          ____________________