[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 49 (Tuesday, March 24, 2015)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E392-E393]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   JASON SHORT OF INTERNATIONAL FALLS

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. RICHARD M. NOLAN

                              of minnesota

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, March 24, 2015

  Mr. NOLAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Jason Short of 
International Falls, Minnesota and the work of the Falls Hunger 
Coalition under the leadership of Nancy Anderson.
   I am sure many of my fellow Members have seen the nightly weather 
reports indicating that International Falls has the coldest 
temperatures in the United States.
   Jason is a young adult working as a delivery driver for UPS in the 
International Falls region that covers a 300-mile route. On one brisk 
day, one of his package recipients noted that Jason was wearing shorts 
and told him he

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was crazy for dressing like that in the cold weather. He took that 
craziness and his love of wearing shorts to Facebook to initiate a 
challenge to his friends and posted, ``Until I raise 1,000 dollars for 
the Falls Hunger Coalition Food Bank, I'm going to wear shorts no 
matter if it's snowing, 30 below, rain, sleet, or snow.''
   Soon the amount turned into $2,000, $3,000, $4,000, $5,000, $6,000 
to $7,192 at the end of the year.
   The comments on his Facebook ranged from, ``We need to dress this 
young man,'' or ``I don't know, maybe we want to keep Jason in shorts 
all winter. However, he did stop wearing his shorts when he reached 
$5,000 with contributions from friends and strangers all over the 
United States. He modestly says, ``It's all about paying it forward. 
Everyone can use a helping hand once in a while and you never know if 
the shoe was on the other foot, you never know if you're going to need 
something yourself so why not get out there and help somebody.''
   The Falls Hunger Coalition served over 8,000 people in 4,178 
households in calendar year 2014. That added up to over 164,000 pounds 
of food distributed through Bonus Bucks, Senior Select, the Nutritional 
Assistance Program for Seniors, and the Summer Snack Packs and Summer 
Meals. Population wise, it's a small county but the coalition is doing 
an outstanding job of serving the needs of many.
   I understand that Jason is planning to hatch another fundraising 
later this year and as a former UPS employee during my college days and 
spending time on a ride-along-driver ``in the browns'' this past summer 
in Duluth, I know he has the determination to once again achieve great 
success. With one out of five children in this country going to bed 
hungry every night, I am so proud of this young man for stepping up and 
trying to alleviate the issue of hunger in his own community.
   Let's just hope for warmer temperatures during his next fundraising 
phase.

                          ____________________