[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 134 (Thursday, September 17, 2015)]
[House]
[Page H6088]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1215
                5,000 ROLE MODELS OF EXCELLENCE PROJECT

  (Ms. WILSON of Florida asked and was given permission to address the 
House for 1 minute.)
  Ms. WILSON of Florida. Madam Speaker, almost a half century ago, 
while serving as an elementary school principal in Miami, I sensed a 
void in the lives of the boys who were always being sent to my office 
because of disruptive behavior.
  The one thing they all had in common was the lack of an adult male to 
love them and guide them along life's often tricky paths. I founded the 
5,000 Role Models of Excellence Project to rescue these boys of color 
from futures fueled by drugs, poverty, or prison.
  The 5,000 Role Models of Excellence is recognized by President 
Obama's My Brother's Keeper initiative. It is an in-school program in 
Florida's public schools. These boys have earned more than $10 million 
in college scholarships, and so many have returned and now serve as 
role models to the 10,000 boys now in the program.
  There are 109 chapters in Miami-Dade County schools, the fourth 
largest school district in the Nation, 30 chapters in Pinellas County/
St. Petersburg schools, and 10 chapters in Duvall County, Jacksonville, 
Florida.
  Please welcome the Miami Northwestern Senior High School chapter who 
are up in the gallery today. I love you, and I am so proud of each and 
every one of you.
  Welcome to Washington.

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