[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 165 (Thursday, November 5, 2015)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1600-E1601]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             IN RECOGNITION OF CITIZENS FOR CITIZENS, INC.

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. WILLIAM R. KEATING

                            of massachusetts

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, November 5, 2015

  Mr. KEATING. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Citizens for 
Citizens, Inc. on its 50th anniversary.
   Citizens for Citizens, a Community Action Agency, assists over 
42,000 households in the Greater Fall River and Greater Taunton areas 
in Massachusetts every year by providing short term services that 
support families during financial crisis through its Fuel Assistance, 
Food Pantry and Rental Assistance programs.
   Founded in 1965 under the leadership of its first Executive 
Director, Edward J. (Jud) Sullivan, Citizens for Citizens opened a Head 
Start program to provide pre-school education programs for children 
ages 3 to 5. Recognizing the needs of its community, the programs were 
quickly expanded to include employment opportunities for individuals 
over the age of 55 through the Senior Aide Program, nutritional 
services through the Women, Infants & Children (WIC) feeding program, 
and utility mitigation opportunities through the Fuel Assistance and 
Weatherization program. By 1982, Citizens for Citizens had also started 
an After School and Family Day Care program and Retired Senior 
Volunteer Program.
   Today, Citizens for Citizens is an ever-present and integral part of 
our community's fabric. Hardly a demographic is overlooked by its wide 
variety of new and continuing programs. In addition to its initial 
focus on education and employment opportunities, Citizens for Citizens 
also provides elderly individuals with an opportunity to earn 
additional income by working with children with special needs through 
the Foster Grandparent program, and

[[Page E1601]]

utilizes the many skills of willing and able neighbors through 
voluntary assistance programs, such as the Volunteer Income Tax Return 
Preparation program.
   Mr. Speaker, I am proud to honor Citizens for Citizens on behalf of 
all of the families and individuals that the organization has helped 
over the last fifty years. Citizens for Citizens has had a tremendous 
impact on the Fall River and Taunton communities, and the Commonwealth 
as a whole. I ask that my colleagues join me in congratulating all of 
its staff and volunteers and in wishing them another fifty years of 
success.

                          ____________________