[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 96 (Tuesday, June 6, 2017)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E770]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   CONGRATULATIONS TO MEREDITH SHARP

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                            HON. BILLY LONG

                              of missouri

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 6, 2017

  Mr. LONG. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate and honor a young 
student from my district who has achieved national recognition for 
exemplary volunteer service in her community. Meredith Sharp of 
Springfield has just been named one of the top honorees in Missouri by 
The 2017 Prudential Spirit of Community Awards program, an annual honor 
conferred on the most impressive student volunteers in each state and 
the District of Columbia.
  Ms. Sharp is being recognized for raising over $13,000 to provide new 
athletic shoes for all 311 students at a local elementary school in a 
low-income area of Springfield. She created a nonprofit organization 
called ``Just for. Kicks,'' then began seeking donations in person and 
by mail from relatives, neighbors and business leaders. While she had 
hoped to collect enough money to buy shoes for one class of kids, she 
had collected enough for an entire school in just a matter of months.
  It's vital that we encourage and support the kind of selfless 
contribution this young citizen has made. Young volunteers like Ms. 
Sharp are inspiring examples to all of us, and are among our brightest 
hopes for a better tomorrow.
  The program that brought this young role model to our attention--The 
Prudential Spirit of Community Awards--was created by Prudential 
Financial in partnership with the National Association of Secondary 
School Principals in 1995 to impress upon all youth volunteers that 
their contributions are critically important and highly valued, and to 
inspire other young people to follow their example. Over the past 22 
years, the program has become the nation's largest youth recognition 
effort based solely on community service, and has honored more than 
115,000 young volunteers at the local, state and national level.
  Ms. Sharp should be extremely proud to have been singled out from the 
thousands of dedicated volunteers who participated in this year's 
program. I wish Ms. Sharp luck with all her future endeavors, and urge 
my colleagues to join me in congratulating her on this momentous 
achievement.

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