[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 5]
[House]
[Pages 6194-6195]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



  CONGRATULATING HAWAII'S 2ND DISTRICT PRUDENTIAL SPIRIT OF COMMUNITY 
                             AWARD WINNERS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from Hawaii (Mrs. Mink) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mrs. MINK of Hawaii. Mr. Speaker, I wish to congratulate four 
remarkable young women from Hawaii: Lauren Noelani Calhoun, age 16, of 
Kapaa on the island of Kauai; Celinda Stanton, age 11, of Waimanalo on 
the island of Oahu; Tessa Munekiyo of Wailuku on the island of Maui, 
and Kauilani Ostrem of Kaawa on the island of Oahu.
  Lauren and Celinda are Hawaii's top two youth volunteers for the year 
2001 in the Prudential Spirit of Community Awards, a nationwide program 
honoring young people for outstanding acts of volunteerism. They have 
each been awarded an engraved silver medallion, a $1,000 award, and a 
trip to Washington, DC for the program's national recognition event. 
Hawaii's Distinguished Finalists--Tessa and Kauilani--have been awarded 
engraved bronze medallions.
  Lauren Noelani Calhoun, a junior at Kauai High School, led an effort 
to establish a homework and learning center for children at a local 
family abuse shelter. As a volunteer at the shelter, Lauren was 
disturbed by its often hectic conditions and wondered how the children 
who stayed there managed to do their schoolwork. She approached the 
shelter's director with a plan to convert a storage area into a quiet 
room for the kids to do their homework. After the plan was approved by 
the director and the shelter's board, Lauren contacted businesses and 
organizations for donations. She surpassed her goal and raised over 
$1,500 in addition to many in-kind donations. Lauren purchased 
furniture, a computer, a printer, software, books, and two sets of 
encyclopedias for the homework center.
  Celinda Stanton, a sixth-grader at St. Andrews, brightened the lives 
of elderly residents of a long-term care facility by teaching them new 
skills and providing them with recreational activities. After visiting 
the facility, where her mother works, Celinda noticed that the 
residents seemed to enjoy the presence of a young girl and realized she 
could make a difference in their lives. During her volunteer time at 
the facility, she entertains the seniors by performing Japanese and 
Hawaiian dances and helps them play games. She also has taught an 80-
year-old woman how to use a computer and regularly assists the staff 
with recreational activities and filing.
  Tessa Munekiyo, age 16, a student at Baldwin High School on the 
island of Maui assisted in conducting interviews with tsunami survivors 
as part of a museum educational project.

[[Page 6195]]

  Kauilani Ostrem, age 17, a senior at Kahuku High School, co-chaired 
an effort in her community to reduce the number of deaths and accidents 
on the roadways in her community.
  I look forward to having the opportunity to meet Lauren and Celinda 
and to welcome them to Washington when they come to the Capitol in May. 
Lauren, Celina, Tessa, and Kauilani exemplify the very best of our 
youth, of Hawaii, and of our nation.

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