[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 148 (2002), Part 3]
[EXTEN]
[Page 3541]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         HONORING MATTHEW CROFT

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. DALE E. KILDEE

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, March 19, 2002

  Mr. KILDEE. Mr. Speaker, I ask the House of Representatives to join 
me in congratulating a young student from Michigan who has achieved 
national recognition for exemplary volunteer service in his community. 
Matthew Croft of Waterford has just been named one of Michigan's top 
two honorees in the 2002 Prudential Spirit of Community Awards program, 
an annual honor conferred on the most impressive student volunteers in 
each State, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. Matthew will be 
honored today with a ceremony to be held at his school.
  Matthew is being honored for developing and implementing a program to 
buy bicycle safety helmets for needy first- and second-grade children. 
As an eighth grader at Marist Academy, Matthew belongs to a group 
called STAND or Students Taking a New Direction. This group was 
organized to leadership through doing for others and learning to make 
healthy choices. After reading an article that stated only 20 percent 
of bike riders in Michigan wore helmets, Matthew decided to take 
action. He approached his fellow students in STAND and persuaded them 
to help correct this problem. Matthew helped organize several 
fundraisers, he obtained matching funds from AAA, and he approached 
retailers in the area to get a discount on the cost of the helmets.
  Once the helmets were purchased, Matthew was one of four presenters 
explaining to the elementary students that it is ``cool'' to wear 
helmets. The students at Whitmer Resource Center in Pontiac responded 
enthusiastically. Through Matthew's efforts more young children in 
Pontiac are practicing bicycle safety and wearing headgear that may 
save their lives.
  Matthew should be extremely pleased to be singled out from such a 
large group of dedicated volunteers. He is an example of the important 
role young Americans play in our communities. I ask the House of 
Representatives to join me in commending Matthew, his fellow students 
and faculty at Marist Academy and their families for making this a 
better world.

                          ____________________