[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 5]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 5867-5868]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     A TRIBUTE TO YOLANDA J. MARTIN

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. EDOLPHUS TOWNS

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, March 11, 2003

  Mr. TOWNS. Mr. Speaker, I rise in honor of Yolanda J. Martin in 
recognition of her dedication to helping those in need.
  Yolanda was born in the town of Puerto Armuelles in the Republic of 
Panama. However, she spent her formative years of elementary and high 
school in the city of Colon.
  She immigrated to the United States in 1981 and has been a resident 
of Brooklyn ever since that time. Yolanda has a strong desire to 
improve her community by assisting the less fortunate. She believes 
that we must provide children and adults with the necessary resources 
to become educated and gain financial independence. Through education 
and financial development, she feels communities can empower 
themselves. She has shown a consistent dedication to these ideals 
through both her professional and personal life.
  At fourteen, Yolanda joined the Boy Scouts Explorer unit where she 
was exposed to Emergency Medical rescue trainings. This experience 
cultivated her fascination with the medical field. Yolanda has become a 
State certified Emergency Medical Technician (EMT), Nurses Assistant, 
C.P.R. and First Aid Instructor, and HIV/AIDS Educational Instructor. 
As a way of giving back to the community, she worked as an EMT from 
1990 to 1995, responding to 911 calls with a volunteer ambulance 
service. She volunteered an average of 20 to 30 hours a week.
  Yolanda began her professional career in the United States working 
with mentally disabled people for the State of New York State

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from 1982 to 1985. For the next three years, she worked at the New York 
State Division for Youth. Yolanda followed this experience by working 
for the Board of Education as a bilingual Paraprofessional in Special 
Education.
  More recently, she has founded three childcare services: Parents 
United for a Better Society Inc., child care center number one and 
child care center number two, and Minnie's Family Group Day Care, where 
she serves as the Executive Director and CEO.
  The center offers the community 95 slots for day care, after school 
programs, summer programs, and universal pre-kindergarten for children 
up to 13 years old. Adult training and parenting classes are provided 
to the parents and others in the community as well. Yolanda is 
presently working on creating an additional day care center that will 
provide 178 childcare slots and a senior citizen day care program in 
the East New York area of Brooklyn.
  Yolanda participates in a wide array of community activities. She 
helps distribute food to disadvantaged families in the community and 
assists undocumented residents with referrals to the appropriate 
agencies that can address their needs. Yolanda is the President and 
founder of a women's support group called Innovation and serves on the 
Board of Directors for the New York Lions Club. She is also a member of 
the Panamanian Black Chambers of Commerce, the Prospect Park Alliance 
group, the Interfaith Medical Center Auxiliary, and the PNM group of 
North America.
  When Yolanda is not working with others in the community, she spends 
time with her children and family. She has three children, Ronald, 
Kendra, and Courtney. Yolanda is known for her excellent cooking as 
well as her interior decorating ability. She also enjoys the performing 
arts, horseback riding, and grooming horses.
  Mr. Speaker, Yolanda is devoted to improving her community. As such, 
she is more than worthy of receiving our recognition today and I urge 
my colleagues to join me in honoring this truly remarkable woman.

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