[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 8]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 10766]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



[[Page 10766]]

                          EXTENSIONS OF REMARKS

 MR. CHRISTEPHER ROMERO, A PRUDENTIAL SPIRIT OF COMMUNITY AWARD WINNER

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. ED PASTOR

                               of arizona

                    in the house of representatives

                         Wednesday, May 7, 2003

  Mr. PASTOR. Mr. Speaker, I would like to congratulate and honor a 
young Arizona student from my district who has achieved national 
recognition for outstanding volunteer service in his community. Mr. 
Christepher Romero of Phoenix has just been named one of my state's top 
honorees in the 2003 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.
  Christepher, a junior at Sunnydale High School in Phoenix is being 
recognized for having developed a program to help keep at-risk teens in 
an inner-city neighborhood away from crime and drugs. Being raised by a 
mother who struggled with a drug and alcohol addiction, he was 
recruited by a neighborhood gang. He was later adopted and given the 
opportunity to turn his life around. As a way to honor his adoptive 
parents for helping him become a better person he decided to put 
together a program that would help at-risk teens. He approached a 
police officer working at his former school, and became a volunteer 
mentor. Christepher soon began to put together activities such as 
swimming and soccer, CPR and nutrition classes, and organizing 
neighborhood clean-ups. He also has encouraged kids to get involved in 
fundraising activities to help pay for annual theme park trips.
  Christepher should be extremely proud to have been singled out from 
such a large group of dedicated volunteers. I heartily applaud him for 
his initiative in seeking to make a positive impact on the lives of 
others. He has demonstrated a level of commitment and accomplishment 
that is truly extraordinary in today's world, and deserves our sincere 
admiration and respect. His actions show that young Americans can play 
important roles in our communities, and that America's community spirit 
continues to hold tremendous promise for the future.

                          ____________________