[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 3]
[Senate]
[Page 2908]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       TRIBUTE TO JACK APPLEBAUM

 Mr. LIEBERMAN. Mr. President, I rise today to honor a truly 
extraordinary young student from Connecticut. Jack Applebaum of 
Greenwich has recently been selected as one of Connecticut's two 
honorees in the 2006 Prudential Spirit of Community Awards. This honor 
is given to only one high school student and one junior high school 
student from each state as well as the District of Columbia. A quick 
look at Jack's record of community service shows him to be truly 
deserving of such recognition.
  Jack, who is 13 and an eighth-grader at Central Middle School in 
Greenwich, is a founding member of his school's chapter of Building 
with Books, a national organization that raises money to build schools 
in developing countries. Jack learned about the organization and its 
mission in class and, in his own words, ``I was hooked right away.'' 
After learning that four-fifths of the world is illiterate, Jack 
decided ``I wanted to make this number smaller.''
  Instead of just talking about the problem, Jack decided to do 
something about it. He played a leading role in forming the Building 
with Books chapter at Central Middle School, helping to attract members 
to the club, setting goals, and putting together fundraisers. During 
its first year, the club hosted school parties and ran an afterschool 
snack cart that helped to raise over $4,000 to help build a school in 
Mali. The club also performed other good works, such as making blankets 
for children in Africa and visiting nursing home residents during the 
holidays.
  It is really impressive, how much community service Jack has 
performed at such a young age. I attribute this to the remarkable 
attitude he has demonstrated with his work. When Jack learned about the 
problem of widespread illiteracy in the world, his immediate response 
was to do something about it. He rolled up his sleeves and went to 
work. His hard work and willingness to sacrifice his time and effort 
for others serves as an inspiration for people of all ages. It is young 
people such as Jack that give me such great hope in the future of our 
country.
  In recognition of his achievements, Jack will be invited to 
Washington in early May with 101 other 2006 Spirit of Community 
honorees from across the country who were selected from a pool of 
several thousand nominees. While in Washington, 10 of the honorees will 
be selected as America's top youth volunteers of the year by a 
distinguished national selection committee cochaired by 2 of my 
distinguished colleagues, Senator Tim Johnson of South Dakota and 
Senator Saxby Chambliss of Georgia.
  I wish Jack the best of luck, both with this award and in all his 
future endeavors. I would like to end my remarks, Mr. President, by 
thanking Jack Applebaum for the all of his volunteer service and all of 
the volunteer service I am sure he will continue to perform in the 
future.

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