[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 16]
[Senate]
[Page 22850]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                           PROJECT COMPASSION

 Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, today I honor the work of an 
organization dedicated to preserving the memory of our service men and 
women who have died on active duty since the terrorist attacks of 
September 11, 2001.
  Project Compassion has dedicated itself to providing one gallery-
quality portrait of every one of these fallen heroes to their 
designated next of kin at no cost to the family. Project Compassion 
started in the spring of 2003 in the State of Utah, when a local artist 
named Kaziah Hancock learned of the death of a fellow Utah resident who 
was serving in Iraq. She located the soldier's family and painted a 
free portrait for them as a gift of her appreciation. She then decided 
to paint as many portraits of our fallen men and women as her personal 
time and savings would allow. For more than 5 years, she has refused to 
take a single dollar from anyone who has received a painting.
  And in these last 5 years, Project Compassion has never faltered in 
its mission to provide a tangible ``thank-you'' to the families of the 
brave men and women who have fallen in service to our country. That 
mission has required the addition of four more artists, all of whom 
dedicate their time to be a part of the effort. In November 2004, 
Project Compassion teamed up with Marie Woolf, a California-based 
creative media director, who agreed to manage and publicize the 
project. She worked to establish crucial relationships with the media, 
government, and the armed services to fulfill the Project Compassion 
mission.
  All of the military services except for the Army now include Project 
Compassion information with the standard paperwork personally delivered 
by casualty officers. However, Project Compassion is one of the Army's 
few third party organizations approved to contact next of kin who have 
given their consent to be contacted. Project Compassion is also a 
member of America Supports You, a Defense Department program connecting 
citizens and corporations with military personnel and their families 
serving at home and abroad.
  As of July, over 600 portraits have been completed and delivered to 
the families of our fallen servicemen and women. Project Compassion has 
earned major international, national, local, and military media 
recognition of its unusual service, including from CNN, CBS, NBC, and 
PBS, and it is certainly well-deserved.
  Mr. President, the story of Project Compassion is one of which we can 
all be proud. It is a story of everyday Americans bringing comfort to 
those who have lost a loved one in uniform. Ms. Hancock has taken her 
gifts as an artist and used them to honor people she has never met and 
never known. But she has stated that ``These soldiers and their 
families are our buddies, they are our family as Americans, and we love 
them.'' I am proud to honor the work of Project Compassion today.

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