[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 4]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 5092-5093]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




RECOGNIZING THE 2010-2011 CONGRESSIONAL YOUTH ADVISORY COUNCIL FOR 500 
    HOURS OF OUTSTANDING SERVICE TO THE COMMUNITY--GARRETT HERINGTON

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. SAM JOHNSON

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, April 4, 2011

  Mr. SAM JOHNSON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure and 
privilege to inform the Members of the United States House of 
Representatives that the students of the 2010--2011 Congressional Youth 
Advisory Council (CYAC) from the Third District of Texas have completed 
a total of 500 community service hours, fulfilling and far-surpassing 
the requirements of their assigned CYAC in the Community service 
project.
  This year 46 students from public, private, and home schools in 
grades 10 through 12 made their voices heard by joining CYAC. As the 
Third District's young ambassadors to Congress, these bright high 
school students met with me on a quarterly basis to discuss current 
events and public policy. These impressive young people, recognize an 
important truth: the heart of public service is found when giving back 
to the community. CYAC students volunteered their time and talents with 
over 30 organizations including Adopt-A-Highway, Habitat for Humanity, 
Meals on Wheels, Teen Court, and the USO, to name a few. As one student 
shared, ``CYAC in the Community has allowed me to realize my calling to 
serve those in the U.S. Armed Forces.'' I am beyond thrilled that CYAC 
has helped students unleash their full potential and chase their 
dreams.
  President George H.W. Bush once said, ``A volunteer is a person who 
can see what others cannot see; who can feel what most do not feel. 
Often, such gifted persons do not think of themselves as volunteers, 
but as citizens--citizens in the fullest sense: partners in 
civilization.''
  With this statement as a benchmark, I am proud to congratulate the 
members of the 2010-2011 Congressional Youth Advisory Council for 
showing themselves to be outstanding young citizens of this nation. It 
is my

[[Page 5093]]

privilege to submit summaries of their work to the Congressional Record 
to be preserved for posterity and antiquity. To these young public 
servants, thank you, and keep up the great work! I salute you!
  A copy of each submitted student summary follows:

       I had the opportunity to help out a charitable organization 
     called V.O.L.T, which stands for Vision of Light Team. The 
     `Vision of Light Team' is an eyeglass mission. They have been 
     to Cameroon twice and recently to Guatemala. They hold vision 
     clinics and distribute used eyeglasses to those in need. They 
     have also trained a team in Cameroon to do vision clinics. 
     V.O.L.T. regularly sends both eyeglasses and money to support 
     this ongoing mission. I worked directly with the head of the 
     charity to clean, organize and label the operational items so 
     the charity is ready for future missions. The project was 
     done over the course of 4 weeks and the main project was 
     preparing, cleaning and labeling eyeglass donations for a 
     future trip to Cameroon, Africa. The charity receives 
     eyeglass donations from across the country. Once received, 
     these glasses have to be sorted, evaluated, cleaned, tagged, 
     and then sorted and re-packaged so they can be tested by an 
     ophthalmologist for prescription strength After this process, 
     they are then shipped or accompanied by missionaries to 
     Africa for free distribution through the United Methodist 
     Church to those in need.
     --Garrett Herington

                          ____________________