[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 4]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 5719]
[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--KAITLYN HEBIG

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. SAM JOHNSON

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, April 8, 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 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:

       For the CYAC in the Community Service Project, I 
     participated in 3 separate projects for a total of 13 hours. 
     My first project was on Thanksgiving morning for 6 hours. My 
     brother, dad, and I arrived at the Meals on Wheels center at 
     7:00 a.m. We packed and distributed coolers of food. For the 
     leftover coolers, my dad and I drove a route and delivered 
     them. My next service project was Adopt-A-Family at Jesuit. 
     My family was assigned an underprivileged family to buy 
     Christmas gifts for and we were asked to wrap them. The 
     family we were assigned was 6 people total and it was our job 
     to help them out and buy gifts off their Christmas lists to 
     make their holiday special. Buying the gifts took weeks but 
     once they were all collected, we met at Jesuit and wrapped 
     all of the gifts. My last service project was for the Notre 
     Dame School of Dallas, a school for kids with mental 
     disabilities and/or social disorders. Jesuit hosted a dance 
     for them and I helped set up, dance, then clean up for 3 
     hours. It was great to see the smiles on the faces of the 
     people I helped out and I had fun doing my service projects.
     --Kaitlyn Hebig

                          ____________________