[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 9]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 11925]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




  HONORING THE SERVICE AND DEDICATION OF MS. BEATRICE BEILER OF LONG 
                           BEACH, CALIFORNIA

                                  _____
                                 

                         HON. LAURA RICHARDSON

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, July 23, 2012

  Ms. RICHARDSON. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to recognize the tireless 
service and dedication of one of my own constituents, Ms. Beatrice 
Beiler. Ms. Beiler has been an essential part of the Long Beach foster 
care program for over 20 years and has a truly inspirational story.
  Upon retiring from Hughes Aircraft in 1992, rather than living the 
life of leisure that many retirees do, Ms. Beiler chose to be of 
service. Coming from a big family herself, she has always been very 
family oriented and it is this experience that opened her mind to the 
idea to giving back through foster care.
  Her caring spirit and giving nature instilled Ms. Beiler with a heart 
that is able to see the needs of others and immediately try to fulfill 
those needs. When Ms. Beiler found out that there was a shortage of 
foster homes able to house multiples of siblings of two or more, she 
volunteered her home to foster children siblings without hesitation. As 
a result, she helped many children to avoid damaging transitions by 
helping them to stay together and maintain a sense of family in spite 
of the turmoil that led to their entry into the foster care system.
  In California there are over 80,000 children in the foster care 
system, the majority of whom are placed there as a result of parental 
abuse or neglect. As a member of the Congressional Caucus of Foster 
Youth I am particularly impressed by the service that Ms. Beiler has 
done for my community and the many families and children she has helped 
to reunite. Through her work, many children have had the opportunity to 
grow up in a safe and loving environment that they might not have 
otherwise had.
  Ms. Beiler has been able to help many foster children succeed despite 
their painful pasts. Children like Kelsey, a foster child Ms. Beiler 
has raised since she was just 8 months old until the age of 17, find 
not only shelter but also love and nurture while in the care of Ms. 
Beiler. She has seen students go from struggling to stay in school to 
making straight A's. She has watched many go from dire situations to 
reunification with their families. It is stories like these that fuel 
her passion to continue to reach out to anyone whose life she can 
change for the better. Along with her dedication to the foster care 
system, Ms. Beiler has also opened a daycare facility to continue to be 
able to help parents and children in need. It is her mission to touch 
as many hearts and lives as she can.
  Mr. Speaker, Ms. Beiler is the type of woman we should all look to 
emulate. She is selflessly committed and graciously generous with her 
time, her money, her home, and her love. It is with great pleasure that 
I have the opportunity to recognize the hard work and dedication of 
this unsung hero.

                          ____________________