[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 3]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 3585-3586]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




 ON THE OCCASION OF THE THERAPY CHOIRS OF MICHIGAN'S ANNUAL ``CAPITOL 
         CONCERT'' DURING MICHIGAN THERAPY CHOIR AWARENESS WEEK

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. GARY C. PETERS

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, February 27, 2014

  Mr. PETERS of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the 
Therapy Choirs of Michigan, a nonprofit organization based in

[[Page 3586]]

Farmington Hills. This year, the Therapy Choirs of Michigan is 
preparing for its fifteenth annual ``Capitol Concert'' in Lansing, a 
remarkable achievement and great milestone in its history.
  Created in 1998 by Len McCulloch, Therapy Choirs of Michigan was 
founded with a mission of bringing together members of the community 
affected by similar disabilities and challenges to provide them with 
opportunities support each other through artistic vocal expression. 
While providing the public with entertainment, Therapy Choirs of 
Michigan seeks to provide its members and their families with a fun and 
therapeutic experience that will inspire them in their recovery, as 
well as raise awareness for the disabilities and challenges faced by 
its members. Engaging its members in a traditional ``a cappella'' 
format, Therapy Choirs of Michigan has developed choirs tailored to 
youth, seniors, individuals with developmental disabilities and 
veterans returning from Afghanistan and Iraq. For each of its choirs, 
Therapy Choirs of Michigan provides a supportive environment of 
structured rehearsals that allows its members to maximize the 
development of improved self-esteem and building of enhanced social 
skills.
  Over the last fifteen years, the members of Therapy Choirs of 
Michigan have performed at over 160 concerts across the state while 
sharing their creativity, resilience, and artistry with others. They 
have been featured by local television stations and newspapers in the 
Greater Detroit area for the impact they are making, which includes 
donation drives that provided the Historic Detroit Rescue Mission with 
clothing that helped nearly 3,000 Michigan residents in need. The 
efforts of its members have earned the Therapy Choirs of Michigan 
recognition from numerous organizations, including the Farmington 
Community Arts Council for outstanding achievement in the performing 
arts. And most recently, the work and impact of the Therapy Choirs of 
Michigan was recognized by the Michigan House of Representatives, which 
proclaimed the first week of March to be Therapy Choir Awareness Week 
across the entire state.
  Mr. Speaker, Therapy Choirs of Michigan and its members have 
demonstrated the incredible resilience of the human spirit in the face 
of adversity and remarkable courage to share their stories and raise 
awareness of their experiences with residents across the state. It is 
my honor to recognize and congratulate Len McCulloch and members of the 
Therapy Choirs of Michigan for the remarkable impact they are making on 
communities across the state and I wish them continued success and 
growth as they prepare for their annual ``Capitol Concert'' in Lansing.

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