[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 4]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 5361]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




   RECOGNIZING PRUDENTIAL SPIRIT OF COMMUNITY AWARD RECIPIENT JESSIE 
      SWOFFORD FOR HER COMMITMENT AND SERVICE TO WASHINGTON STATE

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. DEREK KILMER

                             of washington

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, April 1, 2014

  Mr. KILMER. Mr. Speaker, I would like to congratulate and honor a 
young student from my district who has achieved national recognition 
for exemplary volunteer service in her community. Ms. Jessie Swofford 
of Tacoma has just been named one of the top honorees in Washington by 
the 2014 Prudential Spirit of Community Awards program, an annual honor 
conferred on the most impressive student volunteers across the country.
  Jessie is being recognized for helping improve the lives of children 
with autism and their families through volunteering with Families for 
Effective Autism Treatment (FEAT). Each month Jessie volunteers at 
FEAT's ``Super Saturdays,'' where she organizes games and activities 
for children with autism. Jessie also mentors teenagers with autism and 
spends her summers volunteering with an intensive intervention program 
for youth with autism.
  Jessie herself battled a digestive disorder and a botched surgery as 
an infant, and dyslexia growing up, all of which she has overcome. 
Today she is enrolled in advanced placement and honors courses, and she 
is discovering her passion to become a speech pathologist.
  Given the challenges we face today, it is vital that we encourage and 
support the kind of selfless contributions that these young citizens 
have made. Young volunteers like Jessie are inspiring examples to all 
of us and are among our brightest hopes for a better tomorrow.
  The program that brought this young role model to our attention--The 
Prudential Spirit of Community Awards--was created by Prudential 
Financial in partnership with the National Association of Secondary 
School Principals in 1995 to impress upon all youth volunteers that 
their contributions are critically important and highly valued--and to 
inspire other young people to follow their example. Over the past 19 
years, the program has become the Nation's largest youth recognition 
effort based solely on community service, and has honored more than 
100,000 young volunteers at the local, state and national level.
  Jessie should be extremely proud to have been singled out from the 
thousands of dedicated volunteers who participated in this year's 
program. I heartily applaud Jessie for seeking to make her community a 
better place to live and for working to positively impact the lives of 
others. She has demonstrated a level of commitment and accomplishment 
that is truly extraordinary in today's world. Jessie's actions show 
that young Americans can--and do--play important roles in our 
communities and that America's community spirit continues to hold 
tremendous promise for the future.

                          ____________________