By:  Brimer                                            H.R. No. 280
       73R4570 JLZ-D
                                  R E S O L U T I O N
    1-1        WHEREAS, Opening her generous heart and extending a helping
    1-2  hand to the growing numbers of people in her community who have
    1-3  become afflicted with AIDS, Bita Schmidt has made a life-affirming
    1-4  gesture worthy of emulation and indeed deserving of the highest
    1-5  praise and admiration; and
    1-6        WHEREAS, Not looking forward to spending her days in a quiet
    1-7  and idle retirement when she left her retail job last April,
    1-8  Mrs. Schmidt immediately looked for and found an opportunity to
    1-9  become actively involved in a worthwhile endeavor ministering to
   1-10  the needs of others in her community; and
   1-11        WHEREAS, Hearing about an AIDS program that worked through
   1-12  local churches, this caring and energetic woman joined the selfless
   1-13  volunteers giving of themselves daily through the Tarrant County
   1-14  AIDS Interfaith Network, and after completing the necessary
   1-15  training in July, Mrs. Schmidt became a care team member helping
   1-16  adult AIDS patients with their everyday chores; and
   1-17        WHEREAS, Beyond the practical help they provide to AIDS
   1-18  patients and their primary care-givers by doing household chores,
   1-19  preparing meals, and performing other necessary daily tasks,
   1-20  Mrs. Schmidt and the other volunteers also bring the immeasurable
   1-21  gift of comfort and human companionship in a desperate hour of need
   1-22  to terminally ill patients who have been given less than a year to
   1-23  live; and
   1-24        WHEREAS, Seeing the tremendous need for care and comfort
    2-1  created by the devastating effects of the disease, Mrs. Schmidt
    2-2  extended herself further by joining yet another organization
    2-3  devoted to patients suffering from acquired immune deficiency
    2-4  syndrome, the AIDS Project in Fort Worth, which provides pediatric
    2-5  health care services for children with AIDS or who have contracted
    2-6  the human immunodeficiency virus; and
    2-7        WHEREAS, Because these children often are the most hapless
    2-8  victims of this dreaded disease and their plight is often the most
    2-9  heartrending, it takes a special person to work with, care for, and
   2-10  love these infants and children, and Bita Schmidt certainly
   2-11  deserves recognition as one of the most loving and compassionate of
   2-12  that select group; and
   2-13        WHEREAS, With the numbers of persons suffering from AIDS or
   2-14  infected with HIV increasing not only in Tarrant County but across
   2-15  the state, the love and compassion that people like Mrs. Schmidt
   2-16  provide becomes ever more important, both for the comfort they
   2-17  provide for AIDS patients and for the inspiration they provide for
   2-18  others to join in similar efforts of mercy and human kindness; and
   2-19        WHEREAS, Recognizing the importance of the service she
   2-20  provides to people who need it the most, the members of this body
   2-21  are proud to join our fellow Texans in praising and recognizing a
   2-22  truly outstanding and highly deserving individual; now, therefore,
   2-23  be it
   2-24        RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 73rd Texas
   2-25  Legislature hereby honor Bita Schmidt on her exceptional dedication
   2-26  to providing care for AIDS patients and commend her selfless and
   2-27  generous example to Texans everywhere; and, be it further
    3-1        RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be
    3-2  prepared for Mrs. Schmidt as an expression of high esteem by the
    3-3  Texas House of Representatives.