By Hirschi H.R. No. 807 74R12377 PFG-D R E S O L U T I O N 1-1 WHEREAS, The Child Advocates program of the Wichita 1-2 Foundation for Children's Services, Inc., has been selected as one 1-3 of the Best of Texas programs for 1995 by the Corporate Fund for 1-4 Children, and this special recognition is indeed well deserved; and 1-5 WHEREAS, The Corporate Fund for Children was founded in 1979 1-6 by Levi Strauss Corporation, the Texas Department of Human 1-7 Services, and the Meadows Foundation of Dallas and searches 1-8 communities throughout the state for innovative programs that are 1-9 improving the lives of children and their families; to qualify for 1-10 this prestigious honor, programs must offer unique solutions to 1-11 persistent social problems, assist traditionally underserved 1-12 populations, respect cultural diversity, and be model programs that 1-13 other communities can emulate; and 1-14 WHEREAS, Child Advocates are volunteers who represent the 1-15 interests of abused and neglected children in the court system, 1-16 providing a helpful and supportive presence to their young charges 1-17 in what can often be a confusing, exhausting, and anxious ordeal 1-18 for a minor; the program is unique in that it recruits minority 1-19 volunteers to match the ethnic background of the children being 1-20 served in an effort to make the process more familiar and less 1-21 frightening to the child; and 1-22 WHEREAS, This exceptional program was the second 1-23 court-appointed special advocate program in the state and is now in 1-24 its 12th year of service to the Wichita Falls community, having 2-1 grown from one volunteer in 1983 to the more than 100 dedicated 2-2 volunteers who lend their time to the Wichita Foundation for 2-3 Children's Services, Inc., today; and 2-4 WHEREAS, To achieve its mission, the foundation collaborates 2-5 with numerous other organizations in Wichita Falls that are 2-6 striving to improve the lives of children and their efforts in this 2-7 regard clearly demonstrate the enormous progress that can be 2-8 achieved when interested individuals work together toward a common 2-9 goal; and 2-10 WHEREAS, With its receipt of this outstanding accolade, the 2-11 Wichita Foundation for Children's Services, Inc., joins another 2-12 United Way agency in the city that has been designated a Best of 2-13 Texas program this year, the Wichita Falls Metropolitan YMCA Child 2-14 Care program, a distinct achievement that is truly a source of 2-15 great pride for the residents of Wichita Falls and that can be 2-16 directly attributed to local citizens' sincere concern for others; 2-17 and 2-18 WHEREAS, The foundation and its committed Child Advocates 2-19 have made an immeasurable difference in the lives of many children 2-20 in our state and they indeed merit our highest praise and 2-21 recognition on the occasion of their recent achievement; now, 2-22 therefore, be it 2-23 RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 74th Texas 2-24 Legislature hereby congratulate the staff of the Wichita Foundation 2-25 for Children's Services, Inc., its director, Terri Oswald, and the 2-26 program's compassionate volunteers on their receipt of a Best of 2-27 Texas designation for their valuable work in helping abused and 3-1 neglected children in Wichita Falls; and, be it further 3-2 RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be 3-3 prepared for the Wichita Foundation for Children's Services, Inc., 3-4 as an expression of highest regard by the Texas House of 3-5 Representatives.