1-1                                     1                                  
 1-2                          SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 209
 1-3           WHEREAS, The Senior Service Corps is a network of 35,000
 1-4     active Senior Volunteers who bring a wealth of invaluable
 1-5     experience, skills, talents, interests, and creativity to
 1-6     bear on community problems facing the Lone Star State; and
 1-7           WHEREAS, These Senior Service Corps programs have mobilized
 1-8     older Texans to provide positive solutions to community challenges
 1-9     in such vital areas as education, public safety, health and human
1-10     services, and the environment; and
1-11           WHEREAS, In 2000 alone, Senior Volunteers donated more than
1-12     seven million hours of service to assist 1.8 million Texans through
1-13     the three components of the Senior Service Corps--the Retired and
1-14     Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP), the Foster Grandparent Program,
1-15     and the Senior Companion Program; and
1-16           WHEREAS, The Retired and Senior Volunteer Program provides
1-17     opportunities for people 55 years and older to serve their
1-18     communities as volunteers, by offering opportunities to serve
1-19     32,000 children through tutoring, mentoring, and literacy programs;
1-20     over 33,000 RSVP volunteers serve from a few to over 40 hours a
1-21     week, providing over 13,000,000 hours of service in public and
1-22     nonprofit organizations that range from education centers to police
 2-1     departments to hospitals; and
 2-2           WHEREAS, The Foster Grandparent Program offers low-income
 2-3     seniors age 60 and older opportunities to serve as mentors, tutors,
 2-4     and caregivers for 17,000 Texas children and youth with special
 2-5     needs; Foster Grandparents offer emotional support to children who
 2-6     have been abused and neglected, mentor troubled teens and young
 2-7     mothers, and care for premature infants and children with physical
 2-8     disabilities; and
 2-9           WHEREAS, The Senior Companion Program provides low-income
2-10     seniors age 60 and older meaningful opportunities to provide
2-11     caregiver support to frail and homebound elderly who need
2-12     person-to-person support because of loneliness, illness, and
2-13     disabilities; by taking care of simple chores, providing
2-14     transportation to medical appointments, and offering contact to
2-15     the outside world, Senior Companions provide the essential services
2-16     that enable 1,723 frail older Texans to continue to live in their
2-17     own homes; and
2-18           WHEREAS, The Senior Service Corps represents one of our
2-19     state's most precious natural resources--the collective wisdom
2-20     and the ability of older citizens to make a difference in our
2-21     communities; the combined value of the service provided by these
2-22     programs is $204,986,696 to the State of Texas; it is most
2-23     appropriate that the members of this exemplary organization be
2-24     recognized for their service to the citizens of the State of Texas;
 3-1     now, therefore, be it
 3-2           RESOLVED, That the Senate of the State of Texas,
 3-3     77th Legislature, hereby express its deepest gratitude to the
 3-4     volunteers of the Senior Service Corps for their dedication to
 3-5     bettering the quality of life for citizens of all ages in the
 3-6     Lone Star State.
 3-7                                                    Truan
 3-8           Armbrister           Gallegos            Ogden
 3-9           Barrientos           Harris              Shapiro
3-10           Bernsen              Haywood             Shapleigh
3-11           Bivins               Jackson             Sibley
3-12           Brown                Lindsay             Staples
3-13           Cain                 Lucio               Van de Putte
3-14           Carona               Madla               Wentworth
3-15           Duncan               Moncrief            West
3-16           Ellis                Nelson              Whitmire
3-17           Fraser                                   Zaffirini
3-18                      Ratliff, President of the Senate
3-19                                  ______________________________________
3-20                                          President of the Senate
3-21                                       I hereby certify that the above
3-22                                  Resolution was adopted by the Senate
3-23                                  on February 8, 2001.
3-24                                  ______________________________________
3-25                                          Secretary of the Senate
3-26                                  ______________________________________
3-27                                            Dean of the Senate