H.R. No. 178



R E S O L U T I O N
	WHEREAS, The Kerrville branch of Big Brothers Big Sisters 
(BBBS) is celebrating that commendable organization's 100th 
anniversary in 2004; and
	WHEREAS, To meet the needs of at-risk youth in Kerr County, a 
satellite office was opened in Kerrville in 1996 by the Alamo Area 
BBBS, one of 490 BBBS affiliates in the nation; six years later, the 
Kerrville branch initiated a High School Bigs program in which high 
school juniors and seniors, or Bigs, provide elementary student 
Littles with one-on-one time and attention once a week during the 
academic year; this exemplary program allows the high school 
participant to experience the joy and life-changing power of 
service and provides the younger student the opportunity to connect 
with a role model close to his or her own age; and
	WHEREAS, The oldest youth mentoring organization in the 
United States, BBBS was founded in 1904, when Ernest Coulter, a New 
York City court clerk, grew increasingly distressed by the 
suffering and misery of the thousands of children who came through 
the city's court system; he appeared before a group of civic and 
business leaders and succeeded in motivating 40 influential men to 
volunteer their time to mentor the city's delinquent youth, thereby 
forming New York Big Brothers, which would later become Big 
Brothers Big Sisters of America; and
	WHEREAS, Today, the organization serves more than 200,000 
youth from ages five through 18 in 5,000 communities across all 50 
states, making it the largest youth mentoring organization in the 
country; national research has shown that the positive 
relationships formed between Big Brothers and Big Sisters and their 
Littles have a direct, measurable, and lasting impact on children's 
lives; statistics demonstrate that Little Brothers and Sisters are 
less likely to use illegal drugs, consume alcohol, skip school, or 
engage in acts of violence, and that they develop greater 
self-esteem and increased confidence in their schoolwork 
performance and are able to get along better with their families and 
friends; and
	WHEREAS, Big Brothers Big Sisters is commemorating its 100th 
anniversary by partnering with Yahoo! in reuniting former Big and 
Little Brothers and Sisters; encouraging former Bigs and Littles to 
submit personal stories about their past experiences in the 
program, the BBBS plans to publish a selection of those 
inspirational stories in a 2004 centennial book, 100 Great Stories 
from the First 100 Years; kicking off the organization's centennial 
activities in January 2004 with National Mentoring Month, BBBS is 
championing its vision of providing mentoring services for one 
million at-risk children by 2010; and
	WHEREAS, The well-being of our youth is something in which 
all Texans have a stake, and because of the important work of the 
BBBS branch in Kerrville and all of the BBBS affiliates located 
throughout the state and nation, children are given the support and 
encouragement that help them to achieve success and happiness; now, 
therefore, be it
	RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 78th Texas 
Legislature, 4th Called Session, hereby commend Big Brothers Big 
Sisters for its outstanding service to our nation's youth for the 
past 100 years and extend to all the individuals associated with the 
organization's Kerrville branch deep appreciation for their 
exemplary community service; and, be it further
	RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be 
prepared for the BBBS Kerrville program as an expression of high 
regard by the Texas House of Representatives.

                                                                      Hilderbran

                                                  ______________________________
                                                       Speaker of the House     

	I certify that H.R. No. 178 was adopted by the House on May 
17, 2004, by a non-record vote.

                                                  ______________________________
                                                     Chief Clerk of the House