In Recognition of Citizens for Citizens, Inc

Floor Speech

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Mr. KEATING. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Citizens for
Citizens, Inc. on its 50th anniversary.

Citizens for Citizens, a Community Action Agency, assists over
42,000 households in the Greater Fall River and Greater Taunton areas
in Massachusetts every year by providing short term services that
support families during financial crisis through its Fuel Assistance,
Food Pantry and Rental Assistance programs.

Founded in 1965 under the leadership of its first Executive
Director, Edward J. (Jud) Sullivan, Citizens for Citizens opened a Head
Start program to provide pre-school education programs for children
ages 3 to 5. Recognizing the needs of its community, the programs were
quickly expanded to include employment opportunities for individuals
over the age of 55 through the Senior Aide Program, nutritional
services through the Women, Infants & Children (WIC) feeding program,
and utility mitigation opportunities through the Fuel Assistance and
Weatherization program. By 1982, Citizens for Citizens had also started
an After School and Family Day Care program and Retired Senior
Volunteer Program.

Today, Citizens for Citizens is an ever-present and integral part of
our community's fabric. Hardly a demographic is overlooked by its wide
variety of new and continuing programs. In addition to its initial
focus on education and employment opportunities, Citizens for Citizens
also provides elderly individuals with an opportunity to earn
additional income by working with children with special needs through
the Foster Grandparent program, and utilizes the many skills of willing and able neighbors through
voluntary assistance programs, such as the Volunteer Income Tax Return
Preparation program.

Mr. Speaker, I am proud to honor Citizens for Citizens on behalf of
all of the families and individuals that the organization has helped
over the last fifty years. Citizens for Citizens has had a tremendous
impact on the Fall River and Taunton communities, and the Commonwealth
as a whole. I ask that my colleagues join me in congratulating all of
its staff and volunteers and in wishing them another fifty years of
success.

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