HON. DEAN HELLER

OF NEVADA

IN THE UNITED STATES SENATE

May 16, 2012

Mr. Heller: Mr. President, I rise today to congratulate a student from my home State for being recognized as one of Nevada’s top youth volunteers of 2012.  Angela Foremaster, a senior at Legacy High School in Las Vegas, was honored with the Prudential Spirit of Community Award for her advocacy on behalf of foster children and homeless teens in the Greater Las Vegas area.  I am proud to recognize Ms. Foremaster for this accomplishment as she serves as a role model for students across the nation striving to make a difference in the lives of America’s youth.  

Having five adopted siblings, Ms. Foremaster understands the importance of supporting organizations that find adoptive families for children who wait in foster care.  She has dedicated more than 1,000 hours to foster organizations around Nevada to assist their efforts to provide a supportive community for children. One winter, as she helped a group prepare for the holiday season, Ms. Foremaster noticed that they weren’t providing children with stockings for Christmas.  This experience encouraged her to hang flyers, asking for donations and small gifts to help her fill stockings for adoptive children and displaced teens. Ms. Foremaster was thrilled to receive generous donations that enabled her to fill 250 stockings to help bring the holiday spirit to kids in needs.  

I am so appreciative that Ms. Foremaster is raising awareness of the needs of our country’s struggling youth.  In this tough economic period, America’s children deserve our attention more than ever.  Since coming to Congress, I have supported legislation that assists individuals who have fallen on hard times, recognizing the importance of temporary safety nets.  It is of paramount importance in this distressed economy that we keep the needs of our most vulnerable at the forefront while focusing on solutions to our nation’s long-term economic problems.   

I ask my colleagues to join me today in congratulating a young Nevadan for her incredible determination to assist our nation’s youth.  The citizens of Las Vegas are fortunate to have such a generous volunteer who selflessly gives back to her community and exemplifies the very best America’s youth has to offer.