Full Text of SJR0059 96th General Assembly
SJ0059 96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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| SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION
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| WHEREAS, The "With Wings and a Halo - R.E.A.C.H. a Child" | 3 |
| program was created to reach out to children across Illinois | 4 |
| that find themselves in a crisis situation, whether they are | 5 |
| being treated in a Children's Hospital, a domestic violence | 6 |
| situation, an automobile accident, or are temporarily homeless | 7 |
| or in distress; and
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| WHEREAS, The mission of R.E.A.C.H. (Reading Enjoyment | 9 |
| Affects Childhood Happiness) a Child is "to put a smile on the | 10 |
| face of a child in a time of need" through the gift of a book; | 11 |
| the program has been a big success in Illinois, with R.E.A.C.H. | 12 |
| a Child delivering over 60,000 books nationally in the last 14 | 13 |
| months, including 2,200 B.A.C.K. (Become A Cheerful Kid) | 14 |
| packets filled with 10 to 12 books each, to the Illinois State | 15 |
| Police; and
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| WHEREAS, The signature red backpacks of the R.E.A.C.H. a | 17 |
| Child program are in 4,000 - 5,000 squad cars and ambulances | 18 |
| throughout Illinois; the backpacks are found in Cook, McHenry, | 19 |
| Lake, Kane, DuPage, LaSalle, Sangamon, and Will Counties, as | 20 |
| well as the entire State Police fleet of squad cars; and | 21 |
| WHEREAS, Over 45,000 children's books have been donated to | 22 |
| children in crisis situations with the help of these first |
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| responders, police officers, Sheriff's offices, and State | 2 |
| patrol officers; over 7,500 squad cars and EMS ambulances in | 3 |
| Illinois are waiting to get involved in this "B.A.C.K. Packets" | 4 |
| program as well; and
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| WHEREAS, The R.E.A.C.H. a Child program allows first | 6 |
| responders to build better relationships with the community | 7 |
| youth, help children at their most vulnerable moment in a | 8 |
| crisis situation, and promote literacy and crime prevention; | 9 |
| and
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| WHEREAS, There is a tremendous need for more investment and | 11 |
| support for the R.E.A.C.H a Child program; the program survives | 12 |
| solely on financial donations, in-kind donations, and | 13 |
| volunteers to continue to provide the B.A.C.K. Packet program | 14 |
| to the various police, fire, and emergency service vehicles; | 15 |
| and
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| WHEREAS, Demand for the R.E.A.C.H a Child program is | 17 |
| growing rapidly at the State and national level; therefore, be | 18 |
| it
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| RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL | 20 |
| ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES | 21 |
| CONCURRING HEREIN, that we applaud the extensive efforts of the | 22 |
| "With Wings and A Halo - R.E.A.C.H. a Child" program in the |
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| State of Illinois and support efforts to expand the program | 2 |
| further; and we declare June 27, 2009 to be "With Wings and A | 3 |
| Halo-R.E.A.C.H. a Child Day in the State of Illinois; and be it | 4 |
| further
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| RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be | 6 |
| presented to the national and Illinois chapters of the With | 7 |
| Wings and a Halo Organization.
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