Full Text of SR0167 103rd General Assembly
SR0167 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | SENATE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate wish to | 3 | | congratulate the Garden of Prayer Youth Center on celebrating | 4 | | 45 years of providing services to at-risk children throughout | 5 | | the State of Illinois; and
| 6 | | WHEREAS, In 1970, Reverend Shole and Doris Jordan | 7 | | purchased a 54 acre farm in Momence and became foster parents | 8 | | with the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS); | 9 | | they opened their hearts and their home to children and | 10 | | families in need of food, clothing, shelter, and love; and
| 11 | | WHEREAS, In 1978, Doris Jordan established their home as a | 12 | | mission and named it the Garden of Prayer Deliverance Center; | 13 | | they dedicated 47 acres of their land and their farm house for | 14 | | the sole purpose of housing those in immediate need of food and | 15 | | shelter; and
| 16 | | WHEREAS, Reverend Shole Jordan, a Navy veteran, retired as | 17 | | a union welder from the General Motors Chicago Plant on 103rd | 18 | | Street, and Doris Jordan was retired from St. Luke | 19 | | Presbyterian Hospital of Chicago as a nursing aide; they | 20 | | decided to move to a new home in 1978 and left their farm and | 21 | | their farmhouse in the care of Vurnice Maloney to continue the | 22 | | mission of serving at-risk children and families; and |
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, In 1994, Vurnice Maloney, a registered nurse, | 2 | | retired from the Shapiro Developmental Center in Kankakee as a | 3 | | unit director and devoted her time and attention to the growth | 4 | | and expansion of the Garden of Prayer Youth Center; and | 5 | | WHEREAS, With guidance from Lorine Samuels, Franklin and | 6 | | Vurnice Maloney incorporated the Garden of Prayer Youth Center | 7 | | as a 501c3 not-for-profit organization in March of 1995; and | 8 | | WHEREAS, Vurnice and Franklin Maloney became licensed | 9 | | foster parents and provided emergency foster care to at-risk | 10 | | male teens involved with DCFS and Juvenile Justice; Vurnice | 11 | | Maloney expanded the reach of the Garden of Prayer Youth | 12 | | Center by establishing an adoption preservation program, a | 13 | | counseling service, a mentoring program, and a summer camp and | 14 | | by providing supplemental education services; she also | 15 | | implemented Teen REACH Afterschool programming serving | 16 | | students from Lorenzo R. Smith School in Pembroke and students | 17 | | from Momence Jr. High School; and | 18 | | WHEREAS, Under the leadership of Vurnice Maloney, the | 19 | | Garden of Prayer Youth Center received the Illinois Governor's | 20 | | Hometown and Governor's Cup Award in 2004; it received awards | 21 | | and recognitions from DCFS, the Illinois House of | 22 | | Representatives, and the city and county of Kankakee; and |
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, On October 1, 2006, Michael Maloney became the | 2 | | executive director of the Garden of Prayer Youth Center and | 3 | | continued the vision and mission of his grandparents and | 4 | | parents and established the organization as a licensed child | 5 | | welfare agency in 2007; and | 6 | | WHEREAS, Under the leadership of Michael Maloney, the | 7 | | Garden of Prayer Youth Center has become an accredited | 8 | | trauma-informed agency that has expanded to operate two | 9 | | therapeutic group homes for teens and two child care centers | 10 | | serving children ages six weeks to 12 years; it provides | 11 | | specialized and emergency foster care and parent mentoring and | 12 | | continues to provide summer camp and Teen REACH afterschool | 13 | | programming; and
| 14 | | WHEREAS, The Garden of Prayer Youth Center and its board | 15 | | of directors ensure that the agency consistently meets and | 16 | | exceeds the highest standards set by the Commission on | 17 | | Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF) and National | 18 | | Accreditation Commission for Early Care and Education Programs | 19 | | (NAC); the Garden of Prayer Early Education Centers are the | 20 | | only NAC accredited child care centers in Kankakee County | 21 | | awarded the Gold Circle of Quality; and
| 22 | | WHEREAS, The Garden of Prayer Youth Center is the largest |
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| 1 | | African American-owned and led business in Kankakee County | 2 | | with over 70 employees and nine locations; it is the only | 3 | | African American child welfare agency located outside of Cook | 4 | | County and the City of Chicago; therefore, be it
| 5 | | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED THIRD GENERAL | 6 | | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we congratulate the | 7 | | Garden of Prayer Youth Center on celebrating 45 years of | 8 | | providing services to at-risk children throughout the State of | 9 | | Illinois, and we wish them many more successful years; and be | 10 | | it further
| 11 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 12 | | presented to the Garden of Prayer Youth Center as a symbol of | 13 | | our respect and esteem.
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