LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION commending the students of H. Frank Carey High
School who participated in an event to benefit disadvantaged children in
Freetown, Sierra Leone

WHEREAS, It is the sense of this Legislative Body to recognize and pay
tribute to those young people within the great Empire State who have
made strong contributions to their communities and who serve as role
models for their peers; and
WHEREAS, Attendant to such concern, and in full accord with its long-
standing traditions, this Legislative Body is justly proud to commend
the students of H. Frank Carey High School who participated in an event
to benefit disadvantaged children in Freetown, Sierra Leone; and
WHEREAS, On Tuesday, June 5, 2012, H. Frank Carey High School students
participated in an ice cream fundraiser to raise money for disadvantaged
school children in Freetown, a small village in Sierra Leone; and
WHEREAS, Salifu Kamara, a former child soldier and current student at
American University in Washington, DC, inspired Carey students Alexandra
Bieler and Alexandra Kadell to help coordinate this fundraiser for the
purpose of rebuilding Freetown; and
WHEREAS, During a video conference hosted by 21st Century Scholars and
American University, Salifu Kamara told Carey students his compelling
story of survival which provided him with motivation and inspiration,
eventually allowing him to receive a scholarship to study at American
University; and
WHEREAS, Grateful for his opportunity to further his education in the
United States, Salifu Kamara told Carey students about his dream to
rebuild Freetown and present children of the village with the opportu-
nity to receive an education; and
WHEREAS, Salifu explained to the students that education is one of the
most powerful means to restore his village and keep children out of
harm's way; and
WHEREAS, In response to Salifu's story, Alexandra Bieler and Alexandra
Kadell and the Voices Unheard club, as well as many other exceptional
students, intervened and took up the challenge to fulfill Salifu's dream
to raise money for school children in his village, directing efforts to
provide essential school supplies, such as pens, pencils, books, desks,
and chairs, that schools in Freetown lack; and
WHEREAS, With every scoop of ice cream sold, students created paper
school houses and paper children, hanging them in the hallways of Carey
High School to spread awareness for their cause; and
WHEREAS, The benevolence of these exceptional students turned tragedy
into hope, and despair into happiness; and
WHEREAS, With their sense of civic duty and their commitment to
others, the students of H. Frank Carey High School represent the best
development of the potential which is inherent in our most precious
resource, our youth; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
commend the students of H. Frank Carey High School who participated in
an event to benefit disadvantaged children in Freetown, Sierra Leone;
and be it further
RESOLVED, That copies of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be tran-
smitted to H. Frank Carey High School, and Student Leaders Alexandra
Bieler and Alexandra Kadell.