Senate Resolution No. 3265

BY: Senator BRESLIN

COMMENDING Sandra Olson upon the occasion of her
selection to represent the Capital Region in the
national Jefferson Awards competition in a virtual
event to be conducted in September of 2020

WHEREAS, It is incumbent upon the people of the State of New York to
recognize and acknowledge outstanding individuals within our midst who
have made significant contributions to the quality of life therein; and

WHEREAS, A great community is only as great as those persons and
organizations that provide exemplary service, whether through
participation in voluntary programs or simply through a lifetime of good
citizenship; and

WHEREAS, This Legislative Body is justly proud to commend Sandra
Olson upon the occasion of her selection to represent the Capital Region
in the national Jefferson Awards competition in a virtual event to be
conducted in September of 2020; and

WHEREAS, The Jefferson Awards are a prestigious national recognition
program which honors community and public service throughout the United
States; and

WHEREAS, In 1972, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, United States Senator
Robert Taft, Jr. and Sam Beard, Chairman of the National Development
Council, founded the American Institute for Public Service to establish
a "Nobel Prize" for public and community service on both the national
and local level, the Jefferson Awards; and

WHEREAS, The Jefferson Awards, whose stated mission is "to
recognize, inspire and activate volunteerism and public service in
communities, workplaces and schools across America," serve as a "Call to
Action for Volunteers"; and

WHEREAS, On the local level, Jefferson Awards recipients are
ordinary people who do extraordinary things without expectation of
recognition or reward, while national award recipients represent a
"Who's Who" of outstanding Americans; and

WHEREAS, A retired teacher from Jamestown Elementary School
District, Sandra Olson has assisted hundreds of students improve
academically and socially by offering one-on-one homework help to
children with developmental, social, emotional and behavioral
challenges; and

WHEREAS, Sandra Olson of Albany, New York, has volunteered more than
2,000 hours the past four years teaching students in the homework room
and supervising retired teacher volunteers in the South End Children's
Cafe; and

WHEREAS, Furthermore, this impressive woman hosts a dinner each
night in the homework room called the Manners Cafe, where a small group
of children eat together and practice their manners; Sandra Olson

encourages academic achievement, enhances self-esteem and helps the
children believe in themselves; and

WHEREAS, It is the sense of this Legislative Body that when a person
of such noble aims and accomplishments is brought to our attention it is
appropriate to publicly proclaim and commend them for the edification
and emulation of others; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
commend Sandra Olson upon the occasion of her selection to represent the
Capital Region in the national Jefferson Awards competition, noting her
exemplary service to her community and extending to her heartfelt best
wishes for a future of continued purposeful success and well-being; and
be it further

RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be
transmitted to Sandra Olson.