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.