hr26 intr

HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 26
(By Mr. Speaker, Mr. Kiss, and Delegates DeLong, Campbell,
Mezzatesta, Varner, Kominar, Warner, Staton,
Michael, Ennis, Wright and Williams)

[Introduced February 26, 2002; referred to the
Committee on Rules.]

Recognizing, memorializing and honoring Tony's Gang Foundation, Inc. for its work and support of children facing life-threatening diseases; recognizing and honoring those children who daily battle life-threatening diseases and proclaiming these children as heroes.

Whereas , The mission of Tony's Gang Foundation, Inc. is to provide friendship, one-on-one companionship, entertainment, and a sense of community for children who are undergoing treatment for cancer and other life-threatening illnesses and, in doing so, provide respite support for their families; and

Whereas , Tony's Gang Foundation, Inc. is incorporated in Pennsylvania and has a chapter in Atlanta, the Philadelphia and South Jersey areas; and

Whereas , Since February, 1997, Tony's Gang has extended its services to children in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Georgia, Virginia, Ohio, Illinois and Minnesota; and

Whereas , The goal of Tony's Gang is to establish regional chapters nationwide in areas served by a children's hospital or other facilities that treat a large number of pediatric oncology and specialty patients; and

Whereas , At the age of twelve, after ten torturous years of chemotherapy and two bone marrow transplants, Tony never stopped making plans as he dreamed of growing up to become a Cincinnati Reds baseball announcer; and

Whereas , For a seriously ill child, even the simplest near-term plans can become a source of hope and joy; and

Whereas , Through the kindness of others, Tony made and realized many such plans, and he was blessed with many wonderful surprises; and

Whereas , During his frequent difficult periods, many generous people reached out to help make Tony's life a little brighter and a lot
less lonely - professional sports figures called him, gave him tickets to events, and took him to games. He waited for weeks to see a Broadway play, and afterward, a leading actor took him backstage for a visit; and

Whereas , Perhaps even more importantly, ordinary people gave Tony the gift of friendship. They made plans with him the way friends do. They took Tony to the movies, to museums, to miniature golf; and

Whereas , Each experience gave him something good to look forward to and something special to remember; and

Whereas , It is estimated that over sixty thousand children in the United States daily battle a life-threatening disease. In 1998 an estimated 8,700 new cases of leukemia and other childhood cancers were diagnosed. Thousands of other children face diagnoses of sickle cell anemia, cystic fibrosis, hemophilia, AIDS, and other incurable diseases; and

Whereas , Our medical research community has provided new therapies that allow children to achieve an initial remission from their disease which often last for several years; and

Whereas , Remission is not the same as a cure. Initial treatment may last for months and may result in hair loss, bloating and lethargy; and

Whereas , Regardless of the final therapeutic outcome, maintenance therapy can continue for years. For a time, children with life-threatening diseases may be forced to abandon many or all of their normal activities. Sometimes these lifestyle changes last a lifetime and sometimes their lives do not last a normal lifetime; and

Whereas , A diagnosis of a life-threatening disease can create awkwardness, avoidance behavior, and even fear in other children and their parents. Frequently, children undergoing treatment for cancer feel left behind by their peers. Changes in appearance, debilitation, and loss of independence can make them feel alienated from life outside of their illness; and

Whereas , The isolation is increased if the disease results in permanent disability or disfigurement; and

Whereas , For some children, cancer is a ceaseless succession of therapy, remission and relapse. With each battle, these children become increasingly distanced from normal childhood experiences; and

Whereas , The goal of Tony's Gang is to establish the benchmark community service for children who battle life-threatening diseases. To accomplish this goal, Tony's Gang has developed a comprehensive approach to fill the gap in long-term social support of children who battle cancer and other life-threatening diseases; and

Whereas , The programs of Tony's Gang are initiated by providing special surprises, entertainment, and respite opportunities. These services are available to these children over the course of their therapy, not just once in a lifetime; and

Whereas , The central activity of Tony's Gang is a Buddy Program which is initiated through a pilot project. This Buddy Program supports these special children, through a lasting, one-on-one relationship to last possibly a lifetime; and

Whereas , Tony's Gang recruits, investigates, trains, and tracks qualified adult volunteers (ages 18 and older) who are willing to invest their time in a special child; and

Whereas , The organization also cultivates entertainment resources (tickets, free passes, etc.) for the children, the family and their volunteers to share as well; and

Whereas , Until this Buddy Program is completely underway, Tony's Gang supports children through five other special programs and activities: Welcome to the Gang Bears and Caps, Tony's Gang Treehouse website, Tell Me a Story project, Peanuts and Cracker Jacks, Bookworms and Couch Potatoes and our Cozy Quilts on Angel's Wing activity; and

Whereas , Through various programs and the careful matching of one volunteer with one child, Tony's Gang's hope is to enrich the lives of children, like Tony, by providing friendships they can
count on and activities they can anticipate - tickets to a ball game, a visit to the zoo, even a quiet afternoon at home playing Monopoly; and

Whereas , The organization also sponsors various group events on a regular basis, so that each child and his or her Tony's Gang friend can get out in their own community; and

Whereas , Tony's Gang does not duplicate any existing efforts to provide tickets or activities for children with cancer. Tony's Gang works closely with other organizations in the community who provide support for children who battle life-threatening diseases; and

Whereas , Hole In The Wall Gang Camp, founded by Paul Newman and named for Butch Cassidy's notorious band of outlaws, is a rural retreat in Ashford, Connecticut for children with cancer and other
life-threatening illnesses. It is designed to provide sick children with a gamut of camp experiences and a chance to feel like "regular" kids again for two weeks each summer; and

Whereas , Adults from all over the nation and all walks of life volunteer as cabin counselors; and

Whereas , Tony Lizza, for whom Tony's Gang is named, was fortunate to have attended three summer sessions at The Hole In The Wall Gang Camp. Like any child who has experienced the magic of this extraordinary place, Tony looked forward to camp all year; and

Whereas , One of the things that makes The Hole In The Wall Gang Camp so special is the power of the bonds children form there - not only with each other, but with the caring adults who become their counselors and friends. Occasionally, these relationships continue long after the duffel bags are packed and the cabins are empty; and

Whereas , A few of Tony's former camp counselors extended their friendship and remained actively involved in his life; and

Whereas , These invaluable, life-affirming relationships, and others like them, led to the question that inspired the Tony's Gang concept: What if we could offer one-on-one companionship, fun, entertainment, and a sense of community - a piece of The Hole In The Wall Gang Camp experience - to other sick children all year long, right in their own backyards; and

Whereas , Tony's Gang asked the folks at the Hole In The Wall Gang Camp what they thought of the idea. Their enthusiastic support was all the encouragement needed; and

Whereas , The Buddy Program was the impetus for Tony's Gang. This concept of one-on-one companionship to enhance socialization for children battling life-threatening illness remains the ultimate goal of Tony's Gang; and

Whereas , Much like a Big Brother, Big Sister program, Tony's Gang Buddies enter a child's life bringing friendship and a chance to get away from it all. Other Tony's Gang programs, like Peanuts and Cracker Jacks, help supplement the Buddy's resources to entertain the child; and

Whereas , We, as West Virginians formally recognize the courage of these children and the families as they now face long years of treatment and therapy; and

Whereas , We, as West Virginians, should focus on bringing our commitment to volunteer service, for, our state has a rich heritage of people helping people and neighbor helping neighbor; and

Whereas , The children who battle life-threatening diseases on a daily basis are truly heroes and deserve to be honored as such;
therefore, be it

Resolved by the House of Delegates:

That the House of Delegates hereby proclaims that it recognizes the courage of the children among us that battle daily just to live; and, be it

Further Resolved, That we hold these children as HEROES in our communities; and, be it

Further Resolved, That we commit to them our friendship and support, because we know that friends do indeed make it better; and, be it

Further Resolved, That we honor and recognize Gretchen Leeza as the founder of Tony's Gang and the multitude of volunteers who quietly devote their time to helping these children who heroically battle cancer, catastrophic and other life-threatening diseases; and, be it

Further Resolved, That it be known that the children here today represent tens of thousands of children and their families across our great nation who bravely face each day with hope for cures and futures and who need and deserve our friendship and support; and, be it

Further Resolved, That we take this moment in time to acknowledge the courage of these children by honoring them as the true heroes they are, recognizing the heroism it takes for them to undergo difficult therapies and continue to strive to be just a "regular" kid; and, be it

Further Resolved, That we therefore mark this moment in time to acknowledge the courage of these children by presenting them with West Virginia House of Delegates medals for all to see. These medals mark these children as the true heroes they are; and, be it

Further Resolved, That we all learn a valuable lesson in courage from these brave children, our heroes.