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2008 SESSION

088371232
SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 78
Offered January 9, 2008
Prefiled January 9, 2008
Commending BRCC SIFE―Blue Ridge Community College Students in Free Enterprise team.
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Patrons-- Hanger; Delegate: Landes
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WHEREAS, a global nonprofit organization, Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) is active in more than 40 countries, working as teams on college campuses in partnership with business and state and local institutions of higher education; and

WHEREAS, formed in 2004, the Blue Ridge Community College Students in Free Enterprise team, known as BRCC SIFE and comprised of 32 dedicated and hardworking students, was named 2007 National Champion for the Two Year College Division in May 2007 at the SIFE USA National Exposition in Dallas, Texas; and

WHEREAS, BRCC SIFE was judged to have made the greatest impact of all two year colleges in the United States by completing 32 service learning projects focused on educating and promoting a solid understanding of the principles of the free enterprise system, including market economics, personal success skills, entrepreneurism, financial literacy, and ethics; and

WHEREAS, SIFE teams are led by faculty advisors and are challenged to develop outreach projects for citizens in need in their communities; and

WHEREAS, SIFE offers college students the opportunity to apply what they are learning in the classroom to solve real world problems; and

WHEREAS, SIFE teams learn to help others and be of value in their communities by utilizing their personal educational experiences, expertise of their faculty advisors, support of their local business advisory boards, and resources of local institutions to implement programs that create real opportunities for their fellow citizens; and

WHEREAS, the effectiveness of SIFE programs are judged at competitions where the outstanding teams present the results of their educational outreach projects and compete to determine which teams were most successful at creating opportunity for others; and

WHEREAS, SIFE judges are enthusiastic and supportive executive officers of a multitude of sponsoring companies, such as Campbell Soup Company, 3M, Cargill, KPMG International, Pepsi, Proctor and Gamble, Radio Shack, HSBC, and many others; and

WHEREAS, affecting the lives of over 128,000 people, some of the outstanding BRCC SIFE projects completed in 2007 include assisting Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, devastated by Hurricane Katrina, through Project K.A.R.E. and helping 92 companies to rebuild and reorganize; developing twelve micro lending circles in Zimbabwe, Haiti, and Ethiopia, creating hope and economic opportunity for over 2,000 people; educating individuals and businesses in the Shenandoah Valley on how to become more environmentally friendly through a multi-faceted Green Initiative; implementing the I Choose to Succeed Program for at-risk high school students, offering scholarships and mentors to help students realize their goals of a higher education; and

WHEREAS, in the 2006 - 2007 academic year, the BRCC SIFE team was honored by Goldman Sachs for BRCC SIFE’s Global Valley Games, an educational project that teaches high school students about globalization, and by the international bank and finance organization, HSBC, for BRCC SIFE’s financial literacy programs; and

WHEREAS, the BRCC SIFE team members were also named to President Bush’s National Honor Roll for Community Service for their exemplary community service projects in 2006 - 2007; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the Senate, the House of Delegates concurring, That the General Assembly commend and congratulate BRCC SIFE―Blue Ridge Community College Students in Free Enterprise team on its many achievements and its championship performance at the SIFE USA National Exposition; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the Senate prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to the BRCC SIFE as an expression of the General Assembly’s gratitude to the team members for their many successful service projects in 2006 - 2007.