2017 -- S 0853

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LC002613

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2017

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S E N A T E   R E S O L U T I O N

THANKING AND CONGRATULATING MARY ANNE ROLL ON HER RETIREMENT

AFTER SEVENTEEN YEARS OF DEVOTED AND DISTINGUISHED SERVICE AS THE

DIRECTOR OF THE CUMBERLAND SCHOOL VOLUNTEERS

     Introduced By: Senators Pearson, and Picard

     Date Introduced: May 03, 2017

     Referred To: Placed on the Senate Consent Calendar

     WHEREAS, The Cumberland Schools Volunteers is a nonprofit organization created in

1967, dedicated to assisting teachers with volunteer literacy programs. For the past seventeen

years, Mary Ann Roll has been their Director; and

     WHEREAS, Under the guidance and direction provided by Ms. Roll, the volunteer

organization hosts numerous programs in the Cumberland Schools, including "Reading is

Fundamental", a popular program that allows elementary school students to pick out for free, new

books for them to own, and "Just Friends, More Alike Than Different," a curriculum that teaches

4th graders about peers with physical and intellectual disabilities; and

     WHEREAS, Both programs have proven to be quite effective, with the "Reading is

Fundamental" program being well-known in the Cumberland elementary schools, and feedback

has shown that youngsters who participate in the "Just Friends Program" understand that peers

with disabilities are more similar than they are different from non-disabled children; and

     WHEREAS, Ms. Roll offers training programs for interested volunteers and helps with

fundraising and the process of attaining grants. Thanks to her tireless efforts, the Cumberland

School Volunteers raised $7500 for the "Reading is Fundamental" Program. Another initiative

that Ms. Roll brought to fruition was a program that taught volunteers how to include autism in

their presentations and activities for kids; and

     WHEREAS, Although Ms. Roll will be sorely missed by the teachers, parents and

students of Cumberland, who have all benefited from her exemplary leadership as the Director of

the Cumberland School Volunteers, thankfully, she has stated that she intends to continue to serve

the Cumberland schools as a volunteer in the years to come; now, therefore be it

     RESOLVED, That this Senate of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations

hereby thanks and congratulates Mary Anne Roll on her retirement after seventeen years of

devoted and distinguished service as the Director of the Cumberland School Volunteers; and be it

further

     RESOLVED, That the Secretary of State be and hereby is authorized and directed to

transmit a duly certified copy of this resolution to Ms. Mary Anne Roll.

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LC002613

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