HR0728 94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0728 LRB094 15076 RAS 50239 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The Amity Society (Amity) of Freeport is celebrating its 125th anniversary this year; and

WHEREAS, Amity, which has the distinction of being the oldest charitable institution in Freeport, was founded in 1880 to dispense food and clothing to the needy; this was many years before there were governmental agencies offering such help; and

WHEREAS, Amity was started by four women, Misses Isabel Fry, Jessie Snyder, Jennie Stearns, and Mrs. W.E. Boyington, at the First Presbyterian Church with the assistance of their pastor, Dr. H.D. Jenkins; the Society later became a non-sectarian organization; and

WHEREAS, During World War I, when many men were rejected for service because of nutritional defects caused in childhood, Amity began working toward a goal of healthy children in the community; a community-wide welfare program was carried on with the help of an Amity nurse; for years, that nurse was Mary Coomber and the visiting nurse was Genevieve Steinmetz; and

WHEREAS, The organization foresaw the need for an orthopedic clinic where children with defects of bone or muscle or children crippled by polio could be cared for by specialists; the Elks Club co-sponsored the clinic; and

WHEREAS, Amity and Junior Amity worked with expectant mothers, babies, and toddlers; Junior Amity stepped in and cared for children up to preschool age; and

WHEREAS, Amity added a visiting nurse to help families care for patients at home who might otherwise have to go to a nursing home or hospital; Amity reports show that the visiting nurse made over one hundred calls per month; and

WHEREAS, Over the years, Amity has been serving the needs of children and still carries on that work today; the Amity Day Care Learning Center was established in 1966; the center provides affordable day care and education services to approximately one hundred twenty children from six weeks old to those in the fourth grade; and

WHEREAS, Another fundraising project of Amity is Amity's Attic, a resale shop; Amity's Attic has been in operation since 1996; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we congratulate Amity Society on the occasion of the organization's 125th anniversary; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to Amity Society as an expression of our esteem and with best wishes for the organization's future success.