TITLE: Recognizing March 26, 2025, as Upbring Advocacy Day.

SUMMARY: Recognizing March 26, 2025, as Upbring Advocacy Day.

FULL TEXT:
WHEREAS, Upbring, a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting youth and families in Texas through foster care and adoption, is celebrating Upbring Advocacy Day on March 26, 2025; and WHEREAS, Founded by a group of service-minded Lutherans in the mid-19th century, Upbring formerly held such monikers as Bethlehem Children's Center, the Good Samaritan Society, and the Lutheran Aid and Orphan's Society before it adopted its present-day name; as a direct-action organization, Upbring is committed to advancing children's well-being and securing a future free from the damages of abuse; over the past decade, it has profoundly impacted the lives of more than 100,000 youth, serving upwards of 14,000 young Texans each year from over 80 locations across the state; and WHEREAS, Through its foster care program, Upbring connects youth with families who can provide them with safety, support, and compassion until they can be reunited with their biological families; when children cannot return to their birth parents, Upbring's foster-to-adopt team helps to place them in permanent, loving homes; the organization also operates residential programs through which preteen and teen trauma survivors can take meaningful steps toward recovery with the guidance of caring professionals in a homelike environment; in cases of abuse, neglect, and exploitation, the child advocates at Upbring perform work that is akin to that of first responders, and they make immeasurable contributions to their communities through their heroic efforts in behalf of the most vulnerable; and WHEREAS, Upbring has been a source of hope and healing to countless youth over the course of its long history, and the State of Texas has benefited tremendously from the compassion and altruism of all those associated with this venerable organization; now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 89th Texas Legislature hereby recognize March 26, 2025, as Upbring Advocacy Day and extend to all those affiliated with the organization sincere best wishes for continued success in their important work; and, be it further RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be prepared for Upbring as an expression of high regard by the Texas House of Representatives. Patterson Speaker of the House I certify that H.R. No. 669 was adopted by the House on March 26, 2025, by a non-record vote. Chief Clerk of the House