HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 786 Offered January 19, 2007 Commending Pathways of Service, Inc. ---------- Patron-- Nutter ----------

WHEREAS, Pathways of Service, Inc., is recognized for its outstanding proactive humanitarian assistance projects designed to win the hearts and minds of women and children living in areas of crisis around the world; and

WHEREAS, Pathways of Service, Inc., was registered in June 2006 as a nonprofit organization by Major Mark B. Sherkey, United States Army Senate Liaison Officer; and

WHEREAS, the core values of Pathways of Service, Inc., are service, duty, leadership, stewardship, and partnership; and

WHEREAS, Operation Provide Classroom Comfort was the first successful initiative of Pathways of Service, Inc., which was initiated by then Captain Mark Sherkey’s Field Artillery Battery, C/l-377th FA, Mosul, Iraq, in 2003-2004, using the elements of soft power to create humanitarian connections between the Iraqis and the Americans; and

WHEREAS, Operation Provide Classroom Comfort involved three phases of rebuilding schools, transforming classrooms into learning environments, and providing teachers and students with tools to facilitate learning; and

WHEREAS, Virginia Tech assisted Operation Provide Classroom Comfort by establishing the Virginia Tech Iraqi Outreach Commission; and

WHEREAS, as a combined effort between the Virginia Tech Iraqi Outreach Commission and Field Artillery Battery, C/l-377th FA, 2,000 Iraqi children were provided with more than 2,500 pounds of school supplies from at least 27 states within the United States, while the villages of Karmless, Badosh, and Hulaylah in Iraq received over $60,000 in recovered Saddam funds for the renovation of three primary schools, a secondary school, and a preschool playground; and

WHEREAS, Operation Provide Safe Harbor, the second and most current initiative of Pathways of Service, Inc., was introduced in September 2006 to establish partnerships with universities, corporations, community organizations, and individuals to direct time, energy, financial support, and resources toward a proactive humanitarian assistance project for women and children in Uganda; and

WHEREAS, Pathways of Service, Inc., has partnered with Virginia Tech, the College of William and Mary, George Mason University, Westfield High School, Alleghany County Public Schools, and other leading state universities and high schools, nonprofit organizations, individual donors, and corporations to raise $50,000 for Operation Provide Safe Harbor to fund a Safe Harbor Rescue Center in Gulu in northern Uganda; and

WHEREAS, Ugandan women and children will receive safe and secure shelter, medical treatment, educational support, and counseling under Operation Provide Safe Harbor; and

WHEREAS, Pathways of Service, Inc., will continue to recognize international demands on women and children in crisis and respond with soft power assistance to demonstrate the kindness and compassion of the people of the United States; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the General Assembly hereby commend Pathways of Service, Inc., for its many outstanding projects and educational outreach efforts; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, that the Clerk of the House of Delegates prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to Major Mark Sherkey on behalf of Pathways of Service, Inc., as an expression of the General Assembly's gratitude for its commitment to win the hearts and minds of women and children living in areas of crisis around the world.