2024 -- H 8100

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LC005738

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2024

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H O U S E   R E S O L U T I O N

CELEBRATING THE 20TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE FOUNDING OF THE GLORIA

     GEMMA BREAST CANCER RESOURCE FOUNDATION ON JULY 15, 2004

     Introduced By: Representatives Alzate, Shekarchi, Blazejewski, Chippendale, Stewart,
Cruz, Felix, Shallcross Smith, Ajello, and Messier

     Date Introduced: March 26, 2024

     Referred To: House read and passed

     WHEREAS, Located on Roosevelt Avenue in the City of Pawtucket, the Gloria Gemma

Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that for the past two decades has been providing

free services to individuals and families by offering comfort, support, and access to resources for

those going through the most difficult challenges of their lives; and

     WHEREAS, Founded in 2004, the Foundation was named in memory of Gloria Gemma,

a wife and mother of nine who lost her life to breast cancer in 2002. In 2008, the Foundation

opened its Resource and Wellness Center, and Gloria’s eldest daughter, Maria Gemma-Corcelli

was named Executive Director; and

     WHEREAS, Serving communities in Rhode Island, southeastern Massachusetts and

eastern Connecticut, the primary areas of focus for the Foundation are awareness and education.

In addition, they have developed and implemented numerous free, holistic programs and services;

and

     WHEREAS, Currently, the Foundation employs six full-time staff and one additional

part-time worker, but the difference they have made in myriad peoples’ lives belies their lesser

size; and

     WHEREAS, Utilizing in-person and virtual options, the Foundation’s mission is to

“celebrate and nurture life in our local community before, during and after a cancer diagnosis by

providing education, access to wellness resources and support programs to all those touched by

cancer”; and

     WHEREAS, For those going through the trauma of breast cancer, the Gloria Gemma

Foundation has been an invaluable resource. With compassion and understanding, doled out with

a generous dose of hugs, the Gloria Gemma Foundation has been helping to mend the mind,

body, and spirits of countless women over the past twenty years and they are eminently deserving

of our recognition and gratitude; now, therefore be it

     RESOLVED, That this House of Representatives of the State of Rhode Island hereby

celebrates the 20th Anniversary of the founding of the Gloria Gemma Breast Cancer Resource

Foundation, and moreover thanks them and wishes them many more decades of guidance and

support to a grateful citizenry; 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 Maria Gemma Corcelli, Executive Director of

the Gloria Gemma Breast Cancer Resource Foundation.

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LC005738

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