Congressional Record
Proceedings, Debates of the U.S. Congress

        

[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E53-E54]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  RECOGNIZING MRS. PURA DELGADO ANDINO

                                  _____
                                 

                           HON. ALAN GRAYSON

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, January 23, 2013

  Mr. GRAYSON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Mrs. Pura Delgado 
Andino, a shining example of leadership and inspiration to us all. Mrs. 
Delgado's distinguished career in community advocacy deserves our 
acknowledgement.
  Mrs. Delgado was born in Yabucoa, Puerto Rico on February 2, 1931. At 
age sixteen, she moved from Puerto Rico to New York. There Mrs. Delgado 
met her late husband, Jose Caraballo, and became a mother to two 
wonderful children.
  In 1967, Mrs. Delgado moved to Connecticut, where her lasting 
commitment to civic

[[Page E54]]

engagement and community participation began. Mrs. Delgado was 
instrumental in the creation of the Hill Health Center for Children and 
Youth at Yale University. Recognizing the need for a youth-oriented and 
minority-focused health care center, Mrs. Delgado obtained a grant to 
better serve these children and her community. Because of her 
leadership on this issue, Mrs. Delgado served as Health Education 
Assistant to the Center's Director.
  Working alongside the Dean of the Yale School of Medicine, Mrs. 
Delgado helped guide the school's implementation of its affirmative 
action program. At the time, affirmative action policies were often 
limited to African American students, but Mrs. Delgado encouraged the 
school to extend their efforts to other minority communities, such as 
Puerto Ricans and Mexicans. Thanks to Mrs. Delgado's involvement, the 
school graduated twenty-five minority students. One of these students 
who went on to serve his community is the Honorable Judge Wilfredo 
Martinez of Orlando, Florida.
  Drawing again on her intimate knowledge of the community and innate 
ability to express its needs, Mrs. Delgado obtained another grant to 
begin operation of the Fair Haven Health Clinic. This clinic recently 
celebrated its forty-third anniversary.
  Though Mrs. Delgado retired at age seventy-two, her record of 
accomplishments in the physical and mental health areas remains 
impressive. She has served on a variety of public service and community 
advisory boards, including on the Board for Progressive Action, which 
aimed to empower low-income communities through education, counseling, 
and occupational training.
  In 1991 Mrs. Delgado relocated to Irma Shores Lake in Orlando, 
Florida, where she began several small businesses and became an active 
member of the community. Mrs. Delgado served as a Regional Field 
Operator for President Bill Clinton in 1996 and helped coin the term 
``I-4 Corridor''.
  Mrs. Delgado is a proud member of the Asociacion Borinquena de la 
Florida Central and currently serves as Vice Chair for the Black-Latino 
and Puerto Rican Alliance for Justice of Florida.
  Please join me in recognizing Mrs. Delgado's lifetime of civic 
achievement and community involvement.

                          ____________________