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WHEREAS, Odell Robinson celebrates life and the living; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Robinson owns the Odell Robinson Funeral Home in Perry Hilltop where he is a funeral director; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Robinson believes when a loved one passes away, his job is to pay tribute to the deceased by helping the family think of the good time they shared, help the family through the process and do whatever would have made the deceased happy -- even if it's playing a video of B. B. King during the viewing; and
WHEREAS, families often have questions and don't know where to find help, Mr. Robinson acquired an insurance license to give back by filling out insurance papers and any other needs at no charge just to ease the lives of the bereaved -- not done by the average funeral director; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Robinson's ministry is not only to the people he serves through his business, but to his neighborhood, the North Side, where he's lived all his life and where he's seen improvements over the past 30 years; and
WHEREAS, a spiritual man whose two passions, politics and the importance of education which he teaches to all children he meets because he believes it takes a whole community to raise a child; and
WHEREAS, because of this, he started a mentoring program with all the neighborhood children; and
WHEREAS, one of the programs brings local high schools students to tour his funeral home, then they all sit with him and talk about his passions and their futures; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Robinson bought a building that he uses as a café after funerals and it's where he holds his second mentoring program, bringing younger children together for pizza and movie parties followed by conversation; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Robinson says it feels good to do God's work, the only way to bring about change is to become involved in your community, help people live their lives better, be truthful, stay positive and make a difference; and
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NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Council of the City of Pittsburgh thanks Odell Robinson for using his strength of character to care for those bereaved who come to him and for the children he reaches out to working toward bettering these children's lives by giving his wisdom and showing them opportunity;
AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that Council declare Tuesday, February 22, 2011 "Odell Robinson Day" in the City of Pittsburgh.