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WHEREAS, Christopher's Guests is a non-profit organization founded by Christopher Loffert, a resident of Mount Washington, after he discovered that his niece was diagnosed with a rare bone marrow cancer called neuroblastoma at the age of 4, and sadly, at the age of 8, she lost her battle with cancer; and,
WHEREAS, through Mr. Loffert's experience, Christopher's Guests was formed to lessen the financial and emotional burdens of families who come to Pittsburgh in support of critically ill loved ones; and,
WHEREAS, Christopher's Guests helps families by providing subsidized housing, information on transportation, bus tickets, cab coupons, groceries and gas cards; and,
WHEREAS, Christopher's Guests also lessens families' emotional burdens by matching families with volunteers to help gain knowledge of the City of Pittsburgh and what it has to offer; such as a trip to the Pittsburgh Zoo, PPG Aquarium, or Carnegie Science Museum, in addition to transportation, and restaurant information; and,
WHEREAS, Christopher's Guests relies on volunteers for many functions, such as research and contacting people for financial donations, of which all goes towards purchasing gift cards or paying for the family's room and board; and,
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NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the Council of the City of Pittsburgh does hereby commend Christopher's Guests for helping to meet the financial, personal and emotional needs of families with sick loved ones while staying in a city that they are not familiar with; and,
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Council of the City of Pittsburgh does hereby declare Tuesday, December 11, 2012, to be "Christopher's Guests Day" in the City of Pittsburgh.