Declare Helen Keller Day

Senate Resolution No. 5654 BY: Senator HAMILTON LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION memorializing Governor Andrew M. Cuomo to proclaim June 27, 2018, as Helen Keller Day in the State of New York WHEREAS, It is the custom of this Legislative Body to recognize and celebrate a day that is set aside to promote and raise public awareness and attention concerning deaf-blindness and highlight the contributions of those who have this disability; and WHEREAS, Attendant to such concern, and in full accord with its long-standing traditions, this Legislative Body is justly proud to memorialize Governor Andrew M. Cuomo to proclaim June 27, 2018, as Helen Keller Day in the State of New York, in conjunction with the observance of National Helen Keller Day; and WHEREAS, Celebrated annually on June 27th, the day commemorates the life and achievements of Helen Keller, American advocate for people with disabilities, author and suffragist; in 1980, during her birth centennial, President Jimmy Carter proclaimed June 27th, her birthday, to be recognized as Helen Keller Day; and WHEREAS, This special day also pays due respect to Helen Keller's human grit and hard work; it promotes the idea that people can overcome challenges and achieve anything they want if they put their heart and soul into it; and WHEREAS, Helen Keller was born on June 27, 1880, and lost her ability to see and hear at 19 months old due to an illness; and WHEREAS, In 1886, Helen Keller's mother started looking for a person who could educate her daughter; Anne Sullivan, herself visually impaired, agreed to become Helen's instructor; and WHEREAS, Helen Keller attended several schools for the blind and deaf; at age 20, she was admitted to Radcliffe College in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where she graduated in 1904, becoming the first deaf-blind person to earn her Bachelor of Arts degree; and WHEREAS, Helen Keller learned to speak and spent much of her life giving lectures and speeches; in 1915, she founded Helen Keller International, an organization devoted to research in vision, nutrition and health; and WHEREAS, Born June 27, 1880, and died June 1, 1968, Helen Keller made a significant impact in the month of June, with the way she has lived her life; and WHEREAS, It is highly appropriate to publicize the needs, abilities and potential of our fellow citizens who are deaf-blind, and to recognize Helen Keller as a guiding example of courage, hope, determination and achievement for other individuals who are deaf-blind; and WHEREAS, Helen Keller Day is an opportunity to urge and encourage the residents of New York to support programs which have the objective to empower and educate people from the deaf-blind community of New York; now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to memorialize Governor Andrew M. Cuomo to proclaim June 27, 2018, as Helen Keller Day in the State of New York; and be it further RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be transmitted to The Honorable Andrew M. Cuomo, Governor of the State of New York.