2025 SESSION

ENROLLED

HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 878

Commending the Bowling Park Chapter of Moms in Touch International.

Agreed to by the House of Delegates, February 21, 2025

WHEREAS, the Bowling Park Chapter of Moms in Touch International uplifted and empowered countless young people in and around the former Bowling Park Elementary School in Norfolk; and

WHEREAS, the Bowling Park Chapter of Moms in Touch International was founded by Elizabeth Staton, a crossing guard for Norfolk Public Schools, and Barbara W. Bell, a retired researcher from the National Institutes of Health who was part of the Civil Rights Movement in South Carolina before settling in Norfolk; and

WHEREAS, both women had adopted sons attending Bowling Park Elementary School, which at the time served students from some of the most disenfranchised and underserved neighborhoods in the city; and

WHEREAS, through the care and leadership of Elizabeth Staton and Barbara Bell, the Bowling Park Chapter of Moms in Touch International helped students overcome discrimination and systemic oppression to achieve their fullest potential in and out of the classroom; and

WHEREAS, though Bowling Park Elementary School ultimately closed, Elizabeth Staton and Barbara Bell have remained cherished members of the Norfolk community who set an inspirational example for other local leaders to follow; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, That the Bowling Park Chapter of Moms in Touch International hereby be commended for its achievements in service to students at the former Bowling Park Elementary School; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to the founders of Bowling Park Chapter of Moms in Touch International as an expression of the House of Delegates' admiration for the organization's legacy of service to young people in Norfolk.