WHEREAS, women of every race, ethnicity, class, religion, and age have made historic contributions to the growth and strength of our state and our nation in countless recorded and unrecorded ways; and

WHEREAS, women have played and continue to play critical economic, cultural, and social roles in every sphere of life by constituting a significant portion of the labor force both inside and outside of the home; and

WHEREAS, on July 26, 1819, the citizens of Maine voted decisively in support of Maine separating from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and becoming an independent state; and

WHEREAS, the United States Congress received Maine’s petition for statehood and voted affirmatively to accept Maine as the 23rd State of the United States; and

WHEREAS, U.S. Secretary of State James Monroe notified Maine that it would formally and legally be an independent state beginning on March 15, 1820; and

WHEREAS, the National Council on Problem Gambling and the Maine Council on Problem Gambling have designated March 2024 as Problem Gambling Awareness Month; and WHEREAS, problem gambling is a public health issue affecting Mainers of all ages, races and ethnic backgrounds and the 2021 Survey of Problem Gambling Services in the United States estimated that 24,647 people in Maine have a gambling problem; and WHEREAS, problem gambling is treatable, and treatment is effective in minimizing harm to individuals, families, and society as a whole;

WHEREAS, cancer is the leading cause of death by disease among U.S. children and is detected in more than 15,000 of our country's sons and daughters every year; and

WHEREAS, the State of Maine has one of the highest rates of childhood cancer in the nation, with 60 Maine children diagnosed with cancer annually; and

WHEREAS, thanks to ongoing advances in research and treatment, the five-year survival rate for all childhood cancers has climbed from less than 50 percent to 80 percent over the last several decades; and