98-11024. National Volunteer Week, 1998

[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 78 (Thursday, April 23, 1998)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 20293-20294]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-11024]



[[Page 20291]]

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Part V





The President





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Proclamation 7085--National Volunteer Week, 1998


                        Presidential Documents 



Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 78 / Thursday, April 23, 1998 / 
Presidential Documents

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Title 3--
The President

[[Page 20293]]

                Proclamation 7085 of April 21, 1998

                
National Volunteer Week, 1998

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                Volunteers enrich our lives every day with their 
                generosity and compassion. In recent months, we have 
                witnessed the extraordinary response of America's 
                volunteers to the plight of those who have suffered 
                from the severe weather plaguing much of our country. 
                In communities devastated by mud slides, ice storms, 
                flash floods, or tornadoes, volunteers have opened 
                their hearts and homes to offer shelter, hot meals, 
                building materials, and--most important--the hope and 
                support that people desperately need to begin putting 
                their lives back together. This spirit of citizen 
                service has deep and strong roots in America's past, 
                and by nurturing this spirit we can help to ensure a 
                better future for our Nation.

                Just one year ago, at the Presidents' Summit for 
                America's Future in Philadelphia, I called on all 
                Americans to dedicate their volunteer efforts to the 
                well-being of our children and to make the social and 
                educational development of our youngest citizens a 
                national priority. Thousands of individuals and 
                organizations across America pledged their support for 
                this effort; and today, we can be proud that more than 
                93 million Americans are regularly volunteering to help 
                hundreds of thousands of children in need, serving as 
                leaders, mentors, tutors, and companions. Through their 
                hard work and generous response, this growing army of 
                volunteers is making our streets safer, our schools 
                better, our children healthier, and our future 
                brighter.

                We must not only preserve this remarkable spirit of 
                citizen service, but also expand it. By emulating our 
                Nation's many unsung heroes--from the 12-year-old in 
                California who distributed dolls to disadvantaged 
                children, to the businessman in New York who created 
                one of our country's first school-to-work programs--we 
                must strive together to build a society free from 
                crime, poverty, illiteracy, and hopelessness. And by 
                making citizen service the shared experience of all 
                Americans, we can build a sense of common 
                responsibility for our future.

                This week and throughout the year, let us salute all 
                those who devote their time and talents to the 
                betterment of our communities and the well-being of our 
                children. Let us honor the work of the thousands of 
                voluntary, civic, religious, school, and neighborhood 
                groups across our Nation who do so much to serve their 
                fellow Americans and improve the quality of life for us 
                all. Let us also recognize and support the efforts of 
                the Corporation for National Service and its programs--
                AmeriCorps, Learn and Serve America, and the National 
                Senior Service Corps--as well as all the organizations, 
                communities, and individuals who have responded to the 
                Presidents' Summit call to action and are following 
                through on the work begun there.

                NOW, THEREFORE, I, WILLIAM J. CLINTON, President of the 
                United States of America, by virtue of the authority 
                vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United 
                States, do hereby proclaim April 19 through April 25, 
                1998, as National Volunteer Week. I call upon all 
                Americans to observe this week with appropriate 
                programs, ceremonies, and activities to express 
                appreciation to the countless volunteers among us for 
                their commitment to service and to encourage the spirit 
                of volunteerism in our families and communities.

[[Page 20294]]

                IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this 
                twenty-first day of April, in the year of our Lord 
                nineteen hundred and ninety-eight, and of the 
                Independence of the United States of America the two 
                hundred and twenty-second.

                    (Presidential Sig.)

[FR Doc. 98-11024
Filed 4-22-98; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3195-01-P