National Volunteer Week, 2000

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Part X

The President

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Proclamation 7287--National Volunteer Week, 2000

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Title 3--
The President

Proclamation 7287 of April 7, 2000

National Volunteer Week, 2000

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

Each year our Nation is blessed by the service of more
than 100 million Americans who take time out of their
busy lives to reach out to those in need. Volunteers
come from every age group and walk of life, yet they
share a common conviction: that by giving of
themselves, they can bridge the divide between
strangers, create stronger families, and build better
communities.

National Volunteer Week offers us a chance to thank the
many volunteers whose work and compassion add so much
to the quality of our lives. It also gives those who
have never volunteered the opportunity to learn more
about the many organizations that would benefit from
their time and talents. People who enjoy sports can
volunteer at a Special Olympics event; those who love
the arts can work as docents in a gallery or historic
home; those who love to read can share that love
through a literacy program.

Our success with the AmeriCorps program demonstrates
the power and promise of community service in America.
Since we passed the National and Community Service
Trust Act in 1993, more than 150,000 young people have
served in AmeriCorps. They have taught or mentored more
than 4 million children; helped to immunize more than a
million people; worked to build some 11,000 homes; and
sparked a new spirit of community service across our
Nation. In my proposed budget for fiscal 2001, I have
included funding to reach our goal of 100,000
AmeriCorps members in service each year. I have also
outlined a new AmeriCorps Reserves program that will
allow us to call upon AmeriCorps alumni during times of
special need, such as following natural disasters. The
Corporation for National Service will commit $10
million to create a new ``E-corps''--750 qualified
AmeriCorps volunteers who will help to bring digital
opportunity to communities by providing technical
support to school computer systems, tutoring at
Community Technology Centers, and offering technical
training for careers in the information technology
sector. Through a new Community Coaches program, we
will place adults in 1,000 schools to help engage
students in service programs that will connect them to
the wider community. And through new Youth Empowerment
Grants, we will reward social entrepreneurship among
young people who are seeking solutions to problems such
as youth violence and alienation.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., reminded us that
``everyone can be great because anyone can serve.''
During National Volunteer Week, let us pause to thank
all who have responded to that call to greatness, and
let each of us make our own commitments to volunteer in
our neighborhoods and communities.

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 9 through April 15,
2000, as National Volunteer Week. I call upon all
Americans to observe this week with appropriate
programs, ceremonies, and activities to express
appreciation to the volunteers among us for their
commitment to service and to encourage the spirit of
volunteerism in our families and communities.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
seventh day of April, in the year of our Lord two
thousand, and of the Independence of the United States
of America the two hundred and twenty-fourth.