National Volunteer Week, 2001

___________________________________________________________________

Title 3--
The President

Proclamation 7427 of April 16, 2001

National Volunteer Week, 2001

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

America is blessed with millions of individuals of good
will and good works who play significant roles in
making positive change in the lives of others.

While Government has great responsibilities for public
safety and public health, for civil rights and common
schools, compassion is the work of a Nation. Caring
requires more than Government alone can provide. Many
of society's greatest problems can only be solved on a
personal level, between those who care and those in
need.

During times of war and natural disaster, Americans
have provided relief to those in need. Yet every day
there are less publicized instances of human need to
which America's quiet heroes respond with equal
strength and vigor. Americans contribute food to soup
kitchens and clothes to shelters and give love to at-
risk children, counsel to those who have been abused,
and friendship to those in hospitals and nursing homes.
From building a new home for a young family to bringing
a meal to an elderly neighbor who is house-bound, there
are countless ways we can invest our time and resources
to provide compassionate help to our neighbors.

The faith community is a particularly rich source of
volunteer strength in America. Government can rally a
military, but it cannot put hope in our hearts or a
sense of purpose in our lives. Faith motivates
countless volunteers and calls on them to use their
talents to improve their neighborhoods in ways that are
beyond Government's know-how. Church and charity,
synagogue, and mosque form an essential part of our
communities and their indispensable work must have an
honored place in our plans and in our laws. Government
can and should unleash the best impulses of the
American spirit by welcoming faith-based organizations,
as well as other community groups, as partners in
encouraging the high calling of serving others.

This week provides an opportunity to thank those who
give so much throughout the year to help those less
fortunate. It should also serve as a challenge to each
of us to devote more energy to seeking a common good
beyond our comfort. What individual Americans do is
more important than anything Government does. We must
all heed Albert Schweitzer's counsel: ``The only ones
among you who will be really happy are those who have
sought and found how to serve.''

NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE W. BUSH, 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 22 through 28, 2001,
as National Volunteer Week. During this week, I call on
all Americans to celebrate the invaluable work that
volunteers do everyday across our country.

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

(Presidential Sig.)B