National Volunteer Week, 2016

Proclamation 9419 of April 8, 2016

National Volunteer Week, 2016

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

Each day, humble people of every background and belief
come together to fulfill the timeless responsibility we
have as Americans: to accept certain obligations to one
another. People of all ages can volunteer, and anyone
can, through the smallest of acts, do their part to
improve the lives of others. This week, we celebrate
the selfless individuals around our country who channel
their civic virtues through volunteerism, and we
encourage more people to make service an integral part
of their lives.

In National Parks and public schools, food pantries and
animal shelters, volunteers fan out in communities
across America, devoted to a cause bigger than
themselves. In crisis and disaster, they offer not only
goods and resources, but also understanding and
sympathy to those desperate and distraught. In
underserved neighborhoods, they help cultivate hope and
inspiration, rolling back poverty and roadblocks to
opportunity. Generations of these often unsung heroes--
driven by their conviction that we all have a stake in
each other--have lifted up those they know and those
they do not, making our Nation and our world a better
place.

My Administration is dedicated to giving people more
opportunities to serve. I established a Task Force on
Expanding National Service that supports the expansion
of service and volunteer projects to address some of
our Nation's highest priorities. Through the
Corporation for National and Community Service,
AmeriCorps and Senior Corps have mobilized millions of
Americans, sending them to areas in need of dedicated
volunteers. Under these programs, we have established
campaigns that address specific needs in vulnerable
communities, such as increasing access to college,
improving STEM education, and preserving our
environment. I have also called on 200,000 Federal
scientists and engineers to help mentor young people in
STEM fields. And in 2014, I launched the Employers of
National Service initiative, connecting employers with
AmeriCorps and Peace Corps alumni--because often the
most talented, tireless, and mission-driven employees
are those who have given of themselves for the
betterment of others. In the time since, hundreds of
employers have signed up to participate in this
program.

Volunteers help drive our country's progress, and day
in and day out, they make extraordinary sacrifices to
expand promise and possibility. During National
Volunteer Week, let us shed the cynicism that says one
person cannot make a difference in the lives of others
by embracing each of our individual responsibilities to
serve and shape a brighter future for all.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the
United States of America, by virtue of the authority
vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the
United States, do hereby proclaim April 10 through
April 16, 2016, as National Volunteer Week. I call upon
all Americans to observe this week by volunteering in
service projects across our country and pledging to
make service a part of their daily lives. To find a
service opportunity nearby, visit www.Serve.gov.

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