President George W. Bush will meet Darren Klemek when he arrives in Duluth, Minnesota, on Tuesday, July 13, 2004. Klemek, a member of the Army National Guard, is an active volunteer mentor with the City of Duluth Youth Employment Services (YES) program, which matches young people from disadvantaged homes with work opportunities.

President Bush hascalled on all Americans to volunteer two years or 4,000 hours over the course of their lifetimes, and hecreated USA Freedom Corpsto help foster a culture of service, citizenship, and responsibility. Since January 2002, President Bush has met with hundreds of individuals around the country, like Klemek, who are answering the call to volunteer service.

For the past two years Klemekhas volunteered as a mentor with the City of Duluth YES program, where he spends approximately 12 hours each week mentoring and working with young people. The teenagers are supervised by volunteers such as Klemekwhile they work on community service projects such as park beautification, clearing brush on public lands, and Habitat for Humanity builds. Klemekhelps the participants develop a strong work ethic and learn other skills such as job interview techniques, resume writing, and discovering their strengths and interests for possible career choices.

USA Freedom Corps has launched “A Call to Summer Service,” an initiative to encourage Americans to spend a part of their summer in volunteer service. Through “A Call to Summer Service,” citizens are reminded that the summer months are an excellent time to answer the President’s Call to Service, strengthen their communities, and extend the compassion and greatness of America. Interested volunteers can find ideas for summer volunteering and information on how to get started at www.usafreedomcorps.gov.

###