President George W. Bush will meet Denny Klaseus upon arrival in Fresno, California, on Wednesday, October 15, 2003. Klaseus, 49, is an active volunteer at The First Church of the Nazarene in Visalia and the Ruiz 4 Kids scholarship committee.

Earlier this year, President Bush celebrated the first anniversary of the USA Freedom Corps – his initiative to engage all Americans in service to their neighbors and their nation. President Bush is recognizing individuals around the country, like Klaseus, who are answering the call to volunteer service.

For the past eight years, Klaseus has been an active volunteer at The First Church of the Nazarene in Visalia, California, where each month he helps to organize and pick up food donations for the church’s food pantry, which serves 30 families every month. Klaseus is an active volunteer with the church’s annual Easter Egg Extravaganza, helping to organize prizes to fill 20,000 Easter eggs and arranging educational visits for children by the local fire and police departments. Since 1998, Klaseus has been on the Scholarship Committee of Ruiz 4 Kids, a non-profit organization comprised of employees from Ruiz Foods Products, Inc. that raises funds to meet the needs of children in the community. Klaseus assists in selecting 50 students each year to receive scholarship money for college and visits local high schools to announce the scholarships on behalf of Ruiz 4 Kids.

President Bush created the USA Freedom Corps office at the White House to foster a culture of service, citizenship and responsibility. Through the USA Freedom Corps, President Bush wants to help every American answer the call to volunteer service by strengthening and expanding service opportunities to protect our homeland, support our communities and extend American compassion around the world. Interested volunteers can find opportunities in their own neighborhoods through the USA Freedom Corps web site at www.usafreedomcorps.gov or by calling 1-877-USA-CORPS.

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