President George W. Bush will meet Donna Huck when he arrives in Miami, Florida, on Friday, April 23, 2004. Huck is an active volunteer at the Miami Children’s Hospital.

Earlier this year, the USA Freedom Corps – President Bush’s initiative to engage all Americans in service to their neighbors and their nation by volunteering two years or 4,000 hours over the course of their lifetime – celebrated its second anniversary. Since January 2002, President Bush has met with more than 280 individuals around the country, like Huck, who are answering the call to volunteer service.

For the past 23 years, Huck has volunteered at the Miami Children’s Hospital in many different capacities. Currently, she is a liaison for the surgical waiting room. As a liaison, Huck acts as a calming influence on the parents by giving them updates on their children’s status as well as escorting them to the recovery room. In addition, Huck is the chairwoman of the board of Radio Lollipop USA, the hospital’s in-house radio station which provides care, comfort, and entertainment to the children by accommodating song requests and holding trivia contests for prizes. Huck also volunteers with Women Helping Women at the University of Miami, which raises funds for women’s sports at the University of Miami. Recently, they purchased a scoreboard for the women’s soccer team. From 1994-2000, she served on the Domestic Violence Oversight Board which builds and maintains facilities that aid battered women and their children. Huck has also served as a volunteer tutor for inner-city 1st-3rd grade students in Coconut Grove.

President Bush created the USA Freedom Corps office at the White House to foster an American culture of service, citizenship and responsibility. Through the USA Freedom Corps, President Bush wants to help every American answer the call to 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 information on the USA Freedom Corps at www.usafreedomcorps.gov or by calling 1-877-USA-CORPS.

###