FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, February 28, 2002
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The White House - USA Freedom Corps
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Volunteerism and community service have been a strong and important tradition
in America ever since its founding. Across the country, faith-based groups,
national and local nonprofit organizations are on the front lines, working to
improve lives in some of the hardest pressed communities in America. Americans
are volunteering 20 percent more than they did 20 years ago and seniors are
responsible for nearly all of this increase. Senior Americans are increasingly
eager to contribute their time and talents. Working in partnership with States
and local organizations, which are closest to the needs of Americans, the
President proposes that the Federal Government do more to facilitate service
opportunities for seniors. The President believes that retirement should be a
time of economic security and physical well being and should also provide
seniors more opportunities to serve their communities.
Expanding Opportunities for Senior Service
The population of older adults is growing rapidly, and it is expected that
the aging of the baby boomers will accelerate this growth. The number of
individuals aged 65 or older is estimated to double from 35 million to nearly 70
million in 2030. Seniors today are living longer than ever before, and can often
anticipate up to 30 years of productive post-retirement years. The principal
Federal vehicle for senior volunteerism is the National Senior Service Corps (NSSC),
which was established in 1973. The program is now part of the Corporation for
National and Community Service, a publicly and privately funded entity that
works with nonprofits, faith-based groups, schools, and other civic
organizations to provide opportunities for Americans of all ages to serve their
communities.
The Senior Corps uses the talents, skills, and experiences of more than
500,000 older Americans to help solve local problems. Members help meet a wide
range of community needs, serve one-on-one with young people with special needs
and help other seniors live independently in their homes. The NSSC consists of
the Retired and Senior Volunteer Program, the Foster Grandparent Program, and
the Senior Companion Program.
The budget helps ensure that opportunities for seniors to serve their
communities and schools will be increased to accommodate the demand of the
growing aging population and the changing nature of retirement. The budget
supports three new initiatives in the Corporation to help increase service
opportunities for America's seniors.
Increasing the Senior Corps Funding: The budget provides $203
million for the NSSC, a $14 million increase over 2001 and the first step of the
President's five-year strategy to increase the annual funding for the Senior
Corps to $250 million by the end of five years. This level will expand
opportunities for an additional 17,000 senior volunteers to help meet the needs
of children and frail adults in communities across the country.
Establishing the Silver Scholarship Program: A new initiative,
the Silver Scholarship program, will allow older Americans to volunteer 500
hours of service tutoring and mentoring students in after-school programs in
exchange for a $1,000 scholarship that can be deposited in an education savings
account for use by their children, grandchildren, or another child. The budget
includes $20 million for 10,000 Silver Scholarships.
Providing Service Opportunities for America's Veterans: The
budget provides $15 million to establish the Veterans Mission for Youth program.
The program will provide matching grants to community organizations that connect
veterans and retired military personnel with America's youth through mentoring,
tutoring, after-school and other programs.
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