President George W. Bush will meet Eric Rasmussen when he arrives in Detroit, Michigan, on Friday, July 23, 2004. Rasmussen is an active volunteer with the Tax Assistance Program at the Volunteer Accounting Service Team of Michigan (VAST-MI), providing low-income families with free tax advice. Rasmussen is the300^th volunteer the President has greeted since March 2002.

President Bush has called 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 March 2002, President Bush has met with 300 individuals around the country, like Rasmussen, who are answering the call to volunteer service.

For the past six years, Rasmussen has been a volunteer with VAST-MI, and is one of over 700 volunteers who assisted nearly 7,000 low-income families in southeast Michigan during this year's tax season. This non-profit organization provides low-income families with free tax services and as a result, thousands of southeast Michigan’s working families and retirees learn about important information on tax credits and refunds that they are eligible to receive. Rasmussen volunteers as the supervisor at Butzel Family Center, one of the 20 VAST-MI sites in the Detroit area. He conducts evening computer training sessions for volunteers, and devotes 12 Saturdays during the height of tax season to volunteer at the Tax Assistance Program.

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.

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