President George W. Bush will meet Connie Rutt when he arrives in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, on Wednesday, October 27, 2004. Rutt is an active volunteer with the Solanco Community 4-H Club.

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 more than 350 individuals around the country, like Rutt,who are answering the call to volunteer service.

A volunteer with the 4-H for the past 26 years, Rutt received the 4-H 2004 Lifetime Volunteer Award for her dedication and positive impact on youth. Rutt is a project leader for youth service projects, specializing in sewing. She also volunteers at the Lancaster County Youth Intervention Center teaching 4-H nutrition and cooking classes to at-risk youth. Rutt has also been involved with 4-H International for the past thirteen years and helped pioneer an international exchange program with Poland. In addition, each week Rutt volunteers for the Literacy Council helping adults learn to read. She is also a volunteer with the American Red Cross and the Church of the Brethren’s General Board Disaster Response. She has been deployed to Florida, Virginia, and Upper Darby, Pennsylvania, to help with the Disaster Childcare program that helps children who have been impacted by disaster.

Through 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 at www.usafreedomcorps.gov or by calling 1-877-USA-CORPS.

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