President George W. Bush will meet Sheila Blonshine when he arrives in Traverse City, Michigan on Monday, August 16, 2004.  Brennan is an active volunteer with Special Olympics.

President Bush has called on all Americans to volunteer two years or 4,000 hours over the course of their lifetimes, and he created USA Freedom Corps to help foster a culture of service, citizenship, and responsibility.  Since March 2002, President Bush has met with more than 300 individuals around the country, like Blonshine, who are answering the call to volunteer service.

Blonshine has been involved with Special Olympics for 25 years.  Since 1994, she has been the director for Area II, which covers five Michigan counties.  Blonshine volunteers approximately 20 hours a week doing administrative work and coaching, and is certified to coach five sports including cross county skiing, track and field, aquatics, bowling, and snowshoeing.  Special Olympics Michigan provides athletic training and competition in Olympic-type sports for children and adults with intellectual disabilities.  Special Olympics Area II has approximately 300 Olympians participating in 13 sports.

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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