President George W. Bush will meet Alexandra Amend when he arrives in Cincinnati, Ohio, on Monday, August 16, 2004. Amend, 10, raises money for charitable organizations by playing her violin in public places in Cincinnati.

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 Amend, who are answering the call to volunteer service.

Since September 2001, Amendhas helped raise nearly $5,000 for the Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund and the Freedom Alliance Scholarship Fund by giving patriotic violin concerts on street corners in downtown Cincinnati. Her concerts began after her mother took her to a prayer service for September 11th victims and their families. She was inspired to do something to help and asked her mother if she could try to raise money by playing her violin. The first time she played she raised $350, so she set a goal to raise $2,000, and accomplished this goal in one month. In addition to her concerts, Amendasked her Girl Scout troop to organize a walk-a-thon where they raised $2,600 for the scholarship fund.

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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