President George W. Bush will meet Frank Ontiveros when he arrives in Las Cruces, New Mexico, on Thursday, August 26, 2004. Ontiveros, 71, is an active volunteer with the Diocese of Las Cruces Prison and Jail Ministry.

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 Ontiveros, who are answering the call to volunteer service.

For the past twelve years, Frank has been a volunteer with the prison ministry, helping to serve the spiritual needs of incarcerated individuals and their families. Once a week, Frank visits the Doña Ana County Detention Center to assist inmates with spiritual matters including prayer, Holy Communion, and arranging for confession. In addition, for the past five months Frank has volunteered at the Otero County Detention Center, a maximum security prison located 47 miles from his home. As a commissioned Eucharistic minister, Frank also volunteers at his local parish, Holy Cross Catholic Church.

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 summer is 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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