President George W. Bush will meet Jim Richardson when he arrives in Knoxville, Tennessee, on Monday, July 12, 2004. Richardson, a retired Army Lieutenant Colonel, is an active volunteer with the Red Cross Disaster Assistance Team in Maryville, Tennessee.

President Bush hascalled 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 January 2002, President Bush has met with hundreds of individuals around the country, like Richardson, who are answering the call to volunteer service.

For nearly two years Richardson has been active with the Red Cross Disaster Assistance Team, working to provide emergency shelter, triage to the injured, and assistance to emergency workers during a crisis. Richardson is also trained in several other programs including Mass Casualty Disasters, Shelter Operations, Weapons of Mass Destruction, and Damage Assessment. He has been selected to become a Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) trainer for other volunteers in his community when the program is introduced in Maryville. CERT, a component of Citizen Corps, and of USA Freedom Corps, provides training in emergency preparedness and basic response techniques enabling citizens to take a more active role in personal and public safety. Richardsonhas also been active in volunteer work with Habitat for Humanity and Mission of Hope, a local program that gives food and toys to children at Christmas.

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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