President George W. Bush will meet Elwood Thalheimer when he arrives in Jacksonville, Florida, on Saturday, October 23, 2004. Thalheimer, 92, is an active volunteer with a number of nonprofit organizations through the Retired and Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP).

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 Thalheimer, who are answering the call to volunteer service.

For the past 19 years, Thalheimer has been a volunteer with RSVP. He serves more than 1,200 hours per year at more than 15 nonprofit and public agencies in Duval County. Thalheimer volunteers with the American Cancer Society and Ronald McDonald House of Jacksonville. He has also helped build homes for HabiJax, planted trees for city beautification projects with Greenscape, coordinated blood drives, and each week Thalheimer reads to elementary school children. Thalheimer received the Super Senior Volunteer of the Year award from the state of Florida in 2001, and is a five time winner of the Prudential Community Champion Gold Star Award.

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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