FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, May 26, 2008
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The White House - USA Freedom Corps
Contact: Press Office Phone: 202-456-7381 |
President Bush to Recognize Salt Lake City Man for Dedication to Volunteer Service |
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President George W. Bush will present the President’s Volunteer Service Award to Rick Pehrson when he arrives in Salt Lake City, Utah, on Wednesday, May 28, 2008. Pehrson, 24, is a volunteer with AmeriCorps Youth Service Corps. To thank them for making a difference in the lives of others, President Bush honors a local volunteer when he travels throughout the United States. He has met with more than 600 volunteers, like Pehrson, since March 2002.
Pehrson is a volunteer AmeriCorps Team Leader at the Utah Commission on Volunteers and has served more than 900 hours in the Youth Service Corps. Through this program he is responsible for increasing youth volunteerism throughout Utah. Pehrson has recruited, trained, and managed more than 1,300 volunteers for the Utah State Capitol’s re-dedication and eight-day open house event. Pehrson has also served as co-chair of the Lieutenant Governor’s State Capitol Volunteer Task Force. He also helped organize and facilitate the annual youth conference that emphasizes youth-led service projects. In addition, Pehrson is active with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and spent two years in Ecuador participating in teaching, training and ecclesiastical leadership and taught English to inner-city students.
In his January 2002 State of the Union Address, President Bush called on all Americans to make a difference in their communities through volunteer service. He created USA Freedom Corps, an Office of the White House, to strengthen and expand volunteer service. Americans are responding to the President’s Call to Service. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, more than 61 million Americans volunteered in 2006. Go to www.volunteer.gov or call 1-877-USA-CORPS to find an existing volunteer service opportunity in your area or to find more information about service programs, including national service programs such as the Peace Corps, AmeriCorps, Senior Corps, and Citizen Corps. USA Freedom Corps is also highlighting youth volunteer service. Visit www.volunteerkids.gov for games and ideas designed to show how America's youth are making a difference.
The President's Volunteer Service Award was created at the President’s direction by the President's Council on Service and Civic Participation. The Award is available to youth ages 14 and under who have completed 50 or more hours of volunteer service; to individuals 15 and older who have completed 100 or more hours; and to families or groups who have completed 200 or more hours. For more information about the Award, please visit www.presidentialserviceawards.gov.
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