FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Saturday, January 29, 2005
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The White House - USA Freedom Corps
Contact: Erik Hotmire
202-456-7381 |
Fact Sheet – USA Freedom Corps Marks Three-Year Anniversary |
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In his 2002 State of the Union Address, President George W. Bush called on
all Americans to dedicate at least two years or 4,000 hours over the course of
their lifetimes to volunteer service. He created USA Freedom Corps, an office of
the White House charged with strengthening and expanding volunteer service
opportunities across the country and around the world.
On January 20, 2005, in his Second Inaugural Address, President Bush called
on the youth of America to “Make the choice to serve in a cause larger than your
wants, larger than yourself – and in your days you will add not just to the
wealth of our country, but to its character.”
Americans are answering the President’s Call to Service.
Expanding Volunteer Service
- Since September 11, 2001, we’ve seen a tremendous increase in volunteer
service among Americans. In 2002, the first year the Bureau of Labor Statistics
studied volunteerism rates in the United States, about 58.8 million Americans
volunteered. In 2003, the number increased to about 63.8 million Americans. In
2004, the number increased again to about 64.5 million Americans. Studies
suggest that volunteer rates subside over time following a national emergency,
such as the period following World War II; however, the recent Bureau of Labor
Statistics’ numbers show that our Nation’s commitment to volunteer service is
sustained three years after 9/11.
The USA Freedom Corps Volunteer Network
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The Volunteer Network, located at
www.usafreedomcorps.gov, is the largest
clearinghouse of volunteer opportunities ever created. Americans interested in
finding opportunities to serve can search the database by area of interest and
geographic location. Since the Volunteer Network was created by USA Freedom
Corps in 2002, more than 935,000 volunteer opportunity searches have been
completed.
Strengthening National Service
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Citizen Corps was launched by President Bush in 2002 as an initiative of USA
Freedom Corps. Citizen Corps is a grass-roots effort to involve all Americans
actively in hometown security by providing local opportunities for citizens to
better prepare their families for emergencies, participate in disaster response
training, and volunteer to help local emergency responders.
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Citizen Corps also serves as the umbrella organization for its program
partners: Community Emergency Response Team training, Fire Corps, Medical
Reserve Corps, Neighborhood Watch, and Volunteers in Police Service, as well as
an extended network of affiliate organizations. Citizen Corps works with these
program partners and affiliates through state and local Citizen Corps Councils,
which bring together the expertise of emergency responders with the energy and
spirit of volunteers, the private sector, and other community stakeholders.
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Citizen Corps has established Councils in all 50 states and 5 of the 6 U.S.
Territories. Launched in 2002, the number of local Citizen Corps Councils is now
more than 1,534, serving more than 60% of the American population.
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The Community Emergency Response Team program saw an 80 percent increase from
850 teams at the end of 2003 to more than 1,500 teams currently. CERT provides
citizens 20 hours of training on disaster preparedness, basic disaster
operations, fire safety, light search and rescue, and basic first aid. Since
2002, nearly 59,000 citizens have received CERT training, representing more than
one million hours of classroom instruction.
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Fire Corps was launched officially as a Citizen Corps’ program partner in
December 2004, and more than 70 fire departments signed to be part of the
program in the first month. Fire Corps citizen advocates support non-operational
related activities such as life safety education, general administrative work,
fund raising, grant writing, and data entry and analysis.
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Launched by President Bush in 2002, the Medical Reserve Corps has grown to
include more than 30,000 volunteers – including practicing, non-practicing, and
retired medical and public health professionals – and more than 230 MRC units
nationwide. These units are located in 46 states, the District of Columbia, and
the U.S. Virgin Islands. The growth of MRC since 2003 represents a 39 percent
increase in MRC units and a 500 percent increase in number of participating
volunteers.
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There are an estimated 18,500 Neighborhood Watch Groups nationwide. Since
2002, more than 11,000 Neighborhood Watch Groups in conjunction with nearly
2,000 law enforcement agencies have registered on USAonWatch.org. Neighborhood
Watch encourages Americans to take responsibility for the safety and security of
their communities and incorporates terrorism awareness education into its
existing crime prevention mission.
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The number of registered Volunteers in Police Service programs increased 44
percent last year to more than 1,050, engaging 73,000 volunteers in all 50
states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. These volunteers assist local
law enforcement efforts by performing vital roles, such as participating in
school safety patrols, assisting with filing and administrative work, providing
crisis counseling to victims of crime and their families, combating auto theft,
and leading crime and drug abuse prevention programs in their communities.
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USA Freedom Corps works closely with the Corporation for National and
Community Service, which celebrated its 10th anniversary in 2004. Participants
in the Corporation’s main programs – Senior Corps, AmeriCorps, and Learn and
Serve America – have helped to meet a wide range of local needs in education,
the environment, public safety, health care, and homeland security.
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Thanks to the strong support of President Bush and the Congress, the
Corporation in 2004 received its largest-ever appropriation – enough to support
a record 75,000 AmeriCorps members, a 50 percent increase from its highest
previous level. AmeriCorps members generally perform intensive service of
between 20 to 40 hours per week with locally based nonprofit groups, public
agencies, and faith-based and community organizations. In 2004, participants in
the largest AmeriCorps program, AmeriCorps*State and National, served more than
30 million hours.
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Learn and Serve America supports programs that tie academic achievement to
community service – an approach to education known as service-learning. In 2004,
more than one million participants in programs supported by Learn and Serve
America served more than 40 million hours in their communities, all while they
bettered their education and developed personally.
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Through its three programs – RSVP, Foster Grandparents, and Senior Companions
– Senior Corps taps the time, talent, and abilities of more than half a million
Americans over the age of 55 to meet a wide variety of local needs. In 2004,
Senior Corps members served more than 119 million hours.
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Under President Bush, the number of Peace Corps volunteers has grown to the
highest level in 29 years. Since 2001, Peace Corps has opened or re-opened
programs in 21 countries, including Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and
Bangladesh. The Peace Corps began in 1961 with a challenge to Americans to serve
their country in the cause of peace by living and working in developing
countries. Today, the agency continues to provide practical assistance to host
countries by sharing America’s most valuable resource, its people. Currently,
7,733 Americans in 72 countries have committed at least 27 months to sharing
their knowledge and skills, in an effort to help improve the lives of others
across the world.
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Last year, Take Pride in America, a volunteer program begun by President
Ronald Reagan and re-launched by U.S. Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton,
mobilized tens of thousands of volunteers in nearly 2,000 projects to improve
our public lands. Volunteers build trails and bridges, plant trees and plants,
and remove invasive plants and trash, among other duties.
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President Bush created Volunteers for Prosperity to help America’s
highly-skilled professionals respond to international volunteer needs in such
areas as fighting the HIV/AIDS pandemic and providing safe drinking water for
developing regions. Volunteer service in this program can last a few weeks or a
few years. To date, Volunteers for Prosperity has recruited nearly 200 U.S.
companies and non-profit organizations into the program; assisted in the
development of a volunteer pool exceeding 34,000 people; and supported the
deployment of nearly 7,000 volunteers.
Teaching American History and Civics
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In September 2002, President Bush announced a new series of policies and
initiatives to help Americans of all ages, particularly our young people,
enhance their civic knowledge and develop a better understanding of our
democratic traditions and institutions.
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A collaborative effort between the USA Freedom Corps, the National Archives,
and National History Day developed Our Documents, a resource book of 100
milestone documents that helped shape our Nation’s history. More than 40,000
secondary school teachers used these teaching resources to help instruct their
students. On Constitution Day, September 17, 2003, an updated resource book was
made available to coincide with the announcement of The People’s Vote: 100
Documents that Shaped America. The People’s Vote encouraged Americans of all
ages to participate in a national vote on the ten most influential documents in
American history. This exercise challenged Americans to a lively and thoughtful
debate about which documents in American history are the most influential in
terms of altering the course of our history, shaping the United States, and
defining us as a people. The results of The People’s Vote were revealed on Bill
of Rights Day, December 15, 2003, in a ceremony at the National Archives.
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In September 2003, the U.S. Department of Education announced that 114 school
districts in 38 States were to receive $99 million in Teaching American History
Grants. As part of No Child Left Behind, the grants provide funding to support
three-year projects to improve teachers’ knowledge, understanding, and
appreciation for traditional American history through intensive, ongoing
professional development. Congress appropriated $119 million for this program in
2004.
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We the People is an initiative spearheaded by the National Endowment for the
Humanities to encourage and enhance the teaching, study, and understanding of
American history and culture. Since its inception in 2002, We the People has
provided workshops for more than 2,200 teachers serving more than 275,000
students, funded TV documentaries reaching millions of viewers, and provided
1,000 libraries a set of classic works of literature on the theme of Courage.
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In May 2003, the USA Freedom Corps, together with the National Endowment for
the Humanities, the U.S. Department of Education, and the Corporation for
National and Community Service, coordinated a White House Forum on American
History, Civics, and Service. The forum brought together leaders from K-12
schools, universities, Federal and State government, museums, and historic sites
to call public attention to the need for more effective history and civics
education.
Recognizing Dedicated Volunteers
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In January 2003, President Bush created the President’s Council on Service and
Civic Participation to promote and recognize outstanding volunteer service and
raise awareness of the many ways in which Americans can continue to help meet
the vital needs of their communities through civic engagement and service. The
President signed an Executive Order to extend the Council on January 27, 2005.
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The President’s Volunteer Service Award – an initiative of the President’s
Council on Service and Civic Participation – is given to individuals, families,
and groups that have demonstrated outstanding volunteer service and civic
participation over the course of a 12-month period. Since the Award’s inception
in 2003, nearly 6,000 Certifying Organizations have registered to distribute the
President’s Volunteer Service Award to their volunteers. Through the efforts of
these organizations, more than 140,000 Americans have received this honor.
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During his travels across the country since March 2002, President Bush has
personally met with more than 400 local volunteers, or USA Freedom Corps
Greeters, thanking them for their dedication to service.
Business Strengthening America
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Business Strengthening America is a coalition of businesses and business
associations created by the private sector in response to the President’s Call
to Service. Since 2002, more than 800 businesses representing more than 5.2
million employees have affiliated with Business Strengthening America to
encourage volunteer activities in the private sector.
Volunteer Management Capacity Survey
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The findings of one of the most comprehensive studies to be
conducted of volunteer management in the United States – including a look
at what charities and congregations say would be helpful with their volunteer
management efforts – were released in February 2004. Conducted by the Urban
Institute and supported by the USA Freedom Corps, the Corporation for National
and Community Service, and The UPS Foundation, the study gives the first clear
picture of volunteer management capacity among a large sample of community
organizations in the United States. It shows that most charities do indeed
utilize volunteers, charities and congregations greatly value the contributions
those volunteers make to improving services and cutting costs, volunteer management
practices have taken root in these organizations, and many organizations want to
take on more volunteers.
Tsunami Relief Effort
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At the direction of President Bush, USA Freedom Corps is working to support
former President George Bush and former President Bill Clinton as they lead a
nationwide charitable fundraising effort to encourage private donations to the
Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami relief effort. A list of organizations that
are working in the affected areas is available at
www.usafreedomcorps.gov.
USA Freedom Corps for Kids
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In December 2004, USA Freedom Corps, with the assistance of Secretary of
Education Rod Paige, launched a new website designed to show elementary and
middle school students how they can start making a difference by volunteering.
The new site, www.usafreedomcorpskids.gov, also includes resources, ideas, and
information to help parents and teachers engage American youth in their
communities.
For more information, visit www.usafreedomcorps.gov or call 1-877-USA-CORPS.
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