Washington, DC – USA Freedom Corps Director Desiree T. Sayle honored Archie B. Wainright, a Volunteers for Prosperity (VfP) volunteer, with the President’s Call to Service Award in recognition of his outstanding international voluntary service. The award, which recognizes volunteers who have completed 4000 or more service hours over the course of their lifetime, was presented to Mr. Wainright on December 5, 2006, at the International Volunteering Leadership Summit held at the Brookings Institution. The event coincided with International Volunteer Day which was established by the United Nations as an annual celebration of the contributions of volunteers to various causes and communities.

"President George W. Bush called on all Americans to live a life of service, and to honor those who answer this call he created the President's Volunteer Service Award," said Ms. Sayle. "Americans like Archie, who extend our Nation's compassion overseas, are highly deserving of such an honor."

A consulting executive with over 30 years’ experience in Business and engineering, Mr. Wainright performed much of his service in Nicaragua including three months in 2005 where he shared his technical expertise on several local projects. Working through a VfP partner, Mr. Wainright helped design tools for the cleanout of a deep water well for a cooperative coffee farm; participated in the preliminary site planning for a women-owned cooperative textile mill; and helped develop a training plan for municipal construction inspectors in Managua that emphasized building codes and standards to withstand natural disasters.

“Archie demonstrates what President Bush describes as the ‘energy and idealism of the United States’,” said Jack Hawkins, Director of the VfP Initiative at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). “His response to the President’s call to service is an example for all Americans.”

Volunteers for Prosperity is a U.S. Government companion program to the Peace Corps, which requires a longer term commitment of two full years overseas. Service through VfP is more flexible, ranging from a week to months or even years. Volunteers work under the direction of America’s leading companies and nonprofits. More than 200 organizations have joined the VfP network since it was established by President Bush on September 25, 2003 and these VfP partners are engaged in activities that support the Nation’s goals for global health and prosperity.

“The work that skilled American volunteers can do – and the benefits of that work – is phenomenal,” said Mr. Wainright. “There are, I am sure, uncountable numbers of men and women – every day people just like me - with the skills and compassion to make a powerful difference in the lives of millions of human beings who are much less fortunate than we are.”

The Brookings Institution hosted the International Volunteering Leadership Forum as part of its Building Bridges through International Service initiative. In early 2006, the VfP Office became a founding participant in this initiative to promote greater international voluntary service among governments, corporations, and nonprofits. A key goal of the program is to sharply increase the number of Americans performing volunteer service overseas.

For more information about the President's Volunteer Service Award, please visit www.presidentialserviceawards.gov.

In his January 2002 State of the Union Address, President Bush called on all Americans to make a difference in their communities and across the globe through volunteer service. He created USA Freedom Corps, an Office of the White House, to help Americans answer his Call to Service. Visit www.volunteer.gov or call 1-877-USA-CORPS to find an existing volunteer service opportunity and to find more information about volunteer service programs.

Volunteers for Prosperity was established by Executive Order in September 2003.  VfP works with leading U.S. non-profits and companies to deploy highly skilled American professionals in volunteer opportunities that support the global health and prosperity goals of the U.S. Government.  VfP is part of the USA Freedom Corps, the White House’s coordinating council on volunteerism.  For more information, please visit www.volunteersforprosperity.gov.

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