Secretary joins President Bush for USA Freedom Corps Celebration

U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige today joined President Bush to celebrate the first anniversary of the USA Freedom Corps and unveil a new, $300 million mentoring program for the Education Department to help match disadvantaged children with caring mentors who can help them find hope and opportunity.

The announcement was made at the Boys and Girls Club of Washington, D.C.

"President Bush is committed to engaging all Americans in service to their neighbors and their nation," Secretary Paige said. "One of his priorities is to make sure our children -- especially disadvantaged ones -- have positive, adult role models in their lives, people to whom they can count on for compassion, guidance, advice and support. This $300 million investment will help us to connect even more of our children to strong adult mentors."

The president announced that he will invest $300 million over three years in a program at the U.S. Department of Education to support the development, expansion and strengthening of exemplary mentoring programs for disadvantaged middle school students in order to cultivate mentors for these young people.

These new funds will be used as grants to nationally affiliated, youth-serving organizations and independent community and faith-based organizations that will link one million students with disadvantaged backgrounds to adult mentors through school-based programs. The program will build on the Mentoring for Success Act passed as an amendment to the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001.

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will manage another three-year, $150 million program to help 100,000 children of prisoners find adult mentors. HHS will work with the U.S. Department of Justice and a network of other agencies to offer grants to nationally affiliated, youth-serving programs, as well as independent community and faith-based organizations, to support school and community-based mentoring programs.

Both programs are part of President Bush's compassion agenda, which he highlighted during this week's State of the Union Address.

Grantees of both programs must fulfill the essential features of successful mentoring programs: screening and matchmaking, orientation and training, and ongoing support and supervision. And the grantees will be rigorously evaluated according to their outcomes both in terms of inputs (volunteer hours, youths served) and outcomes for youths (academic achievement, school attendance, juvenile crime, and the avoidance of risky behaviors, such as substance abuse).

In addition to these new investments, President Bush also announced that he has formed a new President's Council on Service and Civic Participation modeled on the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports. At the event, he introduced the first members of the 25-member council who include: entertainers, athletes, retired elected officials, business and media leaders, leaders of nonprofit and volunteer service organizations and community volunteers.

Darrell Green, former Washington Redskins cornerback, will serve as the chair of the council, and retired Senators Robert Dole and John Glenn will serve as honorary co-chairs of the council. The council will oversee the creation of a nationwide recognition program called the President's Volunteer Service Awards. The awards will be given to millions of individuals engaged in a variety of volunteer services who have made a sustained commitment to service over the course of a one-year period.

For more information, visit www.usafreedomcorps.gov.

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