Mrs. Laura Bush, through the White House Office of USA Freedom Corps, invited more than 500 mentors/mentee pairs to the South Lawn of the White House for the annual Easter Egg Roll on Monday, March 28, 2005 to Celebrate Mentoring. More than 30 youth mentoring programs from the District of Columbia, Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania took part in the event.

The children participated in the egg roll, egg coloring, and art activities. They were also entertained by live music; reading corners with special guest readers including Doreen Cronin, author of the book Click Clack Moo and Sonia Manzano, “Maria” on Sesame Street and author of No Dogs Allowed!; and several stage shows. Also in attendance were favorite characters from children’s educational programming, including Clifford the Big Red Dog, Leona from Between the Lions and The Berenstain Bears.

Every child was given a commemorative White House wooden Easter egg, an activity coloring book, a USA Freedom Corps bookmark, a children’s book, a poster, and Easter candy.

President Rutherford B. Hayes officially opened the White House grounds to local children for egg rolling on Easter Monday in 1878. Successive Presidents continued to host the Easter Egg Roll on the South Lawn. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings and Secretary of Health and Human Services Mike Leavitt co-hosted the event this year.

In his January 2002 State of the Union Address, President Bush called on every American to dedicate two years or 4,000 hours over the course of their lives to volunteer service. To help more Americans engage in volunteer service, he created USA Freedom Corps, an Office of the White House charged with strengthening and expanding volunteer service. Go to www.usafreedomcorps.gov or call 1-877-USA-CORPS to find an existing volunteer service opportunity in your area or to find more information about mentoring programs. USA Freedom Corps is also highlighting youth volunteer service. Visit www.usafreedomcorpskids.gov for games and ideas designed to show how America's youth are making a difference.

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