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"Today, I would like to announce a new USA
Freedom Corps initiative called Volunteers for
Prosperity, which will give America's highly skilled
professionals new opportunities to serve abroad.
The program will enlist American doctors and
nurses and teachers and engineers and economists
and computer specialists and others to work on
specific development initiatives, including those
that I have discussed today. These volunteers will
serve in the countries of their choice, for however
long their project takes. Like generations before us,
this generation of citizens will show the world the
energy and idealism of the United States of
America."
- President George W. Bush
May 21, 2003 |
About VfP
The Volunteers for Prosperity (VfP) initiative has made significant progress since the signing of Executive Order 13317 on September 25, 2003. VfP was established to encourage international voluntary service by highly skilled Americans supporting our Nation's agenda to promote health and prosperity around the world. This agenda is represented by the following Presidential initiatives:
Mission and Objectives
The mission of Volunteers for Prosperity is to encourage international voluntary service by highly skilled American professionals supporting the global health and prosperity goals of the U.S. Government. To advance this strategic agenda for global health and prosperity, Volunteers for Prosperity supports the following objectives:
- Matching highly skilled American volunteers with global health and prosperity needs
Through a range of activities, Volunteers for Prosperity promotes international voluntary service and links experienced American professionals who wish to volunteer with VfP Partner organizations.
- Innovative support
The President's executive order 13317 makes grant applicants who rely on skilled American volunteers more competitive for federal funds.
- Outreach
Volunteers for Prosperity supports a new model of private-public cooperation in foreign assistance. A wide range of organizations previously not involved in official foreign assistance -- including smaller faith-based and community groups, trade associations, and corporations -- are joining to help highly skilled American volunteers answer the President's call to service.
- Recognition
Volunteers can qualify for public recognition of their contributions through the President's Volunteer Service Award.
America's Professionals Responding to the President's Call to Service
America's professionals are answering President Bush's call to serve their neighbors and communities around the world. Since May 21, 2003, when the President announced the initiative, Volunteers for Prosperity has seen dramatic gains in key measures of volunteer participation:
- Recruited more than 200 for-profit and non-profit organizations as VfP partners
- Assisted in the development of a volunteer pool of hundreds of thousands of highly skilled American professionals
- Supported the deployment of tens of thousands of volunteers
VfP is reaching out to greater numbers of highly skilled American professionals, helping deploy them as volunteers, and identifying and recruiting more VfP partners - U.S.-based nonprofits and companies.
The VfP initiative is fulfilling the promise envisioned by President Bush when he announced its creation in May 2003 when he predicted that through VfP, "this generation of citizens will show the world the energy and idealism of the United States of America." VfP has since proven its effectiveness as a vehicle promoting international voluntary service by skilled American professional in support of the nation's commitment to global health and prosperity.
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