Thank you, Dennis [Dennis Dunn, chairman of the Hawaii Commission for National and Community Service] for that introduction. I want to congratulate you and all my friends at the Commission, including Ike Watson and Bob Hoffman, for your good work in our communities.
Aloha kakou and good afternoon ladies and gentlemen. I hope that all of you enjoyed a blessed and Merry Christmas, and I wish all of you Hauoli Makahiki Hou; a happy, healthy, and prosperous New Year. I welcome this opportunity to speak at your training conference and salute the community service, spirit, and idealism of all youth volunteers and staff with the Hawaii Commission for National and Community Service. I also want to commend the participants from all the Corporation for National Service programs, including AmeriCorps, VISTA, the Senior Corps, and Learn and Serve.
AmeriCorps and the Corporation for National Service have come a long way since President Clinton signed the National and Community Service Trust Act into law in 1993. From its origin as a "season of service" idea during the 1992 presidential campaign, the National Service Act aimed to reaffirm the American spirit of community and generosity while providing the young men and women of our country with the opportunity to afford a college education.
As an original cosponsor of this legislation in the Senate, I can tell you, without a doubt, that the success of AmeriCorps' citizen service programs has exceeded our high expectations and projections. You all are responsible for this success, and I want to congratulate you and thank you for your service. I also want to acknowledge the tremendous job my friend Harris Wofford is doing leading the Corporation for National Service. Harris Wofford and I served together in the Senate when AmeriCorps was established. What you may not know is that Harris played a key role with Sergeant Shriver in giving life and vitality to the Peace Corps. So his career has brought him full circle to lead America's national service corps.
The Corporation provides the leadership which is so important to maximize the outgoing efforts of the volunteers. Over the past four years, AmeriCorps has helped over 33 million people, tutored and mentored more than 2 million children, built or rehabilitated more than 25,000 homes, and attracted over 2 million citizen volunteers. In Hawaii, AmeriCorps volunteers are currently working on five programs through Hawaii Lawyers Care, the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawaii, the Learning Disabilities Association of Hawaii, Legal Aid Society, and Maui Economic Opportunity.
Whether you are educating students on the history and culture of the Japanese in Hawaii; assisting parents of children with learning disabilities; providing legal services to low-income and underserved members of the community; bringing services to family violence victims and increasing community awareness of domestic violence; or dispensing health screening services to improve the quality of life for the elderly and disabled, your grassroots service will make a difference in the lives of thousands of Hawaii's people.
These projects and their goals reflect the idealism and civic spirit of the American people. AmeriCorps provides young people the opportunity to serve our country. Over 100,000 current and former AmeriCorps members are serving, or have served, their fellow Americans in education, public health, welfare-to-work, environmental protection, and other areas of need in our communities.
AmeriCorps' record of achievement is impressive; and I am confident that all of you gathered here today, working hand-in-hand with your colleagues and other service groups across the state, will build on this solid foundation. The competition for the services of AmeriCorps volunteers is always spirited among community organizations, and we are grateful that you are here.
Indeed, all of you who give so freely of your time and energy embody and live the Aloha spirit which we all cherish and strive to perpetuate and share. The Aloha spirit is not limited to a certain time and season, it is a way and outlook of life. The basic meaning of aloha is love. And love is the spirit that brings together things that are separated. And if there is no love, you do not bring things together. Aloha is in the giving to, not the taking from. It blossoms and manifests itself when we share it with others. Aloha does not differentiate between cultures, race, religion or income. When you give of yourself, you are sharing aloha.
I understand that the primary purpose of this training conference is as a learning experience for Hawaii's AmeriCorps volunteers. The conference theme "A Recommitment to Volunteerism" is a challenge you have embraced. As much as you are here to learn and share experiences, we can learn much from you.
Every volunteer working to meet a need in our community or helping one person assume responsibility for his or her life has made a choice to be part of the solution.
Your grassroots service is strengthening lives, families, and communities in Hawaii. Your efforts also help preserve the freedom we all enjoy as Americans. You have assumed the responsibility of rebuilding and strengthening the fabric of our communities and our society. And without responsibility and service the freedom we enjoy would be lost and the promise and greatness of America would fade. You are perpetuating the great American tradition of caring and responsibility.
Alongside AmeriCorps' youth service programs, the National Senior Service Corps involves over half a million older Americans serving in their communities. In Hawaii, senior volunteers contribute thousands of work hours. From a few hours to over 40 hours per week, they make a meaningful contribution in the lives of their neighbors on every island.
Senior volunteers are tutoring students, helping get children immunized, modeling parenting skills to teenage parents, building houses, participating in neighborhood watch programs, planting community gardens, delivering meals, staffing community organizations, and helping provide disaster relief. In their golden years, senior volunteers continue to contribute in our communities. Their caring and sharing mana'o make Hawaii an even better place to live.
The spirit of volunteerism and an individual's ability to help are not limited to the young or old. All of us have a part to play.
Over the course of the past two years we have witnessed the emergence of many innovative projects that marshal the resources and energies of business, labor, service groups, and state and local officials to address the problems facing our country.
The 1997 Presidential Summit for America's Future in Philadelphia brought together President Clinton, former Presidents Bush, Ford, and Carter, and Mrs. Reagan to expand and raise awareness of the role volunteer programs play in meeting the needs of America's young people. AmeriCorps and all the programs of the Corporation for National Service are actively involved in reaching the goals set at the Presidents' Summit.
General Colin Powell, who chaired the summit, helped found "America's Promise - The Alliance for Youth," to address the problems and implement solutions identified in Philadelphia. America's Promise is working to ensure that at-risk youth in our country have the resources and mentoring necessary to become successful adults. This is an important and massive task. Various government estimates show that over 15 million youth in America are at-risk. America's Promise has established a nationwide alliance with over 350 private sector groups, who are referred to as "commitment makers." Corporations, service groups, and nonprofits, two thousand communities, and over 250 state and local affiliates have joined in this effort to nurture and mentor our nation's at-risk youth.
America's Promise Hawaii has formed local partnerships to direct resources and organize a state youth volunteerism summit. It has set an ambitious goal: provide 10,000 youth with at least one of the five resources they need to lead healthy and productive lives. A healthy start in life, a quality education, a safe school and home environment, an ongoing relationship with a caring adult, and the opportunity to contribute through community service are five very basic resources.
When you think about it, our nation's youth deserve nothing less. These goals are attainable if all citizens get involved. Everyone here today has made a commitment to serve, and AmeriCorps is a leading partner with America's Promise, the Points of Light Foundation, and other groups dedicated to nonpartisan national service.
This is why I am pleased that this year Congress rebuffed past efforts to dismantle these cost-effective national service programs. As many of you know, the House of Representatives zeroed out all funding for AmeriCorps in past years. Bipartisan support in the United States Senate preserved AmeriCorps funding from these attacks. For fiscal year 1999, both the House and Senate agreed to an $18 million increase for AmeriCorps and a $10 million increase for the National Senior Service Corps. Your success locally, multiplied many times across the country, speaks to the value and effectiveness of national service.
These programs alone cannot meet the needs of our communities. Volunteerism is a call to action for all Americans to meet the challenges facing our communities and work together on noble causes. As President Clinton said in his speech at the summit "The era of big government is over, but big challenges remain. We are here to proclaim: the era of big citizenship has begun." Indeed, experience has shown that while government cannot solve every problem, there is no barrier too great to overcome if we give our time and labor in service to our community.
I am encouraged by the creative energy I see emerging in our community. Cooperation between nonprofits, service organizations, government, and business is a proven model of success to address community issues.
For example, earlier this month I spoke to a first-time gathering of Native Hawaiian doctors and health care providers who gathered to work on an initiative to reduce cardiovascular disease in Native Hawaiians. This effort is being coordinated with federal agencies, like the National Institutes of Health, the state, OHA, Native Hawaiian groups, nonprofit foundations, and health care organizations. It is a good example of how volunteers are able to identify a need in the community, motivate a constituency, initiate solutions, and build a partnerships for action.
These and many projects like them are, in the words of former President Bush, "points of light" that inspire and guide us all to serve the public good.
It also important to note that the benefits and blessings of community service flow in both directions. When you give freely of yourself to help others, the experience and satisfaction you acquire become part of your character and are with you every day.
Insights gained in volunteer activities enhance your career and make you a better citizen.
My own volunteer experiences continue to guide and influence my professional and personal life. As a teacher, principal, state official, Member of Congress, and United States Senator, I have tried to follow an ethic of service, responsibility, and compassion. I know of no greater inspiration and model for this ethic than committed national service.
During the holidays, we celebrate the joys of sharing and the spirit of caring and goodwill toward others. As we gather with family and friends to count our many blessings and remember those who are less fortunate, we need to carry this compassion in our hearts throughout the year. We must recommit ourselves to the great American tradition of grassroots community service. For we can only reach the full promise of America if each of us has the opportunity to develop and use our God-given talents and abilities. Our generation and future generations must meet the challenges at hand to ensure that our country remains united, strong, and free. What happens in your house is as important to the future of America as what happens in the White House. Thank you for your commitment to national service and your willingness to serve Hawaii and America.
Mahalo nui loa! Keep up the good work and God bless you.
