[Federal Register: April 11, 2000 (Volume 65, Number 70)]
[Presidential Documents]               
[Page 19639-19642]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr11ap00-155]                         


[[Page 19639]]

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Part X





The President





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Proclamation 7287--National Volunteer Week, 2000


                        Presidential Documents 




___________________________________________________________________

Title 3--
The President

[[Page 19641]]

                Proclamation 7287 of April 7, 2000

 
                National Volunteer Week, 2000

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                Each year our Nation is blessed by the service of more 
                than 100 million Americans who take time out of their 
                busy lives to reach out to those in need. Volunteers 
                come from every age group and walk of life, yet they 
                share a common conviction: that by giving of 
                themselves, they can bridge the divide between 
                strangers, create stronger families, and build better 
                communities.

                National Volunteer Week offers us a chance to thank the 
                many volunteers whose work and compassion add so much 
                to the quality of our lives. It also gives those who 
                have never volunteered the opportunity to learn more 
                about the many organizations that would benefit from 
                their time and talents. People who enjoy sports can 
                volunteer at a Special Olympics event; those who love 
                the arts can work as docents in a gallery or historic 
                home; those who love to read can share that love 
                through a literacy program.

                Our success with the AmeriCorps program demonstrates 
                the power and promise of community service in America. 
                Since we passed the National and Community Service 
                Trust Act in 1993, more than 150,000 young people have 
                served in AmeriCorps. They have taught or mentored more 
                than 4 million children; helped to immunize more than a 
                million people; worked to build some 11,000 homes; and 
                sparked a new spirit of community service across our 
                Nation. In my proposed budget for fiscal 2001, I have 
                included funding to reach our goal of 100,000 
                AmeriCorps members in service each year. I have also 
                outlined a new AmeriCorps Reserves program that will 
                allow us to call upon AmeriCorps alumni during times of 
                special need, such as following natural disasters. The 
                Corporation for National Service will commit $10 
                million to create a new ``E-corps''--750 qualified 
                AmeriCorps volunteers who will help to bring digital 
                opportunity to communities by providing technical 
                support to school computer systems, tutoring at 
                Community Technology Centers, and offering technical 
                training for careers in the information technology 
                sector. Through a new Community Coaches program, we 
                will place adults in 1,000 schools to help engage 
                students in service programs that will connect them to 
                the wider community. And through new Youth Empowerment 
                Grants, we will reward social entrepreneurship among 
                young people who are seeking solutions to problems such 
                as youth violence and alienation.

                Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., reminded us that 
                ``everyone can be great because anyone can serve.'' 
                During National Volunteer Week, let us pause to thank 
                all who have responded to that call to greatness, and 
                let each of us make our own commitments to volunteer in 
                our neighborhoods and communities.

                NOW, THEREFORE, I, WILLIAM J. CLINTON, President of the 
                United States of America, by virtue of the authority 
                vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United 
                States, do hereby proclaim April 9 through April 15, 
                2000, as National Volunteer Week. I call upon all 
                Americans to observe this week with appropriate 
                programs, ceremonies, and activities to express 
                appreciation to the volunteers among us for their 
                commitment to service and to encourage the spirit of 
                volunteerism in our families and communities.

[[Page 19642]]

                IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this 
                seventh day of April, in the year of our Lord two 
                thousand, and of the Independence of the United States 
                of America the two hundred and twenty-fourth.

                    (Presidential Sig.)

[FR Doc. 00-9207
Filed 4-10-00; 11:16 am]
Billing code 3195-01-P