President Bush Calls on Congress to Make International Service Program Permanent
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 10, 2008
Press Office: 202-712-4320
Public Information: 202-712-4810
www.usaid.gov
WASHINGTON, D.C. - President George W. Bush recently called upon the U.S. Congress to enact legislation making Volunteers for Prosperity a permanent program, engaging American professionals in flexible international volunteer service to the developing world.
Describing the work of professionals, President Bush noted," These men and women save babies from malaria on the continent of Africa. They bring modern information technology to Afghanistan. They live out one of America's strongest beliefs -- that to whom much is given, much is required."
The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) manages Volunteers for Prosperity (VFP) under authority of an Executive Order signed by President Bush on September 25, 2003.
Over the past five years, Volunteers for Prosperity has helped to mobilize more than 117,000 skilled Americans, through a network of nearly 300 leading U.S. companies and non-profit organizations, in assignments ranging from a few weeks to several months and longer, in order to help those in need throughout the developing world. During the past year alone, more than 43,000 doctors, teachers, engineers, and other skilled Americans served to address critical human needs abroad.
VFP is managed by USAID in cooperation with USA Freedom Corps, the White House office responsible for coordinating the U.S. government's national service programs such as, the Peace Corps and Citizen Corps.
To learn more about Volunteers for Prosperity, please visit www.volunteersforprosperity.gov.
The American people, through the U.S. Agency for International Development, have provided economic and humanitarian assistance worldwide for nearly 50 years.
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