President George W. Bush will present the President’s Volunteer Service Award to Fred Pancoast when he arrives in Nashville, Tennessee, on Tuesday, March 11, 2008.  Pancoast is a volunteer with Operation Stand Down Nashville and other community organizations.  To thank them for making a difference in the lives of others, President Bush honors a local volunteer when he travels throughout the United States.  He has met with more than 600 volunteers, like Pancoast, since March 2002.

Pancoast is a volunteer with Operation Stand Down Nashville, a non-profit organization that serves honorably discharged veterans.  This program helps homeless veterans reintegrate into the workforce through training and job placement assistance.  Pancoast also teaches life skills classes at the organization’s Transitional Housing Program for veterans who have completed a substance abuse treatment program. He was instrumental in bringing together veterans to serve as mentors for at-risk youth through Backfield in Motion, a program that helps youth succeed through academics and athletics. In addition, Pancoast helped establish the Room In The Inn, which provides food and shelter to homeless people in the Nashville area.  He also volunteers at Campus for Human Development which provides assistance to homeless men and women who are preparing to re-enter society. Pancoast, a former head football coach at Vanderbilt University, was awarded the 2007 Lifetime Achievement Award from the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame.

In his January 2002 State of the Union Address, President Bush called on all Americans to make a difference in their communities through volunteer service. He created USA Freedom Corps, an Office of the White House, to strengthen and expand volunteer service. Americans are responding to the President’s Call to Service. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, more than 61 million Americans volunteered in 2006. Go to www.volunteer.gov or call 1-877-USA-CORPS to find an existing volunteer service opportunity in your area or to find more information about service programs, including national service programs such as the Peace Corps, AmeriCorps, Senior Corps, and Citizen Corps. USA Freedom Corps is also highlighting youth volunteer service. Visit www.volunteerkids.gov for games and ideas designed to show how America's youth are making a difference.

The President's Volunteer Service Award was created at the President’s direction by the President's Council on Service and Civic Participation. The Award is available to youth ages 14 and under who have completed 50 or more hours of volunteer service; to individuals 15 and older who have completed 100 or more hours; and to families or groups who have completed 200 or more hours. For more information about the Award, please visit www.presidentialserviceawards.gov.

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