President George W. Bush will present the President’s Volunteer Service Award to Josh Forbess when he arrives in Fort Campbell on Tuesday, November 25, 2008.  Forbess, a native of Decatur, Illinois, is a volunteer with the Fort Campbell Fisher House. 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 650 volunteers, like Forbess, since March 2002.

Forbess, a staff sergeant in the United States Army, has been a volunteer at the Fort Campbell Fisher House since June 2006. The Fisher House Foundation provides furnished homes near medical centers where military families can stay while their loved one is receiving care. Each week Forbess leads the Wounded Warrior meetings and serves as a mentor to combat injured veterans and their families.  He is also a volunteer with the Fisher House Equine Therapy Program and has been instrumental in fundraising and community education efforts.  Forbess became a volunteer with Fisher House because of his personal connection with the organization. Forbess was injured in Mosul, Iraq, in November 2003, when he was in a Black Hawk helicopter that collided with another Black Hawk during a firefight.  Forbess was one of only five survivors.  He spent nearly two months in intensive care and endured extensive rehabilitation, numerous surgeries and skin graphs to reshape his head and rebuild his nose. During his recovery at the Brooke Army Medical Center Burn Unit in San Antonio, Texas, his wife temporarily lived in a Fisher House. In addition, Forbess volunteers with Building Homes for Heroes, which helps build and renovate homes for wounded and disabled veterans, and Bikers Who Care, an organization that helps send injured or ill children to Camp Rainbow summer camp each year.

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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