President George W. Bush will meet Charlie Graas when he arrives in Springfield, Missouri, on Friday, July 30, 2004. Graas is an active volunteer with the Stone County Food Pantry and the United Way.

President Bush hascalled on all Americans to volunteer two years or 4,000 hours over the course of their lifetimes, and hecreated USA Freedom Corpsto help foster a culture of service, citizenship, and responsibility. Since January 2002, President Bush has met with hundreds of individuals around the country, like Graas, who are answering the call to volunteer service.

Graas collects food donations at Ozarks Food Harvest in Springfield and transports it in his trailer to the Stone County Food Pantry. He joins other volunteers at the pantry to organize the food and distribute it to needy families and individuals. After retirement in 1998, Graas operated the Stone County Food Pantry for 4 1/2 years as a volunteer. Graas also volunteers twice a week with United Way of The Ozarks, raising money from corporate contacts, as well as serving on the endowment committee to ensure wise use of those funds.

USA Freedom Corps has launched “A Call to Summer Service”, an initiative to encourage Americans to spend a part of their summer in volunteer service. Through “A Call to Summer Service,” citizens are reminded that the summer months are an excellent time to answer the President’s Call to Service, strengthen their communities, and extend the compassion and greatness of America. Interested volunteers can find ideas for summer volunteering and information on how to get started at www.usafreedomcorps.gov.

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