President George W. Bush will meet Miranda Ip, an AmeriCorps member who is serving with Public Allies, a Bay Area not for profit organization that promotes youth leadership by placing young adults in leadership positions with other community serving organizations. Upon his arrival in Mountain View, California, Tuesday, April 30th, the President will recognize Ip as an example of the dedication to service he is hoping to instill in all Americans.

In his State of the Union address, President Bush called on all Americans to dedicate at least two years—the equivalent of 4,000 hours—in service to their communities, our country and the world. President Bush is recognizing men and women from around the country who are answering the call to service as part of his USA Freedom Corps initiative.

A recent graduate of Stanford University, Ip has been an active volunteer since high school. While at Stanford, she coordinated Alternative Spring Break, a program that offers students volunteer opportunities during spring vacation, and volunteered with the Stanford High School Enrichment Program, teaching history to high school students.

As an AmeriCorps member with Public Allies, Ip is working with Youth Community Service, a not for profit organization that provides young people from East Palo Alto, Palo Alto and East Menlo Park with opportunities to address community issues through service activities and service-learning. She also organizes service activities for the students and trains young people in leadership skills through Youth Community Service's "fellows program." Through Public Allies, Ip is also involved in facilitating workshops for young women incarcerated at a juvenile justice facility in Santa Clara County.

Following her AmeriCorps service, Ip plans to pursue a career in medicine and serve the health care needs of low-income families and immigrants.

President Bush created the USA Freedom Corps office at the White House to foster an American culture of service, citizenship and responsibility. Through the USA Freedom Corps, President Bush wants to help every American answer the call to service by strengthening and expanding service opportunities to protect our homeland, support our communities and extend American compassion around the world. Interested volunteers can find information on the USA Freedom Corps at www.usafreedomcorps.gov or by calling 1-877-USA-Corps.

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