FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, April 01, 2005
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The White House
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President and Mrs. Bush Discuss Helping America's Youth Intiative |
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Paul Public Charter School
Washington, D.C.
10:52 A.M. EST
MRS. BUSH: Thanks, everyone. I'm going to get to be the one to introduce the
President, but first I want to acknowledge Secretary Mike Leavitt, Secretary of
Health and Human Services. Thank you for being here with us. And the Principal
of Paul Public Charter School, Barbara Nophlin. Where is Barbara?
THE PRESIDENT: Barbara is right there. (Applause.)
MRS. BUSH: Thank you, thanks so much. The President and I just had a great
meeting with some boys and girls and their mentors, people who exemplify the new
initiative called Helping America's Youth. Helping America's Youth highlights
the importance in every child's life of a loving, caring adult, whether that's a
parent or a grandparent, an aunt or uncle, a teacher, a coach or a mentor.
Children throughout America face a lot of problems. Some young people have
trouble staying in school or going to college, others get caught up in risky
behaviors like drug use or violence. And some boys and girls in the United
States have a parent in prison.
Communities are recognizing the needs of our young people, and they're
reacting and responding in very positive ways. In Detroit, volunteer coaches
help boys and girls develop a good character on and off the field. In Atlanta,
college professors and college students are teaching debate classes to middle
school students in housing projects, to help those younger students learn how to
use words to settle their differences, rather than resorting to violence. Last
month, in Pittsburgh, the President and I were at a community center where
faith-based leaders are providing a safe and supportive environment for children
after school, which are the hours when too many children in the United States
are left alone.
In the fall, we'll host a White House conference on Helping America's Youth,
bringing together researchers, community leaders, educators, and others who want
to find solutions to the challenges young Americans face. I hope that some of
you will be able to join us next fall at that conference.
When it comes to talking about children, I could go on for quite a while, but
I'm the warm-up speaker today. When we visited Pittsburgh, the President
introduced me, now I get to return the favor. Ladies and gentlemen, my husband,
the President of the United States. (Applause.)
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you all. Please be seated, thanks. I thought you were
going to say you couldn't give the speech because you were suffering from jet
lag. (Laughter.) Laura just got back from Afghanistan and reported that freedom
is a beautiful thing, that society is changing because the people are free
there.
And it's quite a job I have when you get to be introduced by your wife. I
want to thank you all for coming. I'm a lucky man that Laura said, "yes," when I
asked her to marry me. She is a great mom, a fabulous wife. She's doing a
wonderful job as our First Lady. She is a tireless advocate for children in our
country. She is a teacher. And you learn a thing or two when you marry a
teacher. (Laughter.) You learn to behave yourself. (Laughter.) Most of the time.
(Laughter.)
And you learn that a single soul can make a difference in a young person's
life. That's what you learn. As a matter of fact, that's what we're here to talk
about today, how to help Americans realize the great promise of a single
person's compassion and its ability to help save a soul. America can change one
heart, one soul at a time. (Applause.)
And our job, frankly, all our jobs, is to find those who are willing to be a
part of the solution and encourage them to help surround somebody who hurts with
love. That's what we're here to talk about today.
First I want to thank Mike Leavitt for serving as the Secretary of the
Department of Health and Human Services. One of the reasons he is here is this
Department distributes a lot of federal money, and I -- you'll hear me talk
about public policy that hopefully will encourage faith- and community-based
programs to do a more -- a better job of helping to save lives in our country.
Frank Wolf is with us. Frank, I'm honored you're here. Congressman Frank Wolf
has been a leading advocate in the Congress for the faith-based and
community-based initiatives. I appreciate you coming, Congressman. Glad to see
you brought your daughter, Rebecca, with you. Frank, by the way, has been very
instrumental in working in the Sudan to help bring peace to that troubled part
of the world. I want to thank you for your efforts. (Applause.)
While I'm mentioning it, we met with youngsters who are being mentored, their
mentors, and the directors of programs that have encouraged the mentoring to
take place. Dan Johnson, the Executive Director of Kinship of Greater
Minneapolis is with us. Thanks for coming, Dan. Denise Williams, the Vice
President for Programs, Big Brothers Big Sisters for the Capital Area is with
us. (Applause.) Mark Earley, the President of Prison Fellowship is with us
today. Appreciate you coming, Mark. (Applause.) Maureen Holla, the Executive
Director of the Higher Achievement Program. Maureen, thank you very much.
(Applause.)
Barbara -- Barbara's been introduced once, and I'll introduce her again.
Barbara is a big name in my family. (Laughter.) Thank you for being the head of
this great school. We're honored to be here. I want to thank all the teachers
who are here. I want to thank all the mentors who are here. I want to thank all
the people who care about the future of this country who are here.
Laura and I are thrilled to be here. I'm impressed by the results of the
Higher Achievement Program. I think it's important if you're in my line of work,
for example, to ask people, what's happening; what are the results? Show me some
progress. I don't have much time in this job, and so one of the things I try to
do is to say, here's the goal, and how are we progressing toward this goal.
And one of the interesting things about the Higher Achievement Program, they
have got a good track record, good results. It shows what is possible when you
focus on a goal-oriented, results-oriented approach to helping save lives. For
30 years -- they've got a long history, by the way, this program has been in
existence for 30 years -- they've mentored middle school students. And that's an
important group, by the way. If you're interested in trying to figure out
something to do in America, find some middle school students who need some help.
It is a very important age for loving adults to enter into a child's life. And
this initiative -- let me just say this, of the more than 300 youngsters who
take place in this program per year, 95 percent go to college. (Applause.)
If you're interested in finding out what works, look at this program, because
the results are clear. And I want to congratulate the visionaries involved with
the program and those who are on the front lines of making it work.
I also -- we have the honor of meeting folks who mentor. I call them soldiers
in the armies of compassion, people who are willing to take time out of their
too-busy lives to help save a life. Such a person is Stacey French. For
two-and-a-half years, she has volunteered to tutor a seventh grader named Lexus
Henderson, both of whom are here today. Stacey watched as Lexus turned from an
inattentive student to one who is focused, to one who sets goals. I asked Lexus,
I said, you going to college? Thirteen-year-old guy, by the way. He said,
absolutely. He's even picked one out. He has set a goal.
And Stacey is there to help him realize that goal. He wasn't very good in
math. She helped focus on math. Math is now his favorite subject. Here's a guy
going to college as a result of the love of Stacey. Thank you all for coming.
Please stand up. (Applause.)
Laura and I also met with some extraordinary young men and women who have
faced some incredibly significant and great challenges in their life. Each of
them has had a mother or father in prison. Each has had a volunteer mentor, as
well. And the caring presence of this adult, the soul who said, I love you, has
made a big difference in these children's lives. They have made a tough decision
to kind of resist peer pressure and focus on achieving results in schools and
staying off drugs and making tough choices. And we're really proud of the
accomplishments that you all have made and the example you have set.
One of those is Michaela Huberty is with us today from Benjamin Mays Magnet
School, St. Paul, Minnesota. She is the youngest of three children, and she's
being raised by her mom. Her dad has been in and out of prison for her entire
life. Fortunately, there's the Lutheran mentoring program -- I just introduced
the head of it in Minneapolis -- that matched Michaela with Jennifer Kalenborn.
She is a special needs teacher in St. Paul. Think about that. She's already
helping children, and she wanted to do more.
She is -- and they do crafts together, and they go to museums together, and
they read together, and they talk on the phone together. She sets an example.
Guess what Michaela wants to be when she grows up: a teacher. (Laughter.) It's
pretty interesting -- not coincidental, of course. She's being loved by a
teacher. She's being helped by a teacher. She herself wants to teach. One of the
most important programs that we need to focus on is to -- helping a child whose
parent is or has been in prison. And I want to thank the Minneapolis program,
and I want to thank Jennifer for being such a good soul. Welcome to you both,
thanks for coming. Let them stand up. (Applause.)
Jillian Antonucci is with us. She joined the Prison Fellowship Angel Tree
Program. That's a program all -- that exists in order to help a child whose
parent may be or has been in prison. It's a great program, by the way.
She takes time out from attending Grove City College in Pennsylvania to
mentor Brianna Morris, whose father and mother have both been in prison. I asked
her, I said, well, how did you get involved with the program? She said, the
first thing is I prayed and asked for guidance from the Almighty. It's kind of
an interesting way to become inspired, isn't it? Matter of fact, it is the basis
of many faith-based program -- matter of fact, it's the basis of all faith-based
programs. (Applause.)
Brianna was suffering from depression. But Jillian, as a result of her love
and desire to help, has watched this young lady become someone who is laughing
and more open, somebody who has set goals. Interestingly enough, the goal: she
either wants to be a basketball player or a computer technician. If your jump
shot doesn't work, go computers. (Laughter.) But we want to thank you both for
being here. Thank you for coming. Please stand up and be recognized for your
good work. (Applause.)
And finally, we met Vinnie Thomas. Some people become mentors because of what
mentors have done for them in their lives. In other words, one of the
interesting things about mentoring is it can create a chain of compassion over
the course of people's lives. And Vinnie Thomas left home when he was 16, ended
up in California struggling with drugs. And guess where he ended up? In prison.
He was there for three-and-a-half years. And while he was there, a mentor -- I
think he said two mentors, but one sticks out in my mind in particular as a
mentor.
That was a business person, came and mentored Vinnie and gave him an airplane
ticket to fly back home, said if you need a problem [sic], here's a house,
here's a bed. In other words, it's probably more effective than a probation
officer could be. Somebody said, I care for you, Vinnie. Vinnie said he didn't
have a family, he was lonely. He said this mentor helped him make sure that he
didn't land back in jail. Guess what? Vinnie today is a big brother to Parry
Elliott, who is with us, as well.
Parry Elliott is a seventh grader, lives in a section of Washington known for
gang violence. His dad is in prison right now. I asked Parry, I said, how about
college? He said absolutely, you don't have to worry about me. He said, I've
made my decision. He's accepted to the Seed School in Washington, D.C., where
100 percent of the graduating students were accepted into college last year.
(Applause.) Thanks to Big Brothers Big Sisters of the National Capital Area,
their lives have been transformed.
Let me tell you something about Vinnie. This week, he was ordained a Deacon
at the Galilee Baptist Church. (Applause.) I guess I shouldn't call him Vinnie,
I should call him Deacon Thomas. (Laughter.) As a matter of fact, I asked the
Deacon to offer a prayer after our gathering. I was hoping I would be the
recipient of the first prayer that the newly ordained Deacon would offer. I
think I might have been.
MR. THOMAS: You were.
THE PRESIDENT: Well, that's good. (Laughter.) Let me just say, you responded
to the pressure quite well. (Laughter.) It's an honor to welcome Deacon Thomas
and Parry with us today. Thank you all for coming. (Applause.)
I'm proud of these mentors, we're proud of you all who mentor, as well.
Anybody listening out there is interested in how to serve the country, one good
way is to become a mentor. We talk to the program directors. I say, what are
your bottlenecks, where do you need help? They need help in matching lost souls
with somebody who loves. And so spread the word. I'm trying to spread it right
now through that camera. (Laughter.) But if you want to serve America, become a
mentor.
And there are ways to do so -- plenty of access to the Internet.
USAFreedomCorps.gov is one way to figure out a mentoring program close to you
that is looking for help. The amazing thing is, is that all this happens without
government. There's success stories like the four we just heard all across
America, because there are a lot of people who are saying, what can I do, how
can I help, what do I need to do to make sure opportunity is available to all
people?
Now, government has got a role to play in my judgment. I think there's a
vital role for government to play. But first we've got to understand the
limitations of government. Government can do a lot of things, but one of the
things government is not really good at is love. It can hand out money. But it
can't put hope in a person's heart. It can't serve to inspire a person to set
goals like going to college. But what government can do is to empower people who
have heard the call to love a neighbor, and that's what government should do, in
my judgment. Government should be an advocate of faith-based and community-based
programs, not an impedent [sic] to faith-based programs. Government ought to be
not a road block -- (applause.)
So we're committed to making government an effective partner for those
bringing hope to harsh places. In the State of the Union this year, I announced
the Helping America's Youth Initiative that's going to be led by Laura. She
talked about it. She'll be focusing on three key areas vital to helping young
people succeed: family, school and community.
This fall, she's -- as she mentioned, she's going to be convening a White
House conference that will bring researchers and policy experts and educators
and parents and community leaders together. They will discuss ways and
strategies to help children avoid drugs, alcohol, violence, early sexual
activity, ways to help people build successful lives.
As part of Helping America's Youth Initiative, we've proposed a new
$150-million effort to discourage gangs, to encourage faith-based and
community-based organizations to provide alternatives to gangs. I can't think of
a better group of people to rally and inspire, to offset the lure of a gang,
than somebody who has heard a universal call to love a neighbor, just like
they'd like to be loved themselves.
I'm really excited about Laura's initiative. I urge Congress to support
programs that will make this initiative viable, initiatives such as programs to
help strengthen marriages; a responsible fatherhood initiative that would
support community- and faith-based organizations to help fathers stay involved
in their children's lives; a healthy marriage initiative to support research on
the best ways to keep marriages strong. Those seem like reasonable programs if
we're all aiming to try to make this society as strong a society as possible.
There are over two million children in America with at least one parent in
prison. That is a problem that we must address, and the problem is, is that if
your dad or mother is in prison, you're likely to end up there yourself without
love and compassion in your life; that's a fact.
And so one of the initiatives that I called upon Congress to fund was the
initiative to help faith-based and community organizations to recruit enough
mentors to save the lives of 100,000 children whose parent may be in prison.
It's a vital initiative; it's an important initiative. Last year we gave out $55
million in grants that had been awarded to 221 organizations. There is still
work to be done. We're just starting.
I urge those of you involved in the Faith- and Community-Based Initiative to
set up programs to mentor a child whose parent may be in prison. It is a vital
contribution to our country that you can make. It's an important part of keeping
this country a hopeful place for all. We'll have more money available in the
budgets coming out, but what we can't do is we can't buy compassion and love.
It's up to those at the community level to take advantage of the funding
available. It's up to you to go out and help recruit. I can call people to
service and will continue to do so. A patriotic way to serve America is to
mentor a child whose parent may be in prison. But I encourage the social
entrepreneurs in America to funnel resources and efforts and energy toward this
vital program.
The faith-based program is one that is going to be -- remain a constant part
of my administration. Obviously, there's some limitations on the faith program.
You can't take federal money to proselytize. You can't take federal money and
discriminate against somebody based upon religion. In other words, if you're an
alcohol and drug rehabilitation program, you happen to be associated with the
Methodist church, you can't say only Methodists who are drunk can come here. You
got to say all drunks are able to come here. (Laughter.) In other words, there
is some limitations. (Applause.) There are limitations to how this federal money
can be used.
But one of the limitations should not be based upon the fact that you're a
faith-based program. In other words, we strongly believe at the federal level
that federal money ought to be accessible on an equal playing field, level
playing field to faith-based programs.
Jim Towey runs an office in my -- runs an office there at the White House.
See, I ask Towey all the time, I say, how much money are we getting out the
door? It's one thing to talk the faith-based and community-based initiative,
another thing is actually to make sure money is available. And he reported to me
last year, $2 billion was accessed by the faith community. And that's good.
That's a good start. We spend a lot more than $2 billion a year.
The whole goal, see, is to focus on results, not on process. Those of us in
Washington, we ought to say, are we saving lives? Are we getting enough mentors
in people's lives? Are we helping enough drunks get off alcohol? Are we helping
enough addicts get off drugs? That's what we ought to be asking. And we ought to
recognize that in programs that exist because they've heard a call to love a
neighbor, you can find great results. And so this Faith-Based and
Community-Based Initiative is a results-oriented approach that'll protect the
church and -- the separation of church and state, but at the same time, wisely
uses taxpayers' money so that we can achieve important social objectives.
For those of you involved in the faith and community programs, I want to say
thank you for your efforts. You've got a friend and ally in the federal
government now. (Applause.)
Part of making sure you can do your job is to make sure regulations don't
stand in the way of doing your job. Congress needs to make sure that faith-based
groups are not forced to give up their right to hire people of their own faith
as a price for competing for federal money. I'm pleased that the House voted a
month ago to protect the civil rights of faith-based groups. I urge the Senate
to do the same when it considers welfare reform and job training legislation
this year. (Applause.)
We're beginning to change the culture here in Washington. There's a more
accepting attitude toward the role that faith-based and community-based programs
can play in helping cure social ills and helping to shine a light into some of
the dark places in our country.
In order to make sure that we continue to stay focused on this initiative and
to be -- and to succeed, I've set up 10 faith-based offices in 10 agencies,
federal agencies. In other words, there's got to be some accountability. I want
there to be a presence in these federal bureaucracies. I want somebody in there
agitating for fairness, understanding the great hope of this initiative.
In 2003, grants to faith-based programs had gone up by 20 percent, and what's
important for you to understand is that all the grant money hasn't just gone to
the established faith providers, like the Salvation Army, which has done a
fantastic job, or Catholic Charities, which has done a fantastic job in America.
But I want to make sure that social entrepreneurs, large and small, had access
to federal money. In other words, we want to make sure that the program reaches
some of the most lonely corners in America, that we touch both large and small
providers. And we're making progress. And I'm asking Towey all the time, are we
reaching new programs? Are we making a difference in other neighborhoods? Are we
making sure that this has a broad reach throughout America? And I'm proud to
report that thousands of small groups, tiny grassroots organizations, are being
touched by this initiative, and that's important.
Let me tell you why I feel so strongly about this initiative, because I
understand the true strength of America lies in the hearts and souls of our
citizens. Interestingly enough, I wasn't the first person to recognize this, nor
will I be the last. De Tocqueville, fine fellow from France, came to the United
States in the 1830s. And he studied what made America unique. And what he found
was the uniqueness of America then was their eagerness to come together to form
associations to enable people to serve a cause greater than themselves. Many of
those associations existed because of religion; a lot of them didn't. But there
was this great desire for Americans to voluntarily associate in order to help
realize an ambition deep within our soul, and that is to make our country a
better place, and at the same time, make ourself a better person by working to
help somebody who hurts. He recognized, de Tocqueville recognized that a
strength -- that that was our strength then. It's very important for those of us
And so I want to thank you all for being a soldier in the army of compassion,
some of you privates, some of you sergeants, some of you generals, all soldiers,
bound together by the great desire to love a neighbor just like you'd like to be
loved yourself.
Over the next four years, I'll continue to work with our faith- and
community-based programs to save America one heart, one soul, one conscience at
a time. Thanks for coming today. God bless. (Applause.)
END 11:21 A.M. EST
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