President Bush is committed to strengthening and expanding volunteer service in America.

In his January 2001 Inaugural address, President Bush challenged Americans to be “citizens, not spectators.” Following the terrorist attacks of September 11th, in his 2002 State of the Union Address, the President called on every American to dedicate at least two years or 4,000 hours over the course of his or her lifetime to volunteer service. He also created the USA Freedom Corps within the White House and charged it with expanding volunteer service opportunities across the country and around the world. Americans have answered the President’s Call to Service in record numbers.

Answering the President’s Call to Service – By the Numbers:

Increasing Volunteer Service

• Four million more Americans participated in volunteer service in FY 2003 than in FY 2002. The total number of volunteers in FY 2003 was 63.8 million.

Creating the USAFC Volunteer Network

• The Volunteer Network, created by USA Freedom Corps, is the largest clearinghouse of volunteer opportunities ever created. Americans can search the database by area of interest and geographic location. Since 2002, more than 870,000 volunteer opportunity searches have been completed on the Volunteer Network.

Strengthening National Service Programs and Initiatives

• Later this year, AmeriCorps will reach the President’s goal of supporting 75,000 members, a 50 percent increase over the year before. Full-time members who complete 1,700 hours of volunteer service receive an education award of $4,725. In 2003, the largest of the AmeriCorps programs – the AmeriCorps*State and National program – generated over 500,000 unpaid community volunteers who averaged 8 hours of service, totaling approximately 4 million volunteer hours.
   
• Senior Corps provides volunteer opportunities for Americans over age 55. Currently, there are more than 526,000 senior volunteers. In 2003, Senior Corps members volunteered almost 120 million hours.
   
• Learn and Serve America seeks to engage America’s youth in service learning, which incorporates volunteer service and civic education into the classroom. In 2003, the program engaged more than 1.8 million students in service learning, bettering the students’ lives, their schools, and their communities through civic engagement and volunteer service.
   
• Take Pride in America, a volunteer program begun by President Ronald Reagan and re-launched by Secretary Norton, has mobilized more than 80,000 volunteers and one hundred partners to improve our 800 million acres of public lands. Volunteers build trails and bridges, plant trees and plants, and remove invasive plants and trash.

Expanding International Volunteer Service

• Under President Bush, the number of Peace Corps volunteers serving for two years in the field has grown to the highest level in 28 years. And, since 2002, Peace Corps has opened or re-opened programs in 14 countries, including Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Bangladesh.
   
• President Bush created Volunteers for Prosperity to provide flexible international volunteer opportunities for America’s highly-skilled professionals in such areas as fighting the HIV/AIDS pandemic and providing safe drinking water for developing regions. Volunteer service in this program can last a few weeks or a few years. To date, Volunteers for Prosperity has recruited more than 140 U.S. companies and non-profit organizations into the program; assisted in the development of a volunteer pool exceeding 23,000 people; and supported the deployment of nearly 3,000 volunteers.

Strengthening Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness

President Bush launched Citizen Corps in January 2002. Citizen Corps is a grassroots, locally-based effort that is designed to mobilize and train volunteers to respond to acts of terrorism and other emergencies.

Council members learn how to prepare themselves, their family, and their friends for an emergency by readying disaster supply kits and by establishing family emergency communication and evacuation plans. They have access to emergency preparedness and first aid training, including the Community Emergency Response Team training program. Citizen Corps members are also encouraged to volunteer with local law enforcement through such programs as Volunteers in Police Service, Medical Reserve Corps, Neighborhood Watch, and the newly created Fire Corps. By assisting local law enforcement efforts, Council members help make their communities safer and stay trained and alert.

• There are more than 1,300 local Citizen Corps Councils and 53 state/territory councils, serving communities totaling over 140 million people (approximately 50% of the total US population). Citizen Corps currently has five charter programs (CERT, VIPS, MRC, Neighborhood Watch, and Fire Corps).
   
• Since January 2002, more than 52,000 people have each completed 20 hours of Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) training, which equates to more than one million hours.
   
• There are currently more than 68,000 volunteers in the Volunteers in Police Service (VIPS) program and over 940 registered programs. Volunteers have provided more than one million hours of service.
   
• Since its inception in 2002, Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) has grown to more than 27,000 members. There are 166 communities with Federally-funded Medical Reserve Corps units and another 45 that have been started with private funding.
   
• There are now 10,153 Neighborhood Watch groups and 1,708 law enforcement agencies registered on www.usaonwatch.org.
   
• The Bush Administration announced Fire Corps in May 2004. Fire Corps volunteers will aid fire departments in a variety of tasks to enhance homeland security capabilities.

Recognizing Dedicated Volunteers

More than 80,000 Americans have received the President’s Volunteer Service Award, recognizing their dedication to helping others through service. The Award is an initiative of the President’s Council on Service and Civic Participation, which was established by President Bush to encourage and recognize volunteer service. Members of the Council include entertainers, athletes, retired elected officials, business and media leaders, leaders of nonprofit organizations, and community volunteers, all with an interest in – and dedication to – volunteer service.

• President Bush has personally met with more than 300 volunteers during his travels across America to thank them for their service to others.

Challenging Business to Strengthen America

• Almost 800 companies and organizations have affiliated with Business Strengthening America to encourage volunteer activities in the private sector.

For more information, please visit www.usafreedomcorps.gov .