Providing social services should not be a government monopoly, Goldsmith told 3,000 participants Saturday in the 2001 National Community Volunteering and National Service Conference in Minneapolis. He said the role of Bush's faith-based and community initiative and his larger compassionate conservative agenda is to supplement and support community-based organizations in confronting serious social problems.

Goldsmith, the new chair of the Corporation for National Service's board of directors, said he witnessed first-hand the critical role religious and community organizations can play when he was two-term mayor of Indianapolis. His administration, which garnered a national reputation for innovation, poured considerable funds into the city's neglected neighborhoods. But the communities that did the best job of restoring themselves were ones that had active civic engagement, including the participation of religious groups, he said.

The president's faith-based and community initiative would allow religious groups to compete with secular organizations for federal dollars for an array of social services. Bush has called the effort one of the most important in his administration.

Addressing the theme of Saturday's session - innovation - Janet Sharma noted that the nearly 500 local Volunteer Centers, which work in partnership with the Points of Light Foundation, offer creative ways of providing and promoting effective volunteer opportunities to meet community needs. Sharma is chair of the Volunteer Center National Network Council, a group of volunteer leaders who provide guidance and support to the local volunteer centers.

Sharma, also executive director of the Volunteer Center of Bergen County, New Jersey, said the local Volunteer Centers work with more than 100,000 community organizations in providing more than 500,000 volunteer opportunities. The Volunteer Centers, which train tens of thousands annually in corporate and family volunteering and other areas, are accessible to about two-thirds of the country.

One innovative program in Bergen County, called Parent Aides for Teens, is a "highly successful" teen-mother mentoring program, according to Sharma. All 165 teen moms, who are matched with trained, supervised mentors, are either in school, working on their GED, in job training, or employed. Moreover, the babies are thriving and there have been no reports of neglect or abuse since the 5-year-old program was instituted.

"Our program may seem innovative, but it is built on years of experience...," said Sharma. "To our way of thinking, this is not innovative; it is (simply) effective." Honored Saturday was Volunteer Jacksonville, Inc. a Volunteer Center that since 1973 has combined people and resources to creatively solve community problems. The organization received the 2001 George Romney Volunteer Center Excellence Award, a national award sponsored by the Points of Light Foundation.

The annual conference is co-sponsored by the Corporation for National Service and the Points of Light Foundation & Volunteer Center National Network. The Points of Light Foundation & Volunteer Center National Network are the nation's leading nonprofit and nonpartisan organizations supporting the vital work of millions of volunteers in thousands of communities who are helping to solve serious social problems. For more information about local volunteer activities, call 1-800-VOLUNTEER, or visit www.pointsoflight.org

The Corporation for National Service was established in 1993 to engage Americans of all ages and backgrounds in service to their communities. The Corporation oversees AmeriCorps, Learn and Serve America and the National Senior Service Corps, offering 1.5 million Americans opportunities to serve their communities each year. For more information, call 1-202-606-5000 or visit www.nationalservice.org/about/.