Bush Appeals for Volunteers to Assist Needy, Ill
President Bush on Saturday called on Americans to take time during the holiday season to help those less fortunate through volunteer work at soup kitchens or visiting the sick at hospitals.
Bush, spending the Thanksgiving weekend at his Texas ranch, used his weekly radio address to plug his USA Freedom Corps and his call for Americans to donate two years of their lives to community service, the equivalent of 4,000 hours.
“I hope you’ll consider joining the armies of compassion, and dedicating time and energy and service to others,” he said. “Every time you reach out to a neighbor in need you touch a life; you improve your community and you strengthen our nation.”
The program acts as a clearinghouse for volunteer projects and includes a new Citizen Corps to fight terrorism at the local level, an expanded Peace Corps for overseas service, a Senior Corps for older Americans and continued support for AmeriCorps, a Clinton administration-era program.
The Peace Corps has received more than 100,000 requests for applications since January, an almost 40% jump over last year, while 52,000 have signed up online for the Citizen Corps since February, according to the USA Freedom Corps.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
