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Former President Bush Addresses Volunteer Leaders at the 2004 National Conference - June 2004
MRS. BUSH: Well, I want to thank Curt Bennett and his wonderful boys and I want to congratulate them, and I want to thank all of you. And special thanks go to Adele Hall, who has worked so hard to make this marvelous conference for us all just great.
[Applause.]
MRS. BUSH: I know I won't be the first or the last to say this, but Adele, Don, and their family are true points of light who give of themselves more than any people I know. So thank you to all the Halls.
[Applause.]
MRS. BUSH: And as for you all, you are incredible, an incredible army of people who make life better for someone else, serve our country and our communities. You give hope and you make us even more optimistic about our country's future, and thank all of you for that.
Now my job today is the easiest in the world. I get to introduce the first person to utter the words "a thousand points of light." This person not only talked the talk, but walked the walk. You can't clap until you know who it is.
[Laughter.]
MRS. BUSH: It might be my dog Sadie.
[Laughter.]
MRS. BUSH: He has volunteered for almost 80 years, serving in the military service, volunteering in World War II, raising money while in college, Yale University, for the United Negro College Fund, being a founder of the Midland, Texas YMCA, along with others, and building the Little Theater, raising the money. He is volunteering all the time then and now up until today. He is a volunteer at Points of Light Foundation, First Tee, the George Bush School of Government and Public Service, and M.D. Anderson, Houston's great research and medical cancer hospital.
Now sometimes he gets carried away, such as next Sunday this what you all think is a normally sane man is going to jump out of a perfectly good airplane at two miles up in the air. He's going to do it for charity, of course.
Now there are many reasons that I am proud of my husband. His generous nature is surely one of my favorite reasons. I think he's sort of funny, too. So it is my great pleasure to introduce to you a real point of light, one of the very brightest, George Bush.
[Applause.]
PRESIDENT GEORGE H.W. BUSH: Thank you all very much.
[Applause.]
PRESIDENT GEORGE H.W. BUSH: Thank you.
[Applause.]
PRESIDENT GEORGE H.W. BUSH: Thank you ever so much. And I'm just delighted to be here, and I understand that the program started with a tribute to our President, Ronald Reagan, my friend, and I think that's most fitting during this week of mourning. But I also think it's fitting that meetings like this, opportunities to highlight service to others, continue even during this difficult time.
I want to also single out the Halls, Don and Adele, Don, Jr., for their leadership in all of this, and of course, Steve Miller, Bob Goodwin, Mr. Eisner here, and everybody else who has taken a leadership role in the Points of Light Foundation, and to the rest of you, I salute you, too, for being here and for participating in your communities.
Let me salute Bob Hoss and his coworkers at Levi Strauss and, indeed, all of the honorees, GE, KPMG, State Street, and Tucson Electric Power, all of them, who are gathered here to be honored, rightly, for your selfless leadership and commitments to helping others.
I was inspired to read how your companies -- and I'm addressing them now, the awardees -- engaged 67,500 men and women in 100 million hours of service in the year 2002, and that their contribution was valued at over $1.7 billion. And this is an amazing thing.
[Applause.]
PRESIDENT GEORGE H.W. BUSH: And as amazing as it is, though, these contributions and this volunteering go far beyond a mere dollars and cents. I have always felt that private citizens, banding together to lift the lives of others, can give the extra special touch of compassion that government is simply incapable of providing. And it is one thing to write a check and, to be sure, contributing funds to these worthwhile causes is a good and very much needed thing, but when you back such generous contributions up with another precious commodity -- your time -- well, that's like a force multiplier, as they say in the military, and it makes your contributions that much more effective, and it also sends a powerful signal to the people running these charities and to the beneficiaries themselves.
You know, I think it was Woody Allen who said 90 percent of life is just showing up. But all of you here, and so many others around this great country, do so much more than simply showing up, and you prove you care about your fellow man and about your community.
So clearly the Points of Light spirit is very much alive and well in the United States of America, and I am encouraged that a growing number of people feel, as clearly all of us here do, that there can be no definition of a successful life that does not include service to others.
When you think about it --
[Applause.]
PRESIDENT GEORGE H.W. BUSH: And I've said this before, but let me repeat it:
When you think about it, there isn't a problem that we face in America that caring citizens, including good corporate citizens, aren't helping to solve somewhere. Think about that. Somewhere across our country, in some volunteer center or some volunteer communities are solving some of the great social problems that seem to plague our country. And it could be literacy, it could be drugs, it could one of many, many things.
I read somewhere recently that between individuals and grant-making foundations, giving to the U.S. charities has doubled in the last decade, and today these organizations have more than $1 trillion in assets, throwing off more than $50 billion in funds to help the less fortunate. And that's more than four discretionary departments of government.
And the great news is that experts are predicting that charitable giving will increase dramatically over the next 20 years and generate more private funds, more private funds for charity that will eventually dwarf anything that the government can do.
I can remember back to when we first started this crusade to change America, and some of our political opponents and media critics wrote the program off at the time as a cheap "feel good" substitute for government spending. But they missed the point. They failed to recognize that it's an inherent part of the American character to help others.
Americans are individualists, but we are also bonded by an inherent propensity to connect ourselves together in meaningful ways. And this is the spirit of America, and we are rich in diversity and yet we are strong in unity, and volunteering helps connect us.
I love what Bob Goodwin said earlier on about connecting, and that's what a lot of this is all about. And so we are sticking to this Points of Light concept first and foremost because we need more Americans to answer the call to service, and as far as we have come, we still need more citizens willing to roll up their sleeves and get off the sidelines and claim one of our society's problems as their own.
In fact, one of the main reasons that I was honored to participate in the President's Summit for America's Future in Philadelphia back in 1997 was its special focus on volunteerism. The participants there may have been from different political parties, but we shared the same belief that there is so much we can do as individuals to be agents of change as this conference seems to suggest.
And just as important, I hope, the message coming out of that unique Philadelphia meeting was that you don't have to be a president to be a leader; you don't have to be a first lady to make a difference in the lives of others. And life goes on because of participation and volunteerism.
Let me say I never dreamt that when we launched this movement, it would last this long. I wondered whether it would continue. And when you leave the White House, there is a tendency to worry that the only thing that will endure from your presidency is second-guessing. But the fact that this Points of Light movement has not only survived but in a very real sense started to thrive is something that is very hard for me to describe, something very close to my heart.
And today we recognize outstanding businesses making a difference by committing to change, committing to change to world, our communities, by sustaining the spirit of volunteering.
All organizations, corporations, nonprofits, community organizations, schools, communities of faith, and even the news media play a vital role in sustaining the momentum of America's volunteer spirit. And I salute you for stepping up to the plate and doing your part.
In sum, these companies, like each of you here, are points of light in the truest sense of the word, so keep up the terrific work, and good luck to all of you, and before I end, let me share a little personal observation with you.
Barbara Bush is probably the leading -- a leading point of light in our country in terms of family literacy. She's doing a fantastic job, and this is her birthday today, so why don't you end with a little applause, and I will shut up.
Thank you very much.
[Applause.]
MR. : Well, certainly one of your hallmarks of the administration was the daily Points of Light award program. The Points of Light foundation has been proud to reinvigorate that program, and to sponsor it now of giving away to individuals and organizations who exemplify outstanding community service, and we are proud today to present Points of Light No. 2,698 to Pastor Dr. Donald D. Ford.
In 1978, Pastor Dr. Ford established the Second Missionary Baptist Church, beginning with only four members. The church now ministers to more than 2,000 people. Pastor Dr. Ford established Touch of Grace Ministries to reach out to the community. The initiative includes a sports association with basketball and softball teams, a drill team, a drama guild, an adult and youth praise dances.
In addition to his ministry through the church, Pastor Dr. Ford personally gives back to the community, contributing at least 10 percent of his time each week to volunteer efforts.
He serves as a coach for the co-ed youth basketball team. He volunteers with Vineyard Keepers, which is a youth entrepreneurial lawn care service. He is always willing to go the extra mile for those in need, preparing and serving meals, mowing lawns, reading to playground groups, coaching, counseling and visiting the elderly and those confined to their homes.
President Bush, if you will join me in presenting this daily Point of Light award to Pastor Dr. Donald D. Ford.
[Applause.]
DR. FORD: You know, I couldn't help but reflect as the President was speaking exactly how much he means to this country. I can think back on his long period of service to our nation, his military commitment during World War II, as a congressman, as ambassador to the United Nations, as ambassador to China, director of the CIA, vice president, and then as our 41st President. But it strikes me that perhaps his greatest contribution will be his contribution in the field of volunteering and service.
The inspiration when he often says, and it's always inspiring to hear him talk about it, that from now on in America there can be no definition . . .
END OF RECORDING.
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