[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 76 (Thursday, April 19, 2001)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 20081-20082]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-9871]


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  Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 76 / Thursday, April 19, 2001 / 
Presidential Documents  

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 Title 3--
 The President

[[Page 20081]]

                Proclamation 7427 of April 16, 2001

                
National Volunteer Week, 2001

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                America is blessed with millions of individuals of good 
                will and good works who play significant roles in 
                making positive change in the lives of others.

                While Government has great responsibilities for public 
                safety and public health, for civil rights and common 
                schools, compassion is the work of a Nation. Caring 
                requires more than Government alone can provide. Many 
                of society's greatest problems can only be solved on a 
                personal level, between those who care and those in 
                need.

                During times of war and natural disaster, Americans 
                have provided relief to those in need. Yet every day 
                there are less publicized instances of human need to 
                which America's quiet heroes respond with equal 
                strength and vigor. Americans contribute food to soup 
                kitchens and clothes to shelters and give love to at-
                risk children, counsel to those who have been abused, 
                and friendship to those in hospitals and nursing homes. 
                From building a new home for a young family to bringing 
                a meal to an elderly neighbor who is house-bound, there 
                are countless ways we can invest our time and resources 
                to provide compassionate help to our neighbors.

                The faith community is a particularly rich source of 
                volunteer strength in America. Government can rally a 
                military, but it cannot put hope in our hearts or a 
                sense of purpose in our lives. Faith motivates 
                countless volunteers and calls on them to use their 
                talents to improve their neighborhoods in ways that are 
                beyond Government's know-how. Church and charity, 
                synagogue, and mosque form an essential part of our 
                communities and their indispensable work must have an 
                honored place in our plans and in our laws. Government 
                can and should unleash the best impulses of the 
                American spirit by welcoming faith-based organizations, 
                as well as other community groups, as partners in 
                encouraging the high calling of serving others.

                This week provides an opportunity to thank those who 
                give so much throughout the year to help those less 
                fortunate. It should also serve as a challenge to each 
                of us to devote more energy to seeking a common good 
                beyond our comfort. What individual Americans do is 
                more important than anything Government does. We must 
                all heed Albert Schweitzer's counsel: ``The only ones 
                among you who will be really happy are those who have 
                sought and found how to serve.''

[[Page 20082]]

                NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the 
                United States of America, by virtue of the authority 
                vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United 
                States, do hereby proclaim April 22 through 28, 2001, 
                as National Volunteer Week. During this week, I call on 
                all Americans to celebrate the invaluable work that 
                volunteers do everyday across our country.

                IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this 
                sixteenth day of April, in the year of our Lord two 
                thousand one, and of the Independence of the United 
                States of America the two hundred and twenty-fifth.

                    (Presidential Sig.)B

[FR Doc. 01-9871
Filed 4-18-01; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3195-01-P