[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George H. W. Bush (1992-1993, Book II)]
[January 14, 1993]
[Pages 2249-2251]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Remarks at a Celebration of the Points of Light
January 14, 1993

    Thank you all very, very much. And I'm just delighted to be with you 
today to celebrate the work of those wonderful Americans we call Points 
of Light. And I think our First Lady is a Point of Light. So I salute 
her for what she's done in literacy and helping this country understand 
the importance of reading.
    There's another guy here who's been a personal Point of Light to me, 
and that's Gregg Petersmeyer, who many of you know. In a sense it was 
his dream and his dedication that made all this possible. And Joe and 
Jenny, your witnessing, your testimony really makes this speech 
superfluous. I don't need to do it, but I will anyway. [Laughter] But 
thank you. You said it all with your own lives.
    I also want to thank the leaders of three new institutions that have 
been established in the last 4 years: Tom Ehrlich of the Commission on 
National and Community Service, Dick Munro of the Points of Light 
Foundation, and Solon Cousins of the National Center for Community Risk 
Management and Insurance. And I also want to thank my friends: Ray 
Chambers, what an inspiration he has been in this whole voluntarism 
concept; Pete McCloskey; also George Romney, who I hope is here with us 
today. But we're grateful.
    What an honor it is to have Larnelle here, Larnelle Harris, for 
helping make this event so very special. Anybody that can get up without 
a pitch pipe or a band and do what he did, we've got to look them over 
and see what makes him tick. [Laughter] But I'll tell you, his song said 
it all; his song got right to the heart. And I understand that he's just 
been nominated for his seventh Grammy Award. And Presidents ought not to 
do this, but I know who I'm rooting for. So there we are.
    But above all, Barbara and I wanted to come over and thank the 
Points of Light that we're honoring today. I know that many of them have 
gone to great efforts to get here. And lots of folks ask me about the 
phrase, Points of Light. And some say it's religion; others say, well, 
it's a patriotic theme, like the flag; and others think it's an image of 
hope. But I think that Points of Light are all of these things and yet 
still something more. It's what happens when ordinary people claim the 
problems of their community as their own. And it's the inspiration and 
awakening to the God-given light from within, lit from within, and it's 
the promise of America.
    We've got Points of Light here today from all 50 States, shining all 
the way from Anchorage to Harlem, Miami to Maine. And

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never before has there been so much light in this marvelous house. Each 
of you here today knows what I mean by that. Each of you found within 
yourselves your own special genius for helping others. And each 
discovered the imagination to see things that others could not: the 
human dignity in the eyes of a homeless man; the musicians and business 
leaders in an inner-city gang; the light and laughter in the shadows of 
a shattered life.
    I've always believed that in each individual, there's a Point of 
Light waiting to be revealed; in each community, a thousand miracles 
waiting to happen. And when I assumed this great office, I pledged to do 
all I could to honor, encourage, and increase volunteer efforts until 
their light filled every dark corner of our country.
    We began with a national strategy. And if you'll bear with me, I'd 
like to remind you of what that strategy is: first, changing attitudes 
so that all Americans define a successful life as one that includes 
serving others; and second, identifying what is already working so that 
those efforts can be enlarged and multiplied; and third, encouraging 
leaders to help others become Points of Light; and fourth, reducing 
volunteer liability, because I believe that it's time that we ought to 
care for each other more and sue each other less; and fifth and finally, 
within every community, linking people to ways that they can help.
    Everything I've done as President has tried to support this 
strategy. And that's why we've worked together to create the Points of 
Light Foundation, the Commission on National and Community Service, and 
then the National Center for Community Risk Management and Insurance.
    We envision national service not as a Government program, not even 
as a White House initiative but as a grassroots movement, a movement 
that makes full use of the many different ways that Americans want to 
help. This strategy is significant not because it indicates Washington's 
role but because it illuminates yours. And this is something where it's 
easy to miss the constellation for the stars.
    You see, it's not just Points of Light that are important. It's the 
idea that every community in America could be filled with light. America 
could become like this room. You're only a fraction of the stories that 
we've told. And those stories are only a fraction of those that could be 
told.
    You know, look around this room and then picture what would happen 
throughout America if every former gang member discovered the Rodney 
Dailey within and offered young people good alternatives to life on the 
streets. Imagine if every member, every member of a club, like the 
Rotary Readers, filled someone's life with the wonder of reading. Or 
what if every little girl found the imagination to follow Isis Johnson 
to clothe the cold and feed the hungry in her little corner of America. 
Imagine what America would look like.
    Regardless of what we believe Government should do, all of us agree 
that no serious social problem in this country is going to be solved 
without the active engagement of millions of citizens in tens of 
thousands of institutions, schools and businesses, churches and clubs, 
armies of ordinary people doing extraordinary things.
    Government has a critical role in helping people and so does solid, 
sustainable economic growth. But people, people, not programs, solve 
problems. And somewhere in America, every serious social problem is 
being solved through voluntary service, for therein lies the greatest 
national resource of all. It doesn't matter who you are. Everybody's got 
something to give: a job skill, a free hour, a pair of strong arms. And 
that's what I mean when I say that from now on, any definition of a 
successful life must include serving others.
    Let me tell you another story about success. Today, I've recognized 
the 1,014th Daily Point of Light, the Lakeland Middle School eighth 
grade volunteers. These remarkable young people from Baltimore have 
overcome their own challenges to become tutors and role models for 
younger students in special education. Their special courage reminds me 
of the words of a poet who said, ``The generosity is not in giving me 
that which I need more than you do, but in giving me that which you need 
more than I do.'' That courage has made the Lakeland eighth graders into 
the wonderful and confident young people who grace our

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lives today.
    Because I know that America is filled with young people who want to 
help, I signed an Executive order last October that created the 
President's Youth Service Award. And as with the President's Physical 
Fitness Award, young people in voluntary service will be able to receive 
Presidential recognition in their local communities.
    I want to thank the boards of the commission, the foundation, and 
the American Institute for Public Service for their help in implementing 
this program. What all of us seek in our life is meaning and adventure. 
And it's through service that all of us can find both.
    Barbara and I will soon be making our way back to Texas, and I'd 
like to leave you with one thought: If I could leave but one legacy to 
this country, it would not be found in policy papers or even in treaties 
signed or even wars won; it would be return to the moral compass that 
must guide America through the next century, the changeless values that 
can and must guide change. And I'm talking about a respect for the 
goodness that made this country great, a rekindling of that light lit 
from within to reveal America as it truly is, a country with strong 
families, a country of millions of Points of Light.
    I want to thank the Points of Light in this room and everywhere 
across this country, those that we have recognized and the millions more 
that have found no recognition but are doing the Lord's work.
    Thank you and God bless you all. And God bless the U.S.A.

                    Note: The President spoke at 1:40 p.m. in the East 
                        Room at the White House. In his remarks, he 
                        referred to Ray Chambers, founding chairman, 
                        Points of Light Foundation; Paul N. (Pete) 
                        McCloskey and George Romney, members of the 
                        board of directors, Commission on National and 
                        Community Service; gospel singer Larnelle 
                        Harris; and the following Points of Light: Joe 
                        Thompson, Jenny Richardson, Rodney Dailey of 
                        Gang Peace, and Isis Johnson. The Executive 
                        order of October 28, 1992, which established a 
                        Presidential Youth Award for Community Service 
                        is listed in Appendix E at the end of this 
                        volume.