    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1995, Book I)]
    [April 27, 1995]
    [Pages 606-607]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks on Presenting the President's Service Awards
    April 27, 1995

        Thank you very much, Eli Segal, for your words of introduction and
    for your outstanding leadership of our national service efforts. And
    thank you, Marlee Matlin, for your leadership in a volunteer capacity of
    the most important volunteer efforts in our country.
        Just over a week ago we were reminded that there are those who want
    to see our Nation torn apart. But amid the grief and the destruction we
    have also seen how quickly the overwhelming majority of Americans come
    together to help each other to rebuild and to make this country
    stronger.
        When Hillary and I were in Oklahoma City last Sunday, we saw a
    community working around the clock to rebuild itself. Compassion and
    assistance flowed in from all over the United States. Americans were
    united in a spirit of service. It is that spirit which we honor today.
        It gives me tremendous pleasure to be here with all of you to
    celebrate National Volunteer Week and to honor the recipients of the
    President's Service Awards for 1995. Today we'll hear stories of
    ordinary Americans doing extraordinary things, teachers and homemakers,
    carpenters and business leaders, people from small neighborhood
    organizations and large corporations. Our honorees comfort the sick and
    fight illiteracy. They repair our parks and keep our young people out of
    gangs. They come from all corners of the Nation. They are diverse in age
    and background. Yet they are united by something larger than all of us,
    the simple desire to fulfill the promise of American life.
        A couple of days ago I was in Iowa for our rural conference. Those
    of us who come from small towns know that we don't have a person to
    waste in our communities or in our country. Large or small, our
    communities have never been built with bricks and mortar alone. They are
    sustained by the faith that there will always be people there to lend a
    hand.
        That's why more than 90 million Americans lend a hand every year, 90
    million. At a time when the American people are working harder and
    longer than they have been in the last 10 years at their own jobs, they
    still find time to volunteer to help others. Americans know we can never
    be fulfilled as a country unless we are prepared to take responsibility
    for each other.
        I'm proud that we're joined to honor this year's award recipients by
    two young members of AmeriCorps, Brent Bloom and Izabel De Araugo. They
    and their fellow corps members are showing that we gain when we give. In
    return for help with college, they're helping others. AmeriCorps efforts
    go hand in hand with the voluntarism we celebrate today. It is a great
    partnership.
        I want to say a special word of appreciation for Brent Bloom. He
    lives in Oklahoma City, where he works in a homeless shelter while
    studying for a pre-med degree at Oklahoma University. A little more than
    a week ago, Brent heard the explosion that was felt all around America.
    He went straight to the Federal building, told the first police officer
    he saw that he

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    knew emergency first aid, and then spent the rest of the day and well
    into the night sorting through the wreckage and saving lives. [Applause]
        In the weeks since, he has been working with Feed the Children,
    helping children, families, and the extraordinary rescue teams. He
    deserves our gratitude and the applause you just gave him. He and
    countless others who are working to heal the wounds from last week's
    bombing are living proof that we are truly a nation of volunteers. They
    show us once again that altruism will always triumph over the forces of
    divisiveness.
        Let me say, too, if I might, a word of appreciation to another
    volunteer who is not here today. When the explosion occurred in Oklahoma
    City, a nurse named Rebecca Anderson rushed to the bombed Federal
    building as well to help. She was hit by some falling debris in the
    building, suffered a hemorrhage, and later died. She left behind four
    children. But even in death, she continued to serve, for she donated her
    heart for a heart transplant which occurred yesterday and saved the life
    of one more person. That is the real America, and no matter what else
    happens, we should never forget it.
        You know, ``voluntary'' derives from a Latin word which means both
    ``wish'' and ``will.'' I cannot imagine a more accurate combination for
    what we celebrate today: uniting the wish for a better world with the
    will to make it happen, neighbor to neighbor, community to community.
    Each act of service pulls us together and pushes us forward. Let's keep
    it up.
        Thank you very much.

    Note: The President spoke at 12:54 p.m. in the Rose Garden at the White
    House.