    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2003, Book II)]
    [December 22, 2003]
    [Pages 1758-1759]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks in a Visit With Angel Tree Children in Alexandria, Virginia
    December 22, 2003

        The President. Hey everybody.
        Rev. Lee A. Earl. Mr. President.
        The President. Thank you very much, Reverend Lee. Thank you so much for having us here. Lee, thank you very
    much. Merry Christmas to everybody.
        Audience members. Merry Christmas.
        The President. We are so honored to be here to celebrate the Angel
    Tree Christmas. This is a program in which people who love you a lot
    want you to have a merry Christmas. And I want to thank you. I want to
    thank Chuck Colson and Mark Earley of the Prison Fellowship program, which has been hosting
    and organizing the Angel Tree program since 1982. Six million boys and
    girls have received a gift on Christmas, and I want to thank you very
    much for doing that.
        Our attitude is--I know that the reverend
    here at Shiloh shares this attitude--that we change America one heart
    and one soul at a time; that everybody matters, everybody counts; that
    every child has got a hopeful and bright future; and each of us has a
    responsibility of loving that child with all our heart and all our soul.
    And it's important that all of us during this time of--joyous time, this
    holiday, recognize that probably the greatest gift you can possibly give
    is to love a neighbor just like you'd like to be loved yourself.
        And that's what we're doing today. We're honoring that call to love
    and the call to service. And so Laura and I are
    thrilled that you're here. We look forward to joining the good
    reverend here as we pass out some of the gifts
    to the boys and girls.
        Reverend Earl. Absolutely. And thank you for
    the gifts that you've provided.
        The President. Well, thank you very much. We're honored to be here.
        We want to wish you a merry Christmas, and we've got some gifts to
    give out. Don't we, Laura?
        The First Lady. Yes, we have a lot of gifts
    to give out.
        The President. Where do we want to start?
        The First Lady. I don't know where to start.
    [Laughter]
        The President. Right over here? Okay, good.

    Note: The President spoke at 3:20 p.m. at the Shiloh Baptist Church. In
    his remarks, he referred to Rev. Lee A. Earl, senior pastor, Shiloh
    Baptist Church; and Charles W.

    [[Page 1759]]

    Colson, founder, and Mark Earley, president, Prison Fellowship
    Ministries.