[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 36, Number 2 (Monday, January 17, 2000)]
[Page 50]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Statement on Initiatives To Empower Young People

January 11, 2000

    I am pleased to announce today that my budget for Fiscal Year 2001 
will include over $850 million for the Corporation for National Service. 
The investments in my budget will keep us on track to my goal of 100,000 
AmeriCorps members serving annually. They will also fund several 
innovative initiatives to empower young people. Through a new AmeriCorps 
Reserves program, modeled on the military reserves, we will be able to 
engage former AmeriCorps members in service during times of crisis. 
Through a new Community Coaches program, we will place dedicated adults 
in 1,000 schools who can guide students in effective service and connect 
the school to the wider community. And through the Youth Empowerment 
grants I am proposing, we will be able to reward social entrepreneurship 
among young people who are finding their own solutions to problems like 
youth violence and civic alienation.
    Everyone who serves is a catalyst for change. Since the passage of 
the National and Community Service Trust Act, more than 150,000 young 
people have served in AmeriCorps. They represent our very best ideals--
they have helped to immunize more than a million people; taught, 
tutored, or mentored 4.4 million children; helped build some 11,000 
homes; and truly sparked a new spirit of public engagement across the 
land. The initiatives I am announcing today will help more Americans 
share in the power and promise of community service. I look forward to 
working with Congress to ensure their enactment.