[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 36, Number 14 (Monday, April 10, 2000)]
[Pages 767-768]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Proclamation 7287--National Volunteer Week, 2000

April 7, 2000

By the President of the United States

of America

A Proclamation

    Each year our Nation is blessed by the service of more than 100 
million Americans who take time out of their busy lives to reach out to 
those in need. Volunteers come from every age group and walk of life, 
yet they share a common conviction: that by giving of themselves, they 
can bridge the divide between strangers, create stronger families, and 
build better communities.
    National Volunteer Week offers us a chance to thank the many 
volunteers whose work and compassion add so much to the quality of our 
lives. It also gives those who have never volunteered the opportunity to 
learn more about the many organizations that would benefit from their 
time and talents. People who enjoy sports can volunteer at a Special 
Olympics event; those who love the arts can work as docents in a gallery 
or historic home; those who love to read can share that love through a 
literacy program.
    Our success with the AmeriCorps program demonstrates the power and 
promise of community service in America. Since we passed the National 
and Community Service Trust Act in 1993, more than 150,000 young people 
have served in AmeriCorps. They have taught or mentored more than 4 
million children; helped to immunize more than a million people; worked 
to build some 11,000 homes; and sparked a new spirit of community 
service across our Nation. In my proposed budget for fiscal 2001, I have 
included funding to reach our goal of 100,000 AmeriCorps members in 
service each year. I have also outlined a new AmeriCorps Reserves 
program that will allow us to call upon AmeriCorps alumni during times 
of special need, such as following natural disasters. The Corporation 
for National Service will commit $10 million to create a new ``E-
corps''--750 qualified AmeriCorps volunteers who will

[[Page 768]]

help to bring digital opportunity to communities by providing technical 
support to school computer systems, tutoring at Community Technology 
Centers, and offering technical training for careers in the information 
technology sector. Through a new Community Coaches program, we will 
place adults in 1,000 schools to help engage students in service 
programs that will connect them to the wider community. And through new 
Youth Empowerment Grants, we will reward social entrepreneurship among 
young people who are seeking solutions to problems such as youth 
violence and alienation.

    Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., reminded us that ``everyone can be 
great because anyone can serve.'' During National Volunteer Week, let us 
pause to thank all who have responded to that call to greatness, and let 
each of us make our own commitments to volunteer in our neighborhoods 
and communities.

    Now, Therefore, I, William J. Clinton, 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 9 
through April 15, 2000, as National Volunteer Week. I call upon all 
Americans to observe this week with appropriate programs, ceremonies, 
and activities to express appreciation to the volunteers among us for 
their commitment to service and to encourage the spirit of volunteerism 
in our families and communities.

    In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this seventh day of 
April, in the year of our Lord two thousand, and of the Independence of 
the United States of America the two hundred and twenty-fourth.

                                            William J. Clinton

[Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 11:16 a.m., April 10, 
2000]

Note: This proclamation will be published in the Federal Register on 
April 16.