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Volunteer Awards, 4/11/89 [2]
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FOIA Number:
S
FOIA
MARKER
This is not a textual record. This is used as an
administrative marker by the George Bush Presidential
Library Staff.
Record Group/Collection:
George H.W. Bush Presidential Records
Collection/Office of Origin:
Speechwriting, White House Office of
Series:
Speech File Draft Files
Subseries:
Chron File, 1989-1993
OA/ID Number:
13482
Folder ID Number:
13482-001
Folder Title:
Volunteer Awards, 4/11/89 [2]
Stack:
Row:
Section:
Shelf:
Position:
G
25
6
2
2
(Smith/Martin)
April 10, 1989
Draft Five
AWARD
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: VOLUNTEER AWARDS
WASHINGTON, D.C.
TUESDAY, APRIL 11, 1989
Honored guests, ladies and gentlemen.
Good afternoon, and let me welcome you to the White House.
And let me also add that I have a confession to make.
You know, it's been said -- now, this will shock you --that
sometimes I have a hard time being understood. But I'll admit,
it's true. And all I can say is that I'm in some distinguished
company.
After all, it was Yogi Berra who, when asked if he had seen
Doctor Zhivago, allegedly replied, "No, I feel fine." And Danny
Ozark, baseball's master of the malaprop, once observed of his
ballplayers, "Contrary to popular belief, I've always had a
wonderful repertoire with them."
See what I mean? Even silver-tongued orators often have
their meaning blurred.
-2-
Well, this morning, let no one blur our message. Let it
ring loud and clear. America is great because America is good.
And America's greatest deeds come from the basic decency and
compassion of her people -- each of you here today.
We see that decency and compassion everywhere -- in a child-
care center, at the Rotary or Little League, in a synagogue or
church. It means lending a hand, tending a wound, and helping
the less fortunate.
This is Volunteer Week, a time to celebrate those qualities.
And it is my honor today to present the 1989 President's
Volunteer Action Awards. These awards were first presented in
1982. And, since then, 148 Americans have been recognized and
honored.
I have said that from now on, any definition of a successful
life must include serving others. Today's award-recipients
embody that definition.
Eleven years ago, Rose Tichy [TISH-ee] began tutoring adults
through a church-sponsored literacy program in Middleburg
Heights, Ohio. She loved her work, but there weren't enough
adult-level books to fit her students' needs. So Rose got out
her pen, and enriched the printed page. Since 1978, she's
written 32 books, and edited the more than 100 books developed by
her writers group.
024250
Document No.
WHITE HOUSE STAFFING MEMORANDUM
4/10/89
DATE:
ACTION/CONCURRENCE/COMMENT DUE BY:
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: VOLUNTEER ACTION AWARDS LUNCHEON
SUBJECT:
ACTION FYI
ACTION FYI
VICE PRESIDENT
MCCLURE
SUNUNU
NEWMAN
SCOWCROFT
PORTER
DARMAN
STUDDERT
BATES
UNTERMEYER
BREEDEN
ROGERS
CARD
WINSTON
CICCONI
PINKERTON
DEMAREST
PETERSMEYER
FITZWATER
PORTER-ROSE
GRAY
HAGIN
REMARKS:
The attached has been forwarded to the President.
RESPONSE:
James W, Cicconi
Assistant to the President
and Deputy to the Chief of Staff
Ext. 2702
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
APRIL 10, 1989
1939 APR 10 PM 1: 11
INFORMATION
MEMORANDUM FOR THE PRESIDENT
THROUGH: CHIRSS WINSTON
FROM:
CURT SMITH
SUBJECT: APRIL 11 VOLUNTEER AWARDS SPEECH
I. SUMMARY
Enclosed are remarks for the April 11 President's Volunteer
Action Awards luncheon. These awards were first presented
in 1982. Since then, 148 Americans have been honored for
their contribution to volunteerism. Tomorrow, 18
individuals, some representing groups, will be recognized.
II. DISCUSSION
The remarks discuss how the 18 recipients embody America's
volunteer spirit, and what this Administration is doing to
enhance volunteerism. Bracketed on pages 5-6 are remarks
pending your approval of Father Ritter as this year's
proposed recipient of the Ronald Reagan Award for Volunteer
Excellence.
(Smith/Martin)
April 10, 1989
Draft Five
AWARD
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: VOLUNTEER AWARDS
WASHINGTON, D.C.
TUESDAY, APRIL 11, 1989
Honored guests, ladies and gentlemen.
Good afternoon, and let me welcome you to the White House.
And let me also add that I have a confession to make.
You know, it's been said -- now, this will shock you --that
sometimes I have a hard time being understood. But. I'll admit,
it's true. And all I can say is that I'm in some distinguished
company.
After all, it was Yogi Berra who, when asked, "Are you a
fatalist?" allegedly replied, "No, I never collected postage
stamps." And Danny Ozark, baseball's master of the malaprop,
once observed of his ballplayers, "Contrary to popular belief,
I've always had a wonderful repertoire with them."
See what I mean? Even silver-tongued orators often have
their meaning blurred.
2
Well, this morning, let no one blur our message. Let it
ring loud and clear. America is great because America is good.
And America's greatest deeds come from the basic decency and
compassion of her people -- each of you here today.
We see that decency and compassion everywhere -- in a child-
care center, at the Rotary or Little League, in a synagogue or
church. It means lending a hand, tending a wound, and helping
the less fortunate.
This is Volunteer Week, a time to celebrate those qualities.
And it is my honor today to present the 1989 President's
Volunteer Action Awards. These awards were first presented in
1982. And, since then, 148 Americans have been recognized and
honored.
I have said that from now on, any definition of a successful
life must include serving others. Today's award-recipients
embody that definition.
Eleven years ago, Rose Tichy began tutoring adults through a
church-sponsored literacy program in Middleburg Heights, Ohio.
She loved her work, but there weren't enough adult-level books to
fit her students' needs. So Rose got out her pen, and enriched
Document No. 024250
WHITE HOUSE STAFFING MEMORANDUM
DATE:
4/7/89
ACTION/CONCURRENCE/COMMENT DUE BY:
4:00 TODAY
SUBJECT:
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: VOLUNTEER AWARDS
ACTION FYI
Vnocomment
10th
ACTION FYI
VICE PRESIDENT
MCCLURE Gordon amts.
SUNUNU
NEWMAN
SCOWCROFT
PORTER Bill ROPLE EXCEPT NO COMMENTS DATE
DARMAN
STUDDERT
BATES
soon NO COMMENTS
ROGERS UNTERMEYER hasn't looked at
them
BREEDEN
CARD
WINSTON
CS
PINKERTON x6407 not
CICCONI
DEMARESTV comment
PETERSMEYER
x6266
>, 3
FITZWATER
Parter-Pose
GRAY Astu
to Chriss SDO NOT LSE 5-15
->called talke
HAGIN
REMARKS:
Please provide your comments/recommendations directly to Chriss
Winston;s office with an info copy to my office by 4:00 TODAY
Friday, April 7. Thank you.
RESPONSE:
James W. Cicconi
Assistant to the President
and Deputy to the Chief of Staff
Ext. 2702
(Smith/Martin)
April 6, 1989
1909 APR -7 13:11:2
Draft Four
AWARD
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS:
VOLUNTEER AWARDS
WASHINGTON, D.C.
TUESDAY, APRIL 11, 1989
Honored guests, ladies and gentlemen.
Good afternoon, and let me welcome you to the White House.
And let me also add that I have a confession to make.
You know, it's been said -- now, this will shock you --that
sometimes I have a hard time being understood. But I'll admit,
it's true. And all I can say is that I'm in some distinguished
company.
After all, it was Yogi Berra who, when asked, "Are you a
fatalist?" replied, "No, I never collected postage stamps." And
Danny Ozark, baseball's master of the malaprop, once observed of
his ballplayers, "Contrary to popular belief, I've always had a
wonderful repertoire with them."
See what I mean? Even silver-tongued orators often have
their meaning blurred.
-3-
Down in Huntsville, Alabama, Chessie Harris once took
several abandoned children into her two-bedroom home. But when
the Welfare Department demanded a boarding license, the Harrises
built a house on land purchased with money from the sale of a
family farm. Since 1958, that site has been a home for more than
800 children -- or about 10 for each of Chessie's 82 years
[PAUSE]
800 children? [PAUSE]
sounds like a typical
weekend with my grandkids in Kennebunkport.
Today, Allison Stieglitz is 15 years old. But she was only
12 when she asked her parents to use the money they had planned
to spend on her Bat [BOT] Mitzvah to provide Thanksgiving baskets
for needy families. That first year, she gave out 15 baskets; in
1988, she donated 75. And in Miami, Allison has begun a Sunday
breakfast and bag lunch program in two local temples.
Rose Tichey, Chessie Harris, and Allison Stieglitz, and this
year's other 15 President's Awards winners, were chosen from
nearly 2,000 nominations. They -- you -- know that prosperity
without purpose means nothing. Instead, you revere what
matters: the simple, the basic, things like decency, goodness,
self-discipline, compassion.
As President, I want to assist those simple things -- for
they form the heart of volunteerism, and of these President's
Awards. That is why we have opened the Office of National
-4-
Service, which is leading this Administration's community and
national service programs.
This Office will help you help others. It will alert the
public to community service. And challenge individuals, schools,
and corporations to expand existing programs. And it will
promote community-based efforts to combat social problems which
fray the American fabric.
Toward that end, I am announcing today my intent to unveil
by May 15 The Points of Light Foundation. And also by that date,
I will send legislation to the Congress proposing our
Administration's Y-E-S or YES Program -- Youth Entering Service.
Here, American youth can give of, not to, themselves. By saying
"Yes" to America, they can define a successful life.
Of course, that's what you've already done. For you know
that volunteerism never asks, "What can I do for myself?" It
asks, "What can I do by myself?" Yes, volunteerism views
government as a catalyst of caring. But it also says that we
have surpassed -- far surpassed -- the limits of what government
alone can do.
Consider that today, excluding Social Security benefits,
government spends $ 185 billion annually on human resources --
that's slightly less than the budget of Italy. But did you know
that each year Americans contribute an astounding 19.5 billion
-5-
volunteer hours? That's equivalent to $ 150 billion in community
service -- or more than 85 per cent of what the government
spends.
As you can see, it is the private sector -- and individuals
-- which have the responsibility -- the understanding -- and the
resources -- to confront issues like hunger, health care,
homelessness, and drug abuse. Our challenge is to use that
understanding and those resources to meet our responsibility.
For we are a nation, and a family: helping, enriching, and
caring for each other.
That great sports executive, Branch Rickey, observed that
"Luck is the residue of design." My friends, America's luck can
be the residue of volunteerism's design. Volunteerism works
because it does not view Americans as black and white, laborer
and manager, the privileged and the poor. Instead, volunteerism
regards Americans as Americans. And it speaks of generosity,
involvement, and love of country -- for volunteerism is the
highest plane of patriotism.
Volunteerism says that individuals -- like communities --
can join hands, and exchange talents, for the good of America.
One person can tutor an inner-city student; that boy or girl can
some day become an engineer or artist. And, with luck, the
child-turned-adult will then emulate a true pioneer and role
model. Like the man I'm so pleased to honor, now.
-6-
Twenty-two years ago, having moved to the East Village in
New York to help the urban poor, Father Bruce Ritter opened his
door one night to see six children. They were asking for a place
to stay. Well, eventually, Father Ritter founded Covenant House
to provide a shelter for abandoned and runaway children. Today,
his program involves over 300 volunteers each month. And it
offers shelter to more than 25,000 children each year.
Because of Covenant House, a child has escaped heroin
addiction; another no longer yearns for a decent meal; still
another views the world as a warm, not sullen, place. It is an
American success story almost without parallel.
Last year, a new award was created to honor the individual
or organization whose contribution to volunteerism is greatest
among those winning the President's Volunteer Action Awards. And
so I'm pleased to announce Father Ritter as the first recipient
of an award named for a great President and my good friend: The
Ronald Reagan Award for Volunteer Excellence [PAUSE].
Fellow volunteers, all of you have enriched the American
Spirit. And in that spirit, let me close on a personal note
about a hero, if you will.
Lou Gehrig was a Hall of Fame first baseman in the 1920s and
'30s. He played in 2,130 straight games -- a record which still
-7-
stands. But more than that, he was a good and decent man about
whom a teammate said, "Every day, any day, he just went out and
did his job." Fifty years ago, Lou Gehrig was stricken by a form
of paralysis which today bears his name. Even so, he told the
crowd at Yankee Stadium, "I consider myself the luckiest man on
the face of the earth."
This story has become an American parable. But less known is
that after he left the Yankees -- for the final two years of his
life -- Lou Gehrig served his fellow man. Dying, weaker by the
day, he could barely move his body. But as a parole commissioner
for the City of New York, he counseled and inspired kids. They
called him the Iron Horse, the Pride of the Yankees. Yes, Lou
Gehrig was a hero.
To serve others and to ennoble your community -this, truly,
defines a successful life. For success is personal, and it is
charitable -- the sum not of our possessions, but of how we treat
our neighbors.
My friends, on that score, you've hit a grand-slam home
run. Congratulations to each of you, and thank you for coming
here. God bless you, and God bless America.
# # # #
April 7, 1989
MEMORANDUM FOR JIM CICCONI
FROM;
DENISE SCHWARZ
OFFICE OF CABINET AFFAIRS
SUBJECT;
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS; VOLUNTEER AWARDS
We have reviewed the remarks and have incorporated our
comments.
Attachment
CC: Chriss Winston
Document No. 024250
WHITE HOUSE STAFFING MEMORANDUM
DATE:
4/7/89
ACTION/CONCURRENCE/COMMENT DUE BY:
4:00 TODAY
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: VOLUNTEER AWARDS
SUBJECT:
ACTION FYI
ACTION FYI
VICE PRESIDENT
MCCLURE
SUNUNU
NEWMAN
SCOWCROFT
PORTER
DARMAN
STUDDERT
BATES
UNTERMEYER
BREEDEN
ROGERS
CARD
WINSTON
CICCONI
PINKERTON
PETERSMEYER
DEMAREST
FITZWATER
Parter-Pose
GRAY
HAGIN
REMARKS:
Please provide your comments/recommendations directly to Chriss
Winston;s office with an info copy to my office by 4:00 TODAY
Friday, April 7. Thank you.
RESPONSE:
James W, Cicconi
Assistant to the President
and Deputy to the Chief of Staff
Ext. 2702
(Smith/Martin)
April 6, 1989
1903 APR - 7 12:11:2
Draft Four
AWARD
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: VOLUNTEER AWARDS
WASHINGTON, D.C.
TUESDAY, APRIL 11, 1989
Honored guests, ladies and gentlemen.
Good afternoon, and let me welcome you to the White House.
And let me also add that I have a confession to make.
You know, it's been said -- now, this will shock you --that
sometimes I have a hard time being understood. But I'll admit,
it's true. And all I can say is that I'm in some distinguished
company.
After all, it was Yogi Berra who, when asked, "Are you a
fatalist?" replied, "No, I never collected postage stamps." And
Danny Ozark, baseball's master of the malaprop, once observed of
his ballplayers, "Contrary to popular belief, I've always had a
wonderful repertoire with them."
See what I mean? Even silver-tongued orators often have
their meaning blurred.
-2-
Well, this morning, let no one blur our message. Let it
ring loud and clear. America is great because America is good.
And America's greatest deeds come from the basic decency of her
people -- each of you here today.
We see that decency everywhere -- in a child-care center, at
the Rotary or Little League, in a synagogue or church. It means
lending a hand, tending a wound, and helping the less fortunate.
This is Volunteer Week, a time to celebrate those qualities.
And it is my honor today to present the 1989 President's
Volunteer Action Awards. These awards were first presented in
1982. And, since then, 148 Americans have been recognized and
honored.
I have said that any definition of a successful life must
include serving others. Today's award recipients embody that
definition. They know that life -- real life -- is not a ledger
board.
Eleven years ago, Rose Tichy began tutoring adults through a
church-sponsored literacy program in Middleburg Heights, Ohio.
She loved her work, but there weren't enough adult-level books to
fit her students' needs. So Rose got out her pen, and enriched
the printed page. Since 1978, she's written 32 books, and edited
the more than 100 books developed by her writers group.
-3-
Down in Huntsville, Alabama, Chessie Harris once took
several abandoned children into her two-bedroom home. But when
the Welfare Department demanded a boarding license, the Harrises
built a house on land purchased with money from the sale of a
family farm. Since 1958, that site has been a home for more than
800 children -- or about 10 for each of Chessie's 82 years
[PAUSE]
800 children? [PAUSE]
sounds like a typical
weekend with my grandkids in Kennebunkport.
Today, Allison Stieglitz is 15 years old. But she was only
12 when she asked her parents to use the money they had planned
to spend on her Bat [BOT] Mitzvah to provide Thanksgiving baskets
for needy families. That first year, she gave out 15 baskets; in
1988, she donated 75. And in Miami, Allison has begun a Sunday
breakfast and bag lunch program in two local temples.
Rose Tichey, Chessie Harris, and Allison Stieglitz, and this
year's other 15 President's Awards winners, were chosen from
more than 1500
nearly 2,000 nominations. They -- you -- know that prosperity
without purpose means nothing. Instead, you revere what
matters: the simple, the basic, things like decency, goodness,
self-discipline, compassion.
As President, I want to assist those simple things -- for
they form the heart of volunteerism, and of these President's
Awards. That is why we have opened the Office of National
-4-
Service, which is leading this Administration's community and
Policy
national service programs.
This Office will help you help others. It will alert the
public to community service. And challenge individuals, schools,
and corporations to expand existing programs. And it will
promote community-based efforts to combat social problems which
fray the American fabric.
Toward that end, I am announcing today my intent to unveil
by May 15 The Points of Light Foundation. And also by that date,
I will send legislation to the Congress proposing our
to america
Administration's Y-E-S or YES Program -- Youth Entering Service.
Here, American youth can give of, not to, themselves. By saying
"Yes" to America, they can define a successful life.
Of course, that's what you've already done. For you know
that volunteerism never asks, "What can I do for myself?" It
asks, "What can I do by myself?" Yes, volunteerism views
government as a catalyst of caring. But it also says that we
have surpassed -- far surpassed -- the limits of what government
alone can do.
Consider that today, excluding Social Security benefits,
government spends $ 185 billion annually on human resources --
that's slightly less than the budget of Italy. But did you know
that each year Americans contribute an astounding 19.5 billion
-5-
volunteer hours? That's equivalent to $ 150 billion in community
service -- or more than 85 per cent of what the government
spends.
As you can see, it is the private sector -- and individuals
-- which have the responsibility -- the understanding -- and the
resources -- to confront issues like hunger, health care,
homelessness, and drug abuse. Our challenge is to use that
understanding and those resources to meet our responsibility.
For we are a nation, and a family: helping, enriching, and
caring for each other.
That great sports executive, Branch Rickey, observed that
"Luck is the residue of design." My friends, America's luck can
be the residue of volunteerism's design. Volunteerism works
because it does not view Americans as black and white, laborer
and manager, the privileged and the poor. Instead, volunteerism
regards Americans as Americans. And it speaks of generosity,
involvement, and love of country -- for volunteerism is the
highest plane of patriotism.
Volunteerism says that individuals -- like communities --
can join hands, and exchange talents, for the good of America.
One person can tutor an inner-city student; that boy or girl can
some day become an engineer or artist. And, with luck, the
child-turned-adult will then emulate a true pioneer and role
model. Like the man I'm so pleased to honor, now.
-6-
Twenty-two years ago, having moved to the East Village in
New York to help the urban poor, Father Bruce Ritter opened his
door one night to see six children. They were asking for a place
to stay. Well, eventually, Father Ritter founded Covenant House
to provide a shelter for abandoned and runaway children. Today,
his program involves over 300 volunteers each month. And it
offers shelter to more than 25,000 children each year.
Because of Covenant House, a child has escaped heroin
addiction; another no longer yearns for a decent meal; still
another views the world as a warm, not sullen, place. It is an
American success story almost without parallel.
Last year, a new award was created to honor the individual
Gest
or organization whose contribution to volunteerism is greatest
reflects
among those winning the President's Volunteer Action Awards. And
this administrations
so I'm pleased to announce Father Ritter as the first recipient
of an award named for a great President and my good friend: The
Ronald Reagan Award for Volunteer Excellence [PAUSE].
Fellow volunteers, all of you have enriched the American
Spirit. And in that spirit, let me close on a personal note
Insert
about a hero, if you will.
A.
Lou Gehrig was a Hall of Fame first baseman in the 1920s and
'30s. He played in 2,130 straight games -- a record which still
SENT BY:A
; 6-30-13 3:19PM ;
53844->
3957214:# 9
INSERT A
A spirit that was also examplified by Walter Thayer,
former President of the New York Herald Tribune and member
of the ACTION Advisory Council, which established with
Volunteer the awards which are given today. We are all
saddened by his loss, but grateful for his part in
bringing this legacy of recognition to the stature it
has today. And continuing in that spirit
-7-
stands. But more than that, he was a good and decent man about
whom a teammate said, "Every day, any day, he just went out and
did his job." Fifty years ago, Lou Gehrig was stricken by a form
of paralysis which today bears his name. Even so, he told the
crowd at Yankee Stadium, "I consider myself the luckiest man on
the face of the earth."
This story has become an American parable. But less known is
that after he left the Yankees --- for the final two years of his
life -- Lou Gehrig served his fellow man. Dying, weaker by the
day, he could barely move his body. But as a parole commissioner
for the City of New York, he counseled and inspired kids. They
called him the Iron Horse, the Pride of the Yankees. Yes, Lou
Gehrig was a hero.
To serve others and to ennoble your community -this, truly,
defines a successful life. For success is personal, and it is
charitable -- the sum not of our possessions, but of how we treat
our neighbors.
My friends, on that score, you've hit a grand-slam home
run. Congratulations to each of you, and thank you for coming
here. God bless you, and God bless America.
# # # #
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
April 7, 1989
MEMORANDUM FOR CHRISS WINSTON
DEPUTY ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT
FOR COMMUNICATIONS
FROM:
MICHAEL J. ASTRUE MJA
ASSOCIATE COUNSEL TO THE PRESIDENT
SUBJECT:
Proposed Presidential Remarks: Volunteer
Awards for Tuesday April 11, 1989
This memorandum is to confirm our telephone conversation of
earlier today. Counsel's Office objects to the first line of the
second full paragraph of the fourth page. This promise would
certainly embarrass the President because there is no possibility
that the legal issues raised by the proposed foundation or the
legal processes required by the Internal Revenue Code for the
creation of a 501 (c) (3) organization will allow the formation of
the proposed foundation at a date even close to the proposed
deadline. For the record, we would not extend this objection to
the proposed YES legislation because we believe that it does not
face the same obstacles.
CC: James W. Cicconi
Document No. 024250
WHITE HOUSE STAFFING MEMORANDUM
DATE:
4/7/89
ACTION/CONCURRENCE/COMMENT DUE BY:
4:00 TODAY
SUBJECT:
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: VOLUNTEER AWARDS
ACTION FYI
ACTION FYI
VICE PRESIDENT
MCCLURE
SUNUNU
NEWMAN
SCOWCROFT
PORTER
DARMAN
STUDDERT
BATES
UNTERMEYER
BREEDEN
ROGERS
CARD
WINSTON
CICCONI
PINKERTON
DEMAREST
PETERSMEYER
FITZWATER
Parter-Pose
GRAY
HAGIN
REMARKS:
Please provide your comments/recommendations directly to Chriss
Winston;s office with an info copy to my office by 4:00 TODAY
Friday, April 7. Thank you.
NO comments comm ents SB puDD
RESPONSE:
James W. Cicconi
Assistant to the President
and Deputy to the Chief of Staff
Ext. 2702
(Smith/Martin)
April 6, 1989
1909 APR -7
1311:2
Draft Four
AWARD
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS:
VOLUNTEER AWARDS
WASHINGTON, D.C.
TUESDAY, APRIL 11, 1989
Honored guests, ladies and gentlemen.
Good afternoon, and let me welcome you to the White House.
And let me also add that I have a confession to make.
You know, it's been said -- now, this will shock you that
sometimes I have a hard time being understood. But I'll admit,
it's true. And all I can say is that I'm in some distinguished
company.
After all, it was Yogi Berra who, when asked, "Are you a
fatalist?" replied, "No, I never collected postage stamps." And
Danny Ozark, baseball's master of the malaprop, once observed of
his ballplayers, "Contrary to popular belief, I've always had a
wonderful repertoire with them."
See what I mean? Even silver-tongued orators often have
their meaning blurred.
-2-
Well, this morning, let no one blur our message. Let it
ring loud and clear. America is great because America is good.
And America's greatest deeds come from the basic decency of her
people -- each of you here today.
We see that decency everywhere -- in a child-care center, at
the Rotary or Little League, in a synagogue or church. It means
lending a hand, tending a wound, and helping the less fortunate.
This is Volunteer Week, a time to celebrate those qualities.
And it is my honor today to present the 1989 President's
Volunteer Action Awards. These awards were first presented in
1982. And, since then, 148 Americans have been recognized and
honored.
I have said that any definition of a successful life must
include serving others. Today's award recipients embody that
definition. They know that life -- real life -- is not a ledger
board.
Eleven years ago, Rose Tichy began tutoring adults through a
church-sponsored literacy program in Middleburg Heights, Ohio.
She loved her work, but there weren't enough adult-level books to
fit her students' needs. So Rose got out her pen, and enriched
the printed page. Since 1978, she's written 32 books, and edited
the more than 100 books developed by her writers group.
-3-
Down in Huntsville, Alabama, Chessie Harris once took
several abandoned children into her two-bedroom home. But when
the Welfare Department demanded a boarding license, the Harrises
built a house on land purchased with money from the sale of a
family farm. Since 1958, that site has been a home for more than
800 children -- or about 10 for each of Chessie's 82 years
[PAUSE]
800 children? [PAUSE]
sounds like a typical
weekend with my grandkids in Kennebunkport.
Today, Allison Stieglitz is 15 years old. But she was only
12 when she asked her parents to use the money they had planned
to spend on her Bat [BOT] Mitzvah to provide Thanksgiving baskets
for needy families. That first year, she gave out 15 baskets; in
1988, she donated 75. And in Miami, Allison has begun a Sunday
breakfast and bag lunch program in two local temples.
Rose Tichey, Chessie Harris, and Allison Stieglitz, and this
year's other 15 President's Awards winners, were chosen from
nearly 2,000 nominations. They -- you -- know that prosperity
without purpose means nothing. Instead, you revere what
matters: the simple, the basic, things like decency, goodness,
self-discipline, compassion.
As President, I want to assist those simple things -- for
they form the heart of volunteerism, and of these President's
Awards. That is why we have opened the Office of National
-4-
Service, which is leading this Administration's community and
national service programs.
This Office will help you help others. It will alert the
public to community service. And challenge individuals, schools,
and corporations to expand existing programs. And it will
promote community-based efforts to combat social problems which
fray the American fabric.
Toward that end, I am announcing today my intent to unveil
by May 15 The Points of Light Foundation. And also by that date,
I will send legislation to the Congress proposing our
Administration's Y-E-S or YES Program -- Youth Entering Service.
Here, American youth can give of, not to, themselves. By saying
"Yes" to America, they can define a successful life.
Of course, that's what you've already done. For you know
that volunteerism never asks, "What can I do for myself?" It
asks, "What can I do by myself?" Yes, volunteerism views
government as a catalyst of caring. But it also says that we
have surpassed -- far surpassed -- the limits of what government
alone can do.
Consider that today, excluding Social Security benefits,
government spends $ 185 billion annually on human resources --
that's slightly less than the budget of Italy. But did you know
that each year Americans contribute an astounding 19.5 billion
-5-
volunteer hours? That's equivalent to $ 150 billion in community
service -- or more than 85 per cent of what the government
spends.
As you can see, it is the private sector -- and individuals
-- which have the responsibility -- the understanding -- and the
resources -- to confront issues like hunger, health care,
homelessness, and drug abuse. Our challenge is to use that
understanding and those resources to meet our responsibility.
For we are a nation, and a family: helping, enriching, and
caring for each other.
That great sports executive, Branch Rickey, observed that
"Luck is the residue of design." My friends, America's luck can
be the residue of volunteerism's design. Volunteerism works
because it does not view Americans as black and white, laborer
and manager, the privileged and the poor. Instead, volunteerism
regards Americans as Americans. And it speaks of generosity,
involvement, and love of country -- for volunteerism is the
highest plane of patriotism.
Volunteerism says that individuals -- like communities --
can join hands, and exchange talents, for the good of America.
One person can tutor an inner-city student; that boy or girl can
some day become an engineer or artist. And, with luck, the
child-turned-adult will then emulate a true pioneer and role
model. Like the man I'm so pleased to honor, now.
-6-
Twenty-two years ago, having moved to the East Village in
New York to help the urban poor, Father Bruce Ritter opened his
door one night to see six children. They were asking for a place
to stay. Well, eventually, Father Ritter founded Covenant House
to provide a shelter for abandoned and runaway children. Today,
his program involves over 300 volunteers each month. And it
offers shelter to more than 25,000 children each year.
Because of Covenant House, a child has escaped heroin
addiction; another no longer yearns for a decent meal; still
another views the world as a warm, not sullen, place. It is an
American success story almost without parallel.
Last year, a new award was created to honor the individual
or organization whose contribution to volunteerism is greatest
among those winning the President's Volunteer Action Awards. And
so I'm pleased to announce Father Ritter as the first recipient
of an award named for a great President and my good friend: The
Ronald Reagan Award for Volunteer Excellence [PAUSE].
Fellow volunteers, all of you have enriched the American
Spirit. And in that spirit, let me close on a personal note
about a hero, if you will.
Lou Gehrig was a Hall of Fame first baseman in the 1920s and
'30s. He played in 2,130 straight games -- a record which still
-7-
stands. But more than that, he was a good and decent man about
whom a teammate said, "Every day, any day, he just went out and
did his job." Fifty years ago, Lou Gehrig was stricken by a form
of paralysis which today bears his name. Even so, he told the
crowd at Yankee Stadium, "I consider myself the luckiest man on
the face of the earth."
This story has become an American parable. But less known is
that after he left the Yankees -- for the final two years of his
life -- Lou Gehrig served his fellow man. Dying, weaker by the
day, he could barely move his body. But as a parole commissioner
for the City of New York, he counseled and inspired kids. They
called him the Iron Horse, the Pride of the Yankees. Yes, Lou
Gehrig was a hero.
To serve others and to ennoble your community -this, truly,
defines a successful life. For success is personal, and it is
charitable -- the sum not of our possessions, but of how we treat
our neighbors.
My friends, on that score, you've hit a grand-slam home
run. Congratulations to each of you, and thank you for coming
here. God bless you, and God bless America.
#
#
#
#
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
April 7, 1989
Memorandum to Chriss Winston
From:
Jim Pinkerton
D
Re:
Comments on Speech Drafts: "Volunteer Awards,"
"Exceptional Parent Magazine," and "Whistleblower"
VOLUNTEER AWARDS
Overall good speech. One important comment:
p.4, para.5 Saying that the government spends more than what
the private sector spends, an amount almost equal to the Italian
budget, sends the message that the public sector is doing more
than the initiatives of private individuals.
5,2,1
Shouldn't this be "which has the responsibility"
instead of "has," so that the verb agrees with "the private
sector?"
"EXCEPTIONAL PARENT" MAGAZINE
This speech needs more emphasis on the fact that the skills
of the disabled are needed for practical economic reasons,
including competitiveness. We also think it is important to
avoid the phrase "quality of life," for the reasons given below.
1,1,3
We need to personalize the President's language more.
Thus instead of "reiterate the commitment of my
Administration " let's say: "repeat my dedication to those
with disabilities."
2,3,2
A very serious defect of the phrase "quality of life"
is its connotations associated with abortion. Abortion is
sometimes argued as justified because the infant would suffer
from a poor "quality of life."
(more)
2-2-2
Thus we'd change the sentence to: "They want to be a part
of the economic mainstream because work enhances self-esteem,
because they want to contribute to their country's productivity
and global competitiveness, and because they recognize that their
talents are needed."
WHISTLEBLOWER
This speech is fine.
#
THE WHITE HOUSE
WAS HINGTON
April 7, 1989
MEMORANDUM FOR CHRISS WINSTON
FROM:
ROGER B. PORTER
RBP
SUBJECT:
Presidential Remarks: Volunteer Awards
The draft remarks read well. The only comment we have is
to be careful of stating specific dates of when legislation is
going to the Congress. These dates may change.
CC: James W. Cicconi
Document No. 024250
WHITE HOUSE STAFFING MEMORANDUM
DATE:
4/7/89
ACTION/CONCURRENCE/COMMENT DUE BY:
4:00 TODAY
SUBJECT:
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: VOLUNTEER AWARDS
ACTION FYI
ACTION FYI
VICE PRESIDENT
MCCLURE
SUNUNU
NEWMAN
SCOWCROFT
PORTER
DARMAN
STUDDERT
BATES
UNTERMEYER
BREEDEN
ROGERS
CARD
WINSTON
CICCONI
PINKERTON
DEMAREST
PETERSMEYER
FITZWATER
Parter-Pose
GRAY
HAGIN
REMARKS:
Please provide your comments/recommendations directly to Chriss
Winston;s office with an info copy to my office by 4:00 TODAY
Friday, April 7. Thank you.
RESPONSE:
James W. Cicconi
Assistant to the President
and Deputy to the Chief of Staff
Ext. 2702
(Smith/Martin)
April 6, 1989
1909 APR -7 RI 11: 2
Draft Four
AWARD
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: VOLUNTEER AWARDS
WASHINGTON, D.C.
TUESDAY, APRIL 11, 1989
Honored guests, ladies and gentlemen.
Good afternoon, and let me welcome you to the White House.
And let me also add that I have a confession to make.
You know, it's been said -- now, this will shock you -that
sometimes I have a hard time being understood. But I'll admit,
it's true. And all I can say is that I'm in some distinguished
company.
After all, it was Yogi Berra who, when asked, "Are you a
fatalist?" replied, "No, I never collected postage stamps." And
Danny Ozark, baseball's master of the malaprop, once observed of
his ballplayers, "Contrary to popular belief, I've always had a
wonderful repertoire with them."
See what I mean? Even silver-tongued orators often have
their meaning blurred.
-2-
Well, this morning, let no one blur our message. Let it
ring loud and clear. America is great because America is good.
And America's greatest deeds come from the basic decency of her
people -- each of you here today.
We see that decency everywhere -- in a child-care center, at
the Rotary or Little League, in a synagogue or church. It means
lending a hand, tending a wound, and helping the less fortunate.
This is Volunteer Week, a time to celebrate those qualities.
And it is my honor today to present the 1989 President's
Volunteer Action Awards. These awards were first presented in
1982. And, since then, 148 Americans have been recognized and
honored.
I have said that any definition of a successful life must
include serving others. Today's award recipients embody that
definition. They know that life -- real life -- is not a ledger
board.
Eleven years ago, Rose Tichy began tutoring adults through a
church-sponsored literacy program in Middleburg Heights, Ohio.
She loved her work, but there weren't enough adult-level books to
fit her students' needs. So Rose got out her pen, and enriched
the printed page. Since 1978, she's written 32 books, and edited
the more than 100 books developed by her writers group.
-3-
Down in Huntsville, Alabama, Chessie Harris once took
several abandoned children into her two-bedroom home. But when
the Welfare Department demanded a boarding license, the Harrises
built a house on land purchased with money from the sale of a
family farm. Since 1958, that site has been a home for more than
800 children -- or about 10 for each of Chessie's 82 years
[PAUSE]
800 children? [PAUSE]
sounds like a typical
weekend with my grandkids in Kennebunkport.
Today, Allison Stieglitz is 15 years old. But she was only
12 when she asked her parents to use the money they had planned
to spend on her Bat [BOT] Mitzvah to provide Thanksgiving baskets
for needy families. That first year, she gave out 15 baskets; in
1988, she donated 75. And in Miami, Allison has begun a Sunday
breakfast and bag lunch program in two local temples.
Rose Tichey, Chessie Harris, and Allison Stieglitz, and this
year's other 15 President's Awards winners, were chosen from
nearly 2,000 nominations. They -- you -- know that prosperity
without purpose means nothing. Instead, you revere what
matters: the simple, the basic, things like decency, goodness,
self-discipline, compassion.
As President, I want to assist those simple things -- for
they form the heart of volunteerism, and of these President's
Awards. That is why we have opened the Office of National
-4-
Service, which is leading this Administration's community and
national service programs.
This Office will help you help others. It will alert the
public to community service. And challenge individuals, schools,
and corporations to expand existing programs. And it will
promote community-based efforts to combat social problems which
fray the American fabric.
Toward that end, I am announcing today my intent to unveil
by May 15 The Points of Light Foundation. And also by that date,
I will send legislation to the Congress proposing our
Administration's Y-E-S or YES Program -- Youth Entering Service.
Here, American youth can give of, not to, themselves. By saying
"Yes" to America, they can define a successful life.
Of course, that's what you've already done. For you know
that volunteerism never asks, "What can I do for myself?" It
asks, "What can I do by myself?" Yes, volunteerism views
government as a catalyst of caring. But it also says that we
have surpassed -- far surpassed -- the limits of what government
alone can do.
Consider that today, excluding Social Security benefits,
government spends $ 185 billion annually on human resources --
that's slightly less than the budget of Italy. But did you know
that each year Americans contribute an astounding 19.5 billion
-5-
volunteer hours? That's equivalent to $ 150 billion in community
service -- or more than 85 per cent of what the government
spends.
As you can see, it is the private sector -- and individuals
-- which have the responsibility -- the understanding -- and the
resources -- to confront issues like hunger, health care,
homelessness, and drug abuse. Our challenge is to use that
understanding and those resources to meet our responsibility.
For we are a nation, and a family: helping, enriching, and
caring for each other.
That great sports executive, Branch Rickey, observed that
"Luck is the residue of design." My friends, America's luck can
be the residue of volunteerism's design. Volunteerism works
because it does not view Americans as black and white, laborer
and manager, the privileged and the poor. Instead, volunteerism
regards Americans as Americans. And it speaks of generosity,
involvement, and love of country -- for volunteerism is the
highest plane of patriotism.
Volunteerism says that individuals -- like communities --
can join hands, and exchange talents, for the good of America.
One person can tutor an inner-city student; that boy or girl can
some day become an engineer or artist. And, with luck, the
child-turned-adult will then emulate a true pioneer and role
model. Like the man I'm so pleased to honor, now.
-6-
Twenty-two years ago, having moved to the East Village in
New York to help the urban poor, Father Bruce Ritter opened his
door one night to see six children. They were asking for a place
to stay. Well, eventually, Father Ritter founded Covenant House
to provide a shelter for abandoned and runaway children. Today,
his program involves over 300 volunteers each month. And it
offers shelter to more than 25,000 children each year.
Because of Covenant House, a child has escaped heroin
addiction; another no longer yearns for a decent meal; still
another views the world as a warm, not sullen, place. It is an
American success story almost without parallel.
Last year, a new award was created to honor the individual
or organization whose contribution to volunteerism is greatest
among those winning the President's Volunteer Action Awards. And
so I'm pleased to announce Father Ritter as the first recipient
of an award named for a great President and my good friend: The
Ronald Reagan Award for Volunteer Excellence [PAUSE].
Fellow volunteers, all of you have enriched the American
Spirit. And in that spirit, let me close on a personal note
about a hero, if you will.
Lou Gehrig was a Hall of Fame first baseman in the 1920s and
'30s. He played in 2,130 straight games -- a record which still
-7-
stands. But more than that, he was a good and decent man about
whom a teammate said, "Every day, any day, he just went out and
did his job.' Fifty years ago, Lou Gehrig was stricken by a form
of paralysis which today bears his name. Even so, he told the
crowd at Yankee Stadium, "I consider myself the luckiest man on
the face of the earth."
This story has become an American parable. But less known is
that after he left the Yankees -- for the final two years of his
life -- Lou Gehrig served his fellow man. Dying, weaker by the
day, he could barely move his body. But as a parole commissioner
for the City of New York, he counseled and inspired kids. They
called him the Iron Horse, the Pride of the Yankees. Yes, Lou
Gehrig was a hero.
To serve others and to ennoble your community -this, truly,
defines a successful life. For success is personal, and it is
charitable -- the sum not of our possessions, but of how we treat
our neighbors.
My friends, on that score, you've hit a grand-slam home
run. Congratulations to each of you, and thank you for coming
here. God bless you, and God bless America.
# # # #
024250
Document No.
WHITE HOUSE STAFFING MEMORANDUM
4/10/89
----
DATE:
ACTION/CONCURRENCE/COMMENT DUE BY:
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: VOLUNTEER ACTION AWARDS LUNCHEON
SUBJECT:
ACTION FYI
ACTION FYI
VICE PRESIDENT
MCCLURE
SUNUNU
NEWMAN
SCOWCROFT
PORTER
DARMAN
STUDDERT
BATES
UNTERMEYER
BREEDEN
ROGERS
CARD
WINSTON
CICCONI
PINKERTON
DEMAREST
PETERSMEYER
FITZWATER
PORTER-ROSE
GRAY
HAGIN
REMARKS:
The attached has been forwarded to the President.
RESPONSE:
James W. Cicconi
Assistant to the President
and Deputy to the Chief of Staff
Ext. 2702
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
APRIL 10, 1989
1939 APR 10 PM 1: 11
INFORMATION
MEMORANDUM FOR THE PRESIDENT
THROUGH: CHIRSS WINSTON
FROM:
CURT SMITH
SUBJECT: APRIL 11 VOLUNTEER AWARDS SPEECH
I. SUMMARY
Enclosed are remarks for the April 11 President's Volunteer
Action Awards luncheon. These awards were first presented
in 1982. Since then, 148 Americans have been honored for
their contribution to volunteerism. Tomorrow, 18
individuals, some representing groups, will be recognized.
II. DISCUSSION
The remarks discuss how the 18 recipients embody America's
volunteer spirit, and what this Administration is doing to
enhance volunteerism. Bracketed on pages 5-6 are remarks
pending your approval of Father Ritter as this year's
proposed recipient of the Ronald Reagan Award for Volunteer
Excellence.
(Smith/Martin)
April 10, 1989
Draft Five
AWARD
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS:
VOLUNTEER AWARDS
WASHINGTON, D.C.
TUESDAY, APRIL 11, 1989
Honored guests, ladies and gentlemen.
Good afternoon, and let me welcome you to the White House.
And let me also add that I have a confession to make.
You know, it's been said -- now, this will shock you --that
sometimes I have a hard time being understood. But I'll admit,
it's true. And all I can say is that I'm in some distinguished
company.
After all, it was Yogi Berra who, when asked, "Are you a
fatalist?" allegedly replied, "No, I never collected postage
stamps." " And Danny Ozark, baseball's master of the malaprop,
once observed of his ballplayers, "Contrary to popular belief,
I've always had a wonderful repertoire with them."
See what I mean? Even silver-tongued orators often have
their meaning blurred.
2
Well, this morning, let no one blur our message. Let it
ring loud and clear. America is great because America is good.
And America's greatest deeds come from the basic decency and
compassion of her people -- each of you here today.
We see that decency and compassion everywhere -- in a child-
care center, at the Rotary or Little League, in a synagogue or
church. It means lending a hand, tending a wound, and helping
the less fortunate.
This is Volunteer Week, a time to celebrate those qualities.
And it is my honor today to present the 1989 President's
Volunteer Action Awards. These awards were first presented in
1982. And, since then, 148 Americans have been recognized and
honored.
I have said that from now on, any definition of a successful
life must include serving others. Today's award-recipients
embody that definition.
Eleven years ago, Rose Tichy began tutoring adults through a
church-sponsored literacy program in Middleburg Heights, Ohio.
She loved her work, but there weren't enough adult-level books to
fit her students' needs. So Rose got out her pen, and enriched
3
the printed page. Since 1978, she's written 32 books, and edited
the more than 100 books developed by her writers group.
Down in Huntsville, Alabama, Chessie Harris once took
several abandoned children into her two-bedroom home. But when
the Welfare Department demanded a boarding license, the Harrises
built a house on land purchased with money from the sale of a
family farm. Since 1958, that site has been a home for more than
800 children -- or about 10 for each of Chessie's 82 years
[PAUSE]
800 children? [PAUSE]
sounds like a typical
weekend with my grandkids in Kennebunkport.
Today, Allison Stieglitz is 15 years old. But she was only
12 when she asked her parents to use the money they had planned
to spend on her Bat [BOT] Mitzvah to provide Thanksgiving baskets
for needy families. That first year, she gave out 15 baskets; in
1988, she donated 75. And in Miami, Allison has begun a Sunday
breakfast and bag lunch program in two local temples.
Rose Tichey, Chessie Harris, and Allison Stieglitz, and this
year's other 15 President's Awards winners, were chosen from
nearly 1,500 nominations. They -- you -- know that prosperity
without purpose means nothing. Instead, you revere what
matters: simple, fundamental values like decency, goodness,
self-discipline, compassion.
4
As President, I want to promote those basic values -- for
they form the heart of volunteerism, and of these President's
Awards. That is why we have opened the Office of National
Service, which is leading our Administration's national service
movement.
This Office will encourage partnerships between all levels
of government, private enterprise, and voluntary organizations.
It will take things that work, and carry them to the Nation. And
it will enlist new volunteers in community-based efforts to
combat urgent social ills. And toward that end, soon I will
announce our Administration's Y-E-S or YES to America Program --
Youth Entering Service. Here, American youth can give of, not to,
themselves. By saying "Yes" to America, they can define a
successful life.
of course, that's what you've already done. You know that
volunteerism never asks, "What can I do for myself?" It asks,
"What can I do myself for others?" Yes, government can and
should be a catalyst of caring. Its role is critical. But we
have surpassed -- far surpassed -- the limits of what government
alone can do.
Volunteers says that it is the private sector which has the
responsibility -- the understanding -- and the resources -- to
confront issues like hunger, health care, homelessness,
5
illiteracy, teen pregnancy, and drug abuse. Our challenge is to
use that understanding and those resources to meet our
responsibility. For we are a nation, and a family: helping,
enriching, and caring for each other. And as a family, we are
committed to a nation-wide effort.
Volunteerism says that individuals -- like communities --
can join hands, and exchange talents, for the good of America.
One person can tutor an inner-city student; that boy or girl can
some day become an engineer or artist. The child-turned-adult
will then become a role model to others. Which brings me to the
man I'm so pleased to honor, now.
[Twenty-two years ago, having moved to the East Village in
New York to help the urban poor, Father Bruce Ritter opened his
door one night to see six children. They were asking for a place
to stay. Eventually, Father Ritter founded Covenant House to
provide a shelter for abandoned and runaway children. Today, his
program involves over 300 volunteers each month. And it offers
shelter to more than 25,000 children each year.
Because of Covenant House, a child has escaped heroin
addiction; another no longer yearns for a decent meal; still
another views the world as a warm, not sullen, place. It is an
American success story almost without parallel.
6
Last year, a new award was created to honor the individual
or organization whose contribution to volunteerism is greatest
among those winning the President's Volunteer Action Awards. And
so I'm pleased to announce Father Ritter as this Administration's
first recipient of an award named for a great President and my
good friend: The Ronald Reagan Award for Volunteer Excellence
[PAUSE].]
Fellow volunteers, all of you have enriched the American
Spirit. And in that spirit, let me close on a personal note
about a hero, if you will.
Lou Gehrig was a Hall of Fame first baseman in the 1920s and
'30s. He played in 2,130 straight games -- a record which still
stands. But more than that, he was a good and decent man about
whom a teammate said, "Every day, any day, he just went out and
did his job. " Fifty years ago, Lou Gehrig was stricken by a form
of paralysis which today bears his name. Even so, he told the
crowd at Yankee Stadium, "I consider myself the luckiest man on
the face of the earth.' "
This story has become an American parable. But less known is
that after he left the Yankees -- for the final two years of his
life -- Lou Gehrig served his fellow man. Dying, weaker by the
day, he could barely move his body. But as a parole commissioner
for the City of New York, he counseled and inspired kids. They
1
7
called him the Iron Horse, the Pride of the Yankees. Yes, Lou
Gehrig was a hero.
To serve others and to enrich your community -this, truly,
defines a successful life. For success is personal, and it is
charitable -- the sum not of our possessions, but of how we help
our neighbors.
My friends, on that score, you've hit a grand-slam home
run. Congratulations to each of you, and thank you for coming
today. May your example inspire and uplift others. God bless
you, and God bless America.
# # # #
(Smith/Martin)
April 6, 1989
Draft Four
AWARD
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS:
VOLUNTEER AWARDS
WASHINGTON, D.C.
TUESDAY, APRIL 11, 1989
Honored guests, ladies and gentlemen.
Good afternoon, and let me welcome you to the White House.
And let me also add that I have a confession to make.
You know, it's been said -- now, this will shock you --that
sometimes I have a hard time being understood. But I'll admit,
it's true. And all I can say is that I'm in some distinguished
company.
After all, it was Yogi Berra who, when asked, "Are you a
fatalist?" replied, "No, I never collected postage stamps." And
Danny Ozark, baseball's master of the malaprop, once observed of
his ballplayers, "Contrary to popular belief, I've always had a
wonderful repertoire with them."
See what I mean? Even silver-tongued orators often have
their meaning blurred.
-2-
Well, this morning, let no one blur our message. Let it
ring loud and clear. America is great because America is good.
And America's greatest deeds come from the basic decency of her
people -- each of you here today.
We see that decency everywhere -- in a child-care center, at
the Rotary or Little League, in a synagogue or church. It means
lending a hand, tending a wound, and helping the less fortunate.
This is Volunteer Week, a time to celebrate those qualities.
And it is my honor today to present the 1989 President's
Volunteer Action Awards. These awards were first presented in
1982. And, since then, 148 Americans have been recognized and
honored.
I have said that any definition of a successful life must
include serving others. Today's award recipients embody that
definition. They know that life -- real life -- is not a ledger
board.
Eleven years ago, Rose Tichy began tutoring adults through a
church-sponsored literacy program in Middleburg Heights, Ohio.
She loved her work, but there weren't enough adult-level books to
fit her students' needs. So Rose got out her pen, and enriched
the printed page. Since 1978, she's written 32 books, and edited
the more than 100 books developed by her writers group.
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Down in Huntsville, Alabama, Chessie Harris once took
several abandoned children into her two-bedroom home. But when
the Welfare Department demanded a boarding license, the Harrises
built a house on land purchased with money from the sale of a
family farm. Since 1958, that site has been a home for more than
800 children -- or about 10 for each of Chessie's 82 years
[PAUSE]
800 children? [PAUSE]
sounds like a typical
weekend with my grandkids in Kennebunkport.
Today, Allison Stieglitz is 15 years old. But she was only
12 when she asked her parents to use the money they had planned
to spend on her Bat [BOT] Mitzvah to provide Thanksgiving baskets
for needy families. That first year, she gave out 15 baskets; in
1988, she donated 75. And in Miami, Allison has begun a Sunday
breakfast and bag lunch program in two local temples.
Rose Tichey, Chessie Harris, and Allison Stieglitz, and this
year's other 15 President's Awards winners, were chosen from
nearly 2,000 nominations. They -- you -- know that prosperity
without purpose means nothing. Instead, you revere what
matters: the simple, the basic, things like decency, goodness,
self-discipline, compassion.
As President, I want to assist those simple things -- for
they form the heart of volunteerism, and of these President's
Awards. That is why we have opened the Office of National
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Service, which is leading this Administration's community and
national service programs.
This Office will help you help others. It will alert the
public to community service. And challenge individuals, schools,
and corporations to expand existing programs. And it will
promote community-based efforts to combat social problems which
fray the American fabric.
Toward that end, I am announcing today my intent to unveil
by May 15 The Points of Light Foundation. And also by that date,
I will send legislation to the Congress proposing our
Administration's Y-E-S or YES Program -- Youth Entering Service.
Here, American youth can give of, not to, themselves. By saying
"Yes" to America, they can define a successful life.
Of course, that's what you've already done. For you know
that volunteerism never asks, "What can I do for myself?" It
asks, "What can I do by myself?" Yes, volunteerism views
government as a catalyst of caring. But it also says that we
have surpassed -- far surpassed -- the limits of what government
alone can do.
Consider that today, excluding Social Security benefits,
government spends $ 185 billion annually on human resources --
that's slightly less than the budget of Italy. But did you know
that each year Americans contribute an astounding 19.5 billion
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volunteer hours? That's equivalent to $ 150 billion in community
service -- or more than 85 per cent of what the government
spends.
As you can see, it is the private sector -- and individuals
-- which have the responsibility -- the understanding -- and the
resources -- to confront issues like hunger, health care,
homelessness, and drug abuse. Our challenge is to use that
understanding and those resources to meet our responsibility.
For we are a nation, and a family: helping, enriching, and
caring for each other.
That great sports executive, Branch Rickey, observed that
"Luck is the residue of design." My friends, America's luck can
be the residue of volunteerism's design. Volunteerism works
because it does not view Americans as black and white, laborer
and manager, the privileged and the poor. Instead, volunteerism
regards Americans as Americans. And it speaks of generosity,
involvement, and love of country -- for volunteerism is the
highest plane of patriotism.
Volunteerism says that individuals -- like communities --
can join hands, and exchange talents, for the good of America.
One person can tutor an inner-city student; that boy or girl can
some day become an engineer or artist. And, with luck, the
child-turned-adult will then emulate a true pioneer and role
model. Like the man I'm so pleased to honor, now.
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Twenty-two years ago, having moved to the East Village in
New York to help the urban poor, Father Bruce Ritter opened his
door one night to see six children. They were asking for a place
to stay. Well, eventually, Father Ritter founded Covenant House
to provide a shelter for abandoned and runaway children. Today,
his program involves over 300 volunteers each month. And it
offers shelter to more than 25,000 children each year.
Because of Covenant House, a child has escaped heroin
addiction; another no longer yearns for a decent meal; still
another views the world as a warm, not sullen, place. It is an
American success story almost without parallel.
Last year, a new award was created to honor the individual
or organization whose contribution to volunteerism is greatest
among those winning the President's Volunteer Action Awards. And
so I'm pleased to announce Father Ritter as the first recipient
of an award named for a great President and my good friend: The
Ronald Reagan Award for Volunteer Excellence [PAUSE].
Fellow volunteers, all of you have enriched the American
Spirit. And in that spirit, let me close on a personal note
about a hero, if you will.
Lou Gehrig was a Hall of Fame first baseman in the 1920s and
'30s. He played in 2,130 straight games -- a record which still
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stands. But more than that, he was a good and decent man about
whom a teammate said, "Every day, any day, he just went out and
did his job." Fifty years ago, Lou Gehrig was stricken by a form
of paralysis which today bears his name. Even so, he told the
crowd at Yankee Stadium, "I consider myself the luckiest man on
the face of the earth."
This story has become an American parable. But less known is
that after he left the Yankees -- for the final two years of his
life -- Lou Gehrig served his fellow man. Dying, weaker by the
day, he could barely move his body. But as a parole commissioner
for the City of New York, he counseled and inspired kids. They
called him the Iron Horse, the Pride of the Yankees. Yes, Lou
Gehrig was a hero.
To serve others and to ennoble your community -this, truly,
defines a successful life. For success is personal, and it is
charitable -- the sum not of our possessions, but of how we treat
our neighbors.
My friends, on that score, you've hit a grand-slam home
run. Congratulations to each of you, and thank you for coming
here. God bless you, and God bless America.
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