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New York Partnerships 6/22/89 [3]
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25
6
3
5
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
JUNE 20, 1989
INFORMATION
MEMORANDUM FOR THE PRESIDENT
THROUGH:
CHRISS WINSTON
in
FROM:
CURT SMITH
SUBJECT:
JUNE 22 NEW YORK PARTNERSHIP SPEECH
I. SUMMARY
On Thursday, June 22, at 12:30 p.m., you will address members of
the New York Partnership at Manhattan's Hilton Hotel. About 1,500
people are expected to attend, mostly leaders from business, labor,
civic, non-profit, religious, and education groups.
II. DISCUSSION
The enclosed remarks (20 minutes, teleprompter) unveil your Administration's
"Points of Light Initiative" -- including the Foundation that you will lead.
The text includes a call to national service, describes how the Foundation
will work, and explains how this movement can "expand volunteerism into
every corner of America."
(Smith/Blessey)
June 20, 1989
Draft Eight
PART
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: NEW YORK PARTNERSHIP
NEW YORK, NEW YORK
THURSDAY, JUNE 22, 1989
Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen. I appreciate
your generous reception. And let me salute that magnificent
film. It was a moving call to action.
It is a pleasure, as always, to be back in Barbara's home
State. And in a city that has been described as "the noblest of
the American symbols" and, yes, "the capital of the world."
And let me also add that it is indeed an honor to address
the members of the New York Partnership and the Association for a
Better New York. For already, you have enriched fields from
business and labor to education and the media. We meet today to
go still further: To join hands, and link hearts, to light the
American sky.
I begin with a single, simple statement: There is no
problem in America that is not being solved somewhere [PAUSE]
There is no problem in America that is not being solved
somewhere [PAUSE]
Think of that.
I have just come from a place which embodies that statement
-- Covenant House -- a mirror of how, as Lincoln said, we can
"bind up the Nation's wounds."
Twenty-two years ago, having moved to the East Village of
New York to help the urban poor, Father Bruce Ritter opened his
2
door one night to see six children. Amazingly, in a land as rich
as ours, they were asking for a place to stay.
As word spread, every night young people of every race and
creed came to this small apartment. And eventually, Father
Ritter founded Covenant House to provide a shelter for abandoned
and runaway kids.
examples
I urge you to visit Covenant House. And other
like
it
--
in Alabama, in Chicago, on the farmlands of Ohio. For there you
will find the quiet Americans, the selfless Americans, giving of
their time and of themselves.
Last year, such Americans contributed an estimated 19.5
billion volunteer hours. They work at day-care centers, inner-
city schools, homes for the elderly. Anywhere there is a need.
Anytime they are needed. Volunteers make a difference in the
lives of those for whom the American Dream seems an Impossible
Dream.
Already, this involvement -- what we term national, or
community, service -- has helped countless Americans find self-
respect and dignity. Today, America is prosperous and at peace.
Even so, many who have secured material success know there must
be something more in their lives: The opportunity to do good.
They know the job is far from complete. For another group
of Americans still endures a living nightmare of want and
isolation. That must stop. Ladies and gentlemen: We must bring
in those who feel unwelcome. We must reawaken their hope for the
future.
3
But how?
We know that government can't rebuild a family, or reclaim a
sense of neighborhood. We know that government can't buy
understanding and love. We know that during the past two decades
we have spent more money, on more social programs, than at any
time in our history. And some problems aren't better. In fact,
they're worse.
Most Americans realize that. They know that the key to
constructive change is building relationships, not bureaucracies.
And they know that those who say, "It's government's problem,"
are really part of the problem themselves.
My friends, all my life I've believed that government could
not substitute for "do unto others." Barbara and I tried to do
our small part. In Midland, with the YMCA and United Way. I
remember digging ditches for a Little League ball field, helping
to build a theatre. And dating back to my days at Yale, a cause
I love: Raising funds for the United Negro College Fund.
Like so many others, I found joy and a sense of inner peace
in helping others. For I was also fulfilling myself. Learning
that we are not what we drive, or where we live, or what kind of
clothes we wear. Rather, I learned that America's greatness
rests on the goodness of her people.
These beliefs are beyond any individual, for they are
timeless. Today, more than ever, we need community service to
help drop-outs, pregnant teens, and drug abusers. The homeless
and AIDS victims. The hungry and illiterate. Often
4
disadvantaged as their communities disintegrate around them, they
become disconnected from society.
Our challenge, then, is to raise their spirits and their
expectations, and we must. Not by more government -- but by more
caring. Not by more programs -- but by more people. And by
engaging each citizen, school and business, church and synagogue,
service organization and civic group. In this room sit some of
the most successful people in America. Well, to you I say: A
life of ease is a life without reward. From now on, the
definition of a successful life must include serving others.
The great English statesman, Edmund Burke, once wrote of
America's "little platoons" -- groups, and individuals, helping
each other. He was defining successful lives. And so am I when
I talk of "a thousand points of light" -- that vast galaxy of
voluntary associations of people and institutions working
together to solve problems in their own back yard.
My friends, these "thousand points of light" can extend
national service into every corner of America. By asking that
all branches and all levels of government -- and both sectors,
public and private -- enlist in our crusade.
I am here today to outline that crusade. First: A call to
action, and to share others' burdens. Next: A catalyst to
energize "a thousand points of light." Finally: An initiative
to find, and train, leaders to help their fellow man. And to
reward those who do. Let's be clear about one thing, though --
5
this is not a program, or another bureaucracy. It is a movement
-- bold, and unprecedented.
First, our call to action, and, even more, to claim
society's problems as our own. Our call is individual, and
collective. And it begins this afternoon, with you.
Today, I ask leaders of Congress, the Chief Justice of the
Supreme Court, and each State and municipality to devise programs
which involve themselves and their employees in community
service. I commend all business leaders who promote and reward
volunteerism. I ask non-profit and service groups to open your
doors to all those who want to help, irrespective of age,
background, or level of experience. And leaders of high schools
and colleges, respectively -- I thank those of you who promote
volunteerism through curricula, and as a criteria for admittance.
But there's more. To every corporation, large and small, I
say: Begin a literacy program that teaches each employee how to
read. And to every member of a body of higher learning: Start a
Big Brother or Big Sister program for kids in your neighborhood.
of every church and synagoque, I ask: Become an around-the-clock
community center. And of every restaurant and grocery store:
Distribute surplus food to soup kitchens and local shelters.
And to the youth of America, I issue a special appeal.
Today, as part of our call to action, I propose the YES
Initiative -- or "Youth Engaged in Service" to America. I
challenge every young American to fight against self-absorption.
6
And to emulate those leaders who have shown that there is no
problem in America that is not being solved somewhere.
Leaders like Sean Fox, 20, who began the Toledo Community
Food Bank to feed the hungry of his town. or Eileen Cole, 17, of
Washington, D.C., who works as a candy striper and aid to a
cerebral palsy patient. or Carissa Griesinger of Florida, a
former drug user and seller, who now, at 15, devotes hours each
week to counseling troubled teenagers and tutoring handicapped
children.
These young leaders know that what we are matters more than
what we have. And they can help reach three of our movement's
goals. First: By 1992, we want to double the number of kids
engaged in volunteerism. Second: We want to double the number
of adults involved in youth mentoring projects. And, third: We
want to triple the number of institutions engaged in youth
development through community service.
Yesterday, on the South Lawn of the White House, we held a
kickoff rally for the "Yes" Initiative, attended by thousands of
kids -- some of those points of light I like to talk about. And
their presence reminded me of the saying, "Life is not a state of
time -- life is a state of mind." So is our call to
volunteerism. Does it summon the young, and old? You bet. Will
Americans listen to that call? I believe they will. The poet
Emerson once said, "The greatest gift is a portion of thyself."
Well, today, across our fifty States, groups, and individuals are
giving of, not to, themselves.
7
In Gaston County, North Carolina, where one out of five
adults is illiterate, Olna Daves has founded a Literacy Council.
And in Tucson, Kathleen Clark runs a nursery for up to 150 abused
children per month. In Mississippi, Dr. Anne Brooks set up
practice in an indigent Delta town. Her care is, literally,
priceless -- many patients can't afford to pay.
Americans like these are missionaries, and they are heroes.
Our mission is to achieve, nationally, what they are doing,
locally. To complete it will require a catalyst. And I am proud
to announce it now: A new effort to identify volunteer programs
that work -- and carry them to America.
We call this catalyst the "Points of Light Initiative" --
and it includes a Foundation that will help make this movement a
reality.
I will soon ask Congress for funds to support this
Initiative, with matching funds from the private sector. But I
will also name an advisory committee to get the ball rolling
while we await Congressional action.
"The Points of Light Initiative" will be a strategy center
and a clearinghouse for volunteerism's best ideas, and brightest
programs. It will seek out, and find, successful efforts - the
elementary school, for instance, whose students "adopt" a senior
citizens' home and visit it regularly; or the consortium where
banks, unions, and developers bring decent housing to the
homeless. And by bringing success stories to other communities,
we will spread them across the Nation.
8
Our foundation will be bi-partisan: It will ask each
governor -- and, through them, the mayors of all municipalities
-- to form State and local Points of Light working groups
composed of outstanding private sector leaders. And, at its
core, will be our request -- I submit, your obligation -- to
donate the services of the talented and the enterprising.
These people -- your employees -- will come from all
institutions: Civic to corporate, union to educational. And
they will act as peer-to-peer counselors: to wit, journalist-to-
journalist, or one clergyman to another [PAUSE]
after all,
both professions need prayers to thrive.
Think of it: Through "Points of Light," a lawyer in Chicago
can help another local law firm devise a pro bono program for the
low-income and handicapped. or in Wilmington, an experienced
mentor can help show a nearby district what works, and what
doesn't.
This technical assistance and counseling network will work
through a variety of forms. And over time, the Foundation will
use technology to link volunteer supply, and community demand.
Imagine, for instance, a service where you can call a hot-line
phone number, and have that call automatically routed to a staff
member of an existing organization -- the Goodwill or March of
Dimes; the corner YMCA.
Like the Foundation itself, these acts can help individuals
-- and institutions -- lift Americans from despair. Well, so can
yet another constellation in "a thousand points of light": Our
9
initiative to find potential leaders of every age in every State
and locality. And to train them to devote their talents and
energies to national service. And then, to honor those who
excel.
Through the Foundation, I will annually select two college-
aged youth from every State as "President's National Service
Youth Representatives.' They will spend one year traveling their
regions as volunteer ambassadors -- urging other kids to get
involved. And "Points of Light" will convene youth and regional
"Presidential Leadership Forums," uniting young people,
educators, and community activists.
From such action will come achievement. And such
achievement should be rewarded. We will ask media of every sort
to profile volunteerism's brightest stars. And our Foundation
will also recognize excellent community programs and leaders.
Specifically, through the "President's National Service Youth
Leadership Awards" -- given each year to individuals. And the
"President's Build A Community Awards" -- honoring "partnerships"
which work together to "build" surrogate families and rebuild
decaying areas.
Yes, a call to action, and to share others' burdens. "A
thousand points of light." An initiative to develop the leaders
of tomorrow. Not a program, or another bureaucracy. But a
movement -- bold, unprecedented.
All of this will test us as Americans. And challenge us to
combat problems like hunger and disease, drug abuse and
10
homelessness. We cannot afford to fail, and won't. For as
Americans, we know what is at stake.
We know, for instance, that volunteerism can help those
free-falling through society. And that it ranks among the
highest planes of patriotism.
We recognize that as Americans, life is measured not by the
sum of our possessions -- but by how we treat our fellow man.
We know that as citizens, and institutions, we can use "one-
on-one" caring to truly "love thy neighbor." And that prosperity
without purpose means nothing. And we must resolve to carry
these beliefs to every person in the land.
Two centuries ago last year, Alexander Hamilton sent a
letter urging General Washington to seek the Presidency. He
wrote him: "The point of light in which you stand will make an
infinite difference in the respectability in which the government
will begin its operations."
My friends, national service will work. For it is as
honored as our history. National service can make "an infinite
difference" in the life of these United States. For "a thousand
points" can light the lives of a people, and a Nation.
I say to you, then: Join up, link hands, and march in our
crusade. Remember, there is no problem that is not being solved
somewhere in America. You -- you in this room -- can prove that
statement a thousand times over. It's in your hands.
God bless you -- we need your help, and God bless the United
States of America.
THE WHITE HOUSE
washington
Jim --
Patricia Bryan objected to one of the
anecdotes (highlighted) in the New York
Partnerships speech, and Chriss Winston
would like to have your opinion on this
as a lawyer.
Jo.
Christ -
that Nothing I can see - if
wrong w/ This
objection, she has a I legal - can (perhaps t imagine
what quoting it favorably is living - in LaG town fining where
people people for go hungry. though, and welfare)
Nowadaysel
we it do food that, stamps or I'm 6/21
7
We're calling this technical assistance and counseling
network ServNet. And it will work through a service dubbed
ServLink. Here's how: Any American wishing to serve can call a
hot-line phone number, and have that call automatically routed to
a staff member of an existing organization -- the Goodwill or
March of Dimes; the corner YMCA. The caller will then learn what
volunteer opportunities exist in his or her community to help
others, and thereby America.
You know, being here reminds me of how that spirit links
this community: the City of New York. Well, let me relate a
story about a man who embodied it: One of the greatest Mayors in
the history of New York.
One bitter, cold day Fiorello LaGuardia was presiding at
police court. When in came a trembling old man, charged with
stealing a loaf of bread. His family, he said, was starving.
"I've got to punish you," mourned the Little Flower. "The law
makes no exception.' And he sentenced the man to a fine of ten
dollars.
But the best was yet to come. For as LaGuardia was passing
sentence, he reached into his pocket and added, "Well, here's the
ten dollars to pay your fine. And I now I remit it." And then
he tossed a ten-dollar bill into his famous fedora.
"Furthermore," he continued, "I'm going to fine everybody
in this courtroom fifty cents for living in a town where a man
has to steal bread in order to eat. Mr. Bailiff, collect the
fines and give them to this defendant!" The hat was passed.
8
Charity triumphed. And when the old man left the courtroom he
held in his hand what, to him, must have seemed a fortune:
forty-seven dollars and fifty cents.
Fiorello LaGuardia was a leader who practiced the larger
public good. An entire city loved him. And its kids adored him.
Maybe you recall how during a newspaper strike, LaGuardia took to
the radio to read them "Dick Tracy" and other comics. Well, I
have a hunch that Fiorello, hearing us today by wireless, would
especially like one part of the "Points of Light Initiative."
This part will ask kids to man the front lines of the fight
against self-absorption. And it will look to leaders who show
that there is no problem in America that is not being solved
somewhere. Kids like Sean Fox, 20, who began the Toledo
Community Food Bank to feed the hungry of his town. Or Eileen
Cole, 17, of Washington, D. C., who works as a candy striper, a
CCD teacher, and aid to a cerebal palsey patient. Or Carissa
Griesinger of Florida, a former drug user and seller, who now, at
15, devotes hours each week to counseling troubled teenagers and
tutoring handicapped children.
Kids like these can help reach three of our Foundation's
goals. For by 1992, we want to triple the number of institutions
engaged in youth development through community service; to
double the number of kids engaged in volunteerism; and to double
the number of adults and peer groups involved in youth mentoring
projects. And you know what? I believe in America's young
people. I have no doubt that they will.
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
June 20, 1989
MEMORANDUM FOR CHRISS WINSTON
DEPUTY ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT
FOR COMMUNICATIONS
FROM:
PATRICIA MACK BRYAN
ASSOCIATE COUNSEL TO THE PRESIDENT
SUBJECT:
Presidential Remarks: New York Partnership
Pursuant to James W. Cicconi's staffing memorandum of June 19,
1989, Counsel's Office has reviewed the above-referenced remarks.
As a preliminary matter, we note that it is our understanding
that the President signed a decision memorandum yesterday on
various issues that are the subject of these remarks; if that is
true, we recommend that these remarks be reviewed in light of the
decisions the President made to ensure that they accurately
reflect his thinking. Subject to that caveat and the comments
noted below, Counsel's Office has no objection to these remarks.
Page 3, Full Paragraph 4, Sentence 1:
Regardless of number inserted into the "
billion volunteer
hours", that statement should be modified by noting that the
number is an estimate.
Pages 7-8, Anecdote on Fiorello LaGuardia:
In our view this anecdote is entirely inappropriate in the
context of remarks about volunteering. It implies that charity
should be forced from people -- that the State must make the well
to do pay for those who are less well off. It may have been
charity when the Judge reached into his own pocket, but it was
robbery when he forced his way into the pocket of those who sat
in the courtroom. In fact, the Judge's actions are offensive to
our concept of law. Judges have no business (and, even for local
Judges, likely no authority for) fining individuals who happen to
be sitting in a courtroom in order to fund their particular
"charities" -- this is no different than Judges who require
municipalities to raise taxes to fund whatever public program
they rule in favor of. In our view this anecdote sanctions
lawless behavior, is morally offensive and is antithetical to
everything for which the Administration stands. Consequently, it
must be deleted.
CC: James W. Cicconi
(Smith/Blessey)
June 21, 1989
Draft Nine
PART
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: NEW YORK PARTNERSHIP
NEW YORK, NEW YORK
THURSDAY, JUNE 22, 1989
Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen. I appreciate
your generous reception. And let me salute that magnificent
film. It was a moving call to action.
It is indeed an honor to address the members and guests of
the New York Partnership and the Association for a Better New
York. For already, you have enriched fields from business and
labor to education and the media. We meet today to go still
further: To join hands, and link hearts, to light the American
sky.
I begin with a single, simple statement: There is no
problem in America that is not being solved somewhere [PAUSE]
There is no problem in America that is not being solved
somewhere [PAUSE]
Think of that.
Today, millions of Americans -- the quiet Americans, the
selfless Americans -- are giving of their time and of themselves.
They work at day-care centers, inner-city schools, homes for the
elderly. Anywhere there is a need. Anytime they are needed
making a difference in the lives of those for whom the
American Dream seems an Impossible Dream.
2
Already, this involvement -- what we term national, or
community, service -- has helped countless Americans find self-
respect and dignity.
But the job is far from complete. Too many Americans still
endure a living nightmare of want and isolation. That must stop.
Ladies and gentlemen: We must bring back those who feel
unwelcome. We must reawaken their hope for the future.
We know that government can't rebuild a family, or reclaim a
sense of neighborhood. We know that during the past two decades
we have spent more money, on more social programs, than at any
#
time in our history. And some problems aren't better. In fact,
they're worse.
Most Americans understand that the key to constructive
change is building relationships, not bureaucracies. And they
know that those who say, "It's government's problem," are really
part of the problem themselves.
All my life I've believed that government could not
substitute for "do unto others." Barbara and I, like all of you
here, have tried to do our small part. In Midland, with the YMCA
and United Way. Coaching Little League, helping to build a
theater. And dating back to my days at Yale, raising funds for
the United Negro College Fund.
We've all done these things, and as we participated we
fulfilled ourselves. Learning that we are not what we drive, or
where we live, or what kind of clothes we wear. Rather, learning
that America's greatness rests on the goodness of her people.
3
These beliefs are beyond any individual, for they are
timeless. Today, more than ever, we need community service to
help drop-outs, pregnant teens, and drug abusers. The homeless
and AIDS victims. The hungry and illiterate. Often they are
disadvantaged, and as their communities disintegrate around them,
they become disconnected from society.
Our challenge, then, is to raise their spirits and their
expectations by engaging each citizen, school and business,
church and synagogue, service organization and civic group. For
this is what I mean when I talk of "a thousand points of light"
#
-- that vast galaxy of people and institutions working together
to solve problems in their own back yard.
I am here today to ask that both sectors, private and public
-- and all branches and all levels of government -- join this
great movement to extend national service into every corner of
America. For it is a movement -- bold, and unprecedented. Not a
program. Not another bureaucracy.
Let me tell you the strategy of this movement. First, to
issue a call to action, and to claim problems as your own.
Second, to identify, enlarge, and recreate what is working. And
third, to discover and encourage new leaders.
First, our call to action. It is individual, and
collective. And it begins this afternoon, with you.
So today, I ask all Americans and all American institutions,
large and small, to make service central to your life and work.
I urge all business leaders to consider community service in
4
hiring, compensation, and promotion decisions. I call upon non-
profit and service groups to open your doors to all those who
want to help, irrespective of age, background, or level of
experience. And leaders of high schools and colleges, I urge you
to uphold the values of community service and to encourage
students, faculty, and personnel to serve others.
To every corporation, large and small, I say: Begin a
literacy program that teaches each employee how to read. And to
every member of a body of higher learning: Start a Big Brother
or Big Sister program for kids in your neighborhood. Of every
#
church and synagogue, I ask: Become an around-the-clock
community center. And of every restaurant and grocery store:
Distribute surplus food to soup kitchens and local shelters.
And to the youth of America, I issue a special appeal.
Yesterday, on the South Lawn of the White House, we held a
kickoff rally for a key element of our strategy: the YES
Initiative -- or "Youth Engaged In Service" to America. It was
attended by thousands of kids -- some of those points of light I
like to talk about. I challenged every young American to fight
against self-absorption. And to emulate those leaders who have
shown that there is no problem in America that is not being
solved somewhere.
Their presence reminded me of the saying, "Life is not a
state of time -- life is a state of mind." So is our call to
community service. It summons the young, and the old. I believe
Americans will listen to that call. The poet Emerson once said,
5
"The greatest gift is a portion of thyself." Well, today, across
our fifty States, groups, and individuals are giving of, not to,
themselves.
Americans like these are missionaries, and they are heroes.
Our mission is to achieve, nationally, what they are doing,
locally. To complete it will require a catalyst. This brings me
to the second part of our strategy. And I am proud to announce
it now: A new effort to identify service programs that work --
and carry them to America.
We call this catalyst the "Points of Light Initiative" -- a
Foundation, of which I will serve as honorary chairman, and that
will help make our movement a reality.
I will soon ask Congress for $25 million annually to support
this Initiative, which, in turn, will seek matching funds from
the private sector. But I will also name an advisory committee
to report to me within forty-five days of its first meeting on
the structure, composition, and legislation needed to achieve the
Foundation's goals. (( And I am proud to announce today that
Governor Tom Kean of New Jersey, one of this Nation's most
dedicated and caring public servants, has agreed to head this
Committee) )
But, a Federal effort alone cannot succeed. Therefore,
today we invite each governor -- and, through them, the mayors of
all municipalities -- to join our movement by forming State and
local Points of Light working groups composed of outstanding
leaders.
6
These individuals will become a vehicle to solve problems
locally. And to help solve problems nationally, the "The Points
of Light Initiative" will be a magnet for the best ideas, and
brightest programs, in community service. For while countless
service initiatives are already working successfully, they are
too often isolated and unknown to others. Our Foundation will
change all that: By bringing success stories to other
communities, we will repeat them across the Nation.
We will repeat them through a Foundation initiative to be
called the "ServNet Project." Professional firms, corporations,
unions, schools, religious, civic, and not-for-profit groups will
be asked to donate the services of some of their most talented
and promising people for a period of time.
These extraordinary individuals will form and lead peer-to-
peer working groups. For example: Lawyers going to fellow
lawyers, teachers to fellow teachers, union members to fellow
union members. ServNet will provide training and technical
assistance -- showing what works, and what doesn't.
But we also have to improve current methods of matching
people with meaningful service opportunities.
"Volunteer centers" should be directly accessible to all
Americans in their neighborhoods. Such contact points may be in
a place of worship, union hall, library, fire station, business
building, service group headquarters, or neighborhood home.
Over time, through an initiative called the "ServLink
Project," the Foundation will stimulate the development through
7
private sector resources of "technology links" between those who
wish to serve and those needing service in the inquirer's own
community. And in addition, we will ask banks, credit card
issuers, telephone and utility companies to include in statement
envelopes information about how people and their institutions can
become engaged in serving others.
Like the Foundation itself, these efforts can help
individuals -- and institutions -- provide new hope to America.
And so can the third part of our movement's strategy: Our
initiative to discover and encourage new leaders of every age in
every town and city. And to inspire them to devote their talents
and energies to national service. And then, to honor those who
excel.
Through the Foundation, the YES Initiative will annually
select two college-aged youth from each State as "President's
National Service Youth Representatives." They will spend one
year traveling their regions as service ambassadors -- urging
other young Americans to get involved. And "Points of Light"
will convene youth and regional "Presidential Leadership Forums,"
uniting young people, educators, and community activists.
From such action will come achievement. And such
achievement should be rewarded. We will ask media from small-
town weeklies to network television to profile the brightest
stars of community service. And our Foundation will also
recognize successful community initiatives and outstanding
leaders through two new Presidential Awards. The "National
8
Service Youth Leadership Awards" -- given each year to
individuals. And the "Build A Community Awards" -- honoring
"partnerships" which work together to strengthen families and
decaying neighborhoods in America.
All of this will fulfill us as Americans. By asking us to
combat problems like loneliness and poverty, drug abuse and
homelessness. We cannot afford to fail, and we won't. For as
Americans, we know what is at stake.
We know that volunteerism can help those free-falling
through society. We know that as citizens, and institutions, we
can use "one-to-one" caring to truly "love thy neighbor."
We know, finally, that from now, any definition of a
successful life must include serving others. And we must resolve
to carry this belief to every person in the land.
Two centuries ago last year, Alexander Hamilton sent a
letter urging General Washington to seek the Presidency. He
wrote him: "The point of light in which you stand will make an
infinite difference
"
My friends, national service will succeed. It can make "an
infinite difference" in the life of these United States. For "a
thousand points" can light the lives of a people, and a Nation.
Remember, there is no problem that is not being solved
somewhere in America. You -- you in this room -- can prove that
statement a thousand times over. It's in our hands.
God bless you -- we need your help, and God bless the United
States of America.
#
#
#
#
(Smith/Blessey)
June 21, 1989
Draft Nine
PART
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: NEW YORK PARTNERSHIP
NEW YORK, NEW YORK
THURSDAY, JUNE 22, 1989
Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen. I appreciate
your generous reception. And let me salute that magnificent
film. It was a moving call to action.
It is indeed an honor to address the members and guests of
the New York Partnership and the Association for a Better New
York. For already, you have enriched fields from business and
labor to education and the media. We meet today to go still
further: To join hands, and link hearts, to light the American
sky.
I begin with a single, simple statement: There is no
problem in America that is not being solved somewhere [PAUSE]
There is no problem in America that is not being solved
somewhere [PAUSE]
Think of that.
Today, millions of Americans -- the quiet Americans, the
selfless Americans -- are giving of their time and of themselves.
They work at day-care centers, inner-city schools, homes for the
elderly. Anywhere there is a need. Anytime they are needed
making a difference in the lives of those for whom the
American Dream seems an Impossible Dream.
2
Already, this involvement -- what we term national, or
community, service -- has helped countless Americans find self-
respect and dignity.
But the job is far from complete. Too many Americans still
and
endure a living nightmare of want and isolation. That must stop.
Ladies and gentlemen: We must bring back those who feel
unwelcome. We must reawaken their hope for the future.
We know that government can't rebuild a family, or reclaim a
sense of neighborhood. We know that during the past two decades
we have spent more money, on more social programs, than at any
time in our history. And some problems aren't better. In fact,
they're worse.
Most Americans understand that the key to constructive
change is building relationships, not bureaucracies. And they
know that those who say, "It's government's problem," are really
part of the problem themselves.
All my life I've believed that government could not
substitute for "do unto others." Barbara and I, like all of you
here, have tried to do our small part. In Midland, with the YMCA
and United Way. Coaching Little League, helping to build a
theater. And dating back to my days at Yale, raising funds for
the United Negro College Fund.
We've all done these things, and as we participated we
fulfilled ourselves. Learning that we are not what we drive, or
where we live, or what kind of clothes we wear. Rather, learning
that America's greatness rests on the goodness of her people.
3
These beliefs are beyond any individual, for they are
timeless. Today, more than ever, we need community service to
help drop-outs, pregnant teens, and drug abusers. The homeless
and AIDS victims. The hungry and illiterate. Often they are
disadvantaged, and as their communities disintegrate around them,
they become disconnected from society.
Our challenge, then, is to raise their spirits and their
expectations by engaging each citizen, school and business,
church and synagogue, service organization and civic group. For
this is what I mean when I talk of "a thousand points of light"
#
-- that vast galaxy of people and institutions working together
to solve problems in their own back yard.
I am here today to ask that both sectors, private and public
-- and all branches and all levels of government -- join this
great movement to extend national service into every corner of
America. For it is a movement -- bold, and unprecedented. Not a
program. Not another bureaucracy.
Let me tell you the strategy of this movement. First, to
issue a call to action, and to claim problems as your own.
Second, to identify, enlarge, and recreate what is working. And
third, to discover and encourage new leaders.
First, our call to action. It is individual, and
collective. And it begins this afternoon, with you.
So today, I ask all Americans and all American institutions,
large and small, to make service central to your life and work.
I urge all business leaders to consider community service in
4
hiring, compensation, and promotion decisions. I call upon non-
profit and service groups to open your doors to all those who
want to help, irrespective of age, background, or level of
experience. And leaders of high schools and colleges, I urge you
to uphold the values of community service and to encourage
students, faculty, and personnel to serve others.
To every corporation, large and small, I say: Begin a
literacy program that teaches each employee how to read. And to
every member of a body of higher learning: Start a Big Brother
or Big Sister program for kids in your neighborhood. Of every
church and synagogue, I ask: Become an around-the-clock
community center. And of every restaurant and grocery store:
Distribute surplus food to soup kitchens and local shelters.
And to the youth of America, I issue a special appeal.
Yesterday, on the South Lawn of the White House, we held a
kickoff rally for a key element of our strategy: the YES
Initiative -- or "Youth Engaged In Service" to America. It was
attended by thousands of kids -- some of those points of light I
like to talk about. I challenged every young American to fight
against self-absorption. And to emulate those leaders who have
shown that there is no problem in America that is not being
solved somewhere.
Their presence reminded me of the saying, "Life is not a
state of time -- life is a state of mind." So is our call to
community service. It summons the young, and the old. I believe
Americans will listen to that call. The poet Emerson once said,
5
"The greatest gift is a portion of thyself." Well, today, across
our fifty States, groups, and individuals are giving of, not to,
themselves.
Americans like these are missionaries, and they are heroes.
Our mission is to achieve, nationally, what they are doing,
locally. To complete it will require a catalyst. This brings me
to the second part of our strategy. And I am proud to announce
it now: A new effort to identify service programs that work --
and carry them to America.
We call this catalyst the "Points of Light Initiative" --
a
Foundation, of which I will serve as honorary chairman, and that
will help make our movement a reality.
I will soon ask Congress for $25 million annually to support
this Initiative, which, in turn, will seek matching funds from
the private sector. But I will also name an advisory committee
to report to me within forty-five days of its first meeting on
the structure, composition, and legislation needed to achieve the
Foundation's goals. (( And I am proud to announce today that
Governor Tom Kean of New Jersey, one of this Nation's most
dedicated and caring public servants, has agreed to head this
Committee) )
But, a Federal effort alone cannot succeed. Therefore,
today we invite each governor and, through them, the mayors of
all municipalities -- to join our movement by forming State and
local Points of Light working groups composed of outstanding
leaders.
6
These individuals will become a vehicle to solve problems
locally. And to help solve problems nationally, the "The Points
of Light Initiative" will be a magnet for the best ideas, and
brightest programs, in community service.
/
For while countless
service initiatives are already working successfully, they are
too often isolated and unknown to others. Our Foundation will
change all that: By bringing success stories to other
communities, we will repeat them across the Nation.
We will repeat them through a Foundation initiative to be
called the "ServNet Project." Professional firms, corporations,
unions, schools, religious, civic, and not-for-profit groups will
be asked to donate the services of some of their most talented
and promising people for a period of time.
These extraordinary individuals will form and lead peer-to-
peer working groups. For example: Lawyers going to fellow
lawyers, teachers to fellow teachers, union members to fellow
union members. ServNet will provide training and technical
assistance -- showing what works, and what doesn't.
But we also have to improve current methods of matching
people with meaningful service opportunities.
"Volunteer centers" should be directly accessible to all
Americans in their neighborhoods. Such contact points may be in
a place of worship, union hall, library, fire station, business
building, service group headquarters, or neighborhood home.
Over time, through an initiative called the "ServLink
Project," the Foundation will stimulate the development through
7
private sector resources of "technology links" between those who
wish to serve and those needing service in the inquirer's own
community. And in addition, we will ask banks, credit card
issuers, telephone and utility companies to include in statement
envelopes information about how people and their institutions can
become engaged in serving others.
Like the Foundation itself, these efforts can help
individuals -- and institutions -- provide new hope to America.
And so can the third part of our movement's strategy: Our
initiative to discover and encourage new leaders of every age in
every town and city. And to inspire them to devote their talents
and energies to national service. And then, to honor those who
excel.
Through the Foundation, the YES Initiative will annually
select two college-aged youth from each State as "President's
National Service Youth Representatives." They will spend one
year traveling their regions as service ambassadors -- urging
other young Americans to get involved. And "Points of Light"
will convene youth and regional "Presidential Leadership Forums,"
uniting young people, educators, and community activists.
From such action will come achievement. And such
achievement should be rewarded. We will ask media from small-
town weeklies to network television to profile the brightest
stars of community service. And our Foundation will also
recognize successful community initiatives and outstanding
leaders through two new Presidential Awards. The "National
8
Service Youth Leadership Awards" -- given each year to
individuals. And the "Build A Community Awards" -- honoring
"partnerships" which work together to strengthen families and
decaying neighborhoods in America.
All of this will fulfill us as Americans. By asking us to
combat problems like loneliness and poverty, drug abuse and
homelessness. We cannot afford to fail, and we won't. For as
Americans, we know what is at. stake.
service
Scance
We know that volunteerism can help those free-falling
through society. We know that as citizens, and institutions, wa
can use "one-to-one" caring to truly "love thy neighbor."
on
We know, finally, that from now, any definition of a
successful life must include serving others. And we must resolve
to carry this belief to every person in the land.
lastyew,)
Two centuries ago last year Alexander Hamilton sent a
Moethen
letter urging General Washington to seek the Presidency. He
wrote him: "The point of light in which you stand will make an
infinite difference
"
My friends, national service will succeed. It can make "an
infinite difference" in the life of these United States. For "a
thousand points" can light the lives of a people, and a Nation.
Remember, there is no problem that is not being solved
somewhere in America. You -- you in this room -- can prove that
statement a thousand times over. It's in our hands.
God bless you -- we need your help, and God bless the United
States of America.
# # # #
CLOSE HOLD
Document No.
WHITE HOUSE STAFFING MEMORANDUM
6/20/89
----
DATE:
ACTION/CONCURRENCE/COMMENT DUE BY:
PRESIDENTIAL DECISIONS ON NATIONAL SERVICE PROPOSAL
SUBJECT:
ACTION FYI
ACTION FYI
VICE PRESIDENT
:
MCCLURE
SUNUNU
NEWMAN
SCOWCROFT
PORTER
DARMAN
STUDDERT
BATES
UNTERMEYER
BREEDEN
PETERSMEYER
CARD
CICCONI
DEMAREST
FITZWATER
GRAY
HAGIN
REMARKS:
RESPONSE:
CLOSE HOLD
James W, Cicconi
Assistant to the President
and Deputy to the Chief of Staff
Ext. 2702
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
June 9, 1989
MEMORANDUM FOR THE PRESIDENT
THROUGH:
STEPHEN M. STUDDERT
FROM:
C. GREGG PETERSMEYER
sawe
SUBJECT:
NATIONAL SERVICE PROPOSAL
I.
ACTION FORCING EVENT
"A thousand points of light" has ignited a strong but amorphous
nationwide community service movement. Expectations for historic
action at the Presidential level have grown. Your own speeches
since the New Orleans convention, especially your Inaugural
Address, numerous newspaper and magazine articles, Admiral
Watkins' testimony before the Senate Labor and Human Resources
Committee and the several Democrat bills introduced in Congress
have helped to produce widespread interest in and support for
national service initiatives, particularly ones involving young
people. Unless you act now boldly to lead this movement, giving
it the direction it now lacks, it will be overtaken by others who
lack your own distinctive value system and lack the Presidency's
ability to unite and move the nation.
II. ANALYSIS
Given the unprecedented confluence of circumstances, now is the
time to seize the initiative on the issue of national service and
to make it your own. The response so far to "a thousand points
of light" suggests that the nation is eager to respond to a
forceful, visionary presidential call to action, if only such a
call is made.
You have raised national expectations to such a level that
failure to act will be disillusioning. Moreover, as we prepare
for the next century, I believe that establishing among all
Americans the ethic of service to others can be a principal
legacy of your Presidency.
1
III. RECOMMENDATION
We believe that you should begin the most ambitious peacetime
service movement in American history, recommending that you go
far beyond the use of the "bully pulpit" and make certain
concrete decisions as outlined in the sections listed below.
I. YES TO AMERICA PROPOSAL
A.
Summary
B.
Introduction
C.
Principles
D.
Purposes
E.
Points of Light Initiative (The Foundation)
F.
State and Local Challenge
i. Institutional Challenge
ii. The Challenge of Youth Not in School
iii. School Challenge
G.
ServNet
H.
ServLink
I.
The President's National Service Youth Representatives
J.
The President's National Service Youth Leadership
Forums
K.
The President's National Service Youth Leadership
Awards
L.
The President's "Build a Community" Awards
M.
International Aspect
N.
Government Space
O.
Foundation Funding
II. ELEMENTS OF PROPOSED EXECUTIVE ORDER
III. DISSENTING COMMENTS
2
I. YES TO AMERICA PROPOSAL
A. SUMMARY
YES to America is President Bush's call to all young people to
lead a movement to help solve problems such as drugs, illiteracy,
and homelessness, by engaging all Americans and all American
institutions in community service.
To assist the youth in this effort, the President will call upon
every adult and institution - businesses, churches and
synagogues, media organizations, schools, unions, service and
civic organizations, law, consulting, accounting and other
service firms, foundations and hospitals to engage in the
development of America's youth.
Toward these ends, President Bush is to chair (ex officio) a
foundation, The Points of Light Initiative, which, under his
leadership, would plan and coordinate the YES movement, in
keeping with his pledge during the 1988 presidential campaign.
The President would ask each governor to form a state President's
Points of Light Initiating Committee. Each governor would then
ask each mayor to form local President's Points of Light
Initiating Committees.
The Foundation would seek an annual Congressional appropriation
of 25 million dollars which would be matched by at least an equal
contribution from the private sector.
The Foundation would initiate ServNet, a network consisting of
some of the nation's most talented private sector leaders whose
services would be donated by their institutions for a period of
time who would, during that period, canvass the country
challenging their peers and colleagues to devise community
service and youth development programs for their own institutions
and communities. ServNet participants would provide training,
information about successful programs and how they might be
replicated, fundraising counsel and other technical assistance.
The Foundation would also create ServLink, a hotline telephone
number answered by existing volunteer agencies in one's own
community, who would then direct those who wish to engage in
service to opportunities in their own communities.
The Foundation would also:
-
Direct the President's National Service Youth
Representatives as they travel around their regions
calling other young people to action, suggesting ways
that they too might become involved in community
service, assisting in local program development and
3
implementation and communicating examples of successful
community programs;
-
Convene national and regional President's National
Youth Leadership Forums;
-
Administer the President's National Service Youth
Leadership Awards;
-
Administer the President's Build a Community Awards
program honoring organizations and individuals who have
rebuilt or created successful communities by drawing
together disparate individuals and institutions who
have never worked together before and are unlikely to
have done so, but for a common interest in responding
to the needs of others.
By 1992, the Foundation would:
-
Double the number of young people engaged in meaningful
service to their communities;
-
Double the number of adults and peer groups involved in
youth mentoring projects;
-
Triple the number of institutions, e.g. businesses,
firms, unions, schools, colleges, churches, synagogues,
civic groups and service organizations, formally
engaged in youth development through community service.
In answering the President's call to service, not only will the
nation's communities harness the energy, talent and ambition of
America's young people to help solve pressing community problems,
but also every young person will acquire an important lifelong
ethic of service. The President aims to instill in all young
people the recognition that from now on in America any definition
of a successful life must include service to others.
B. INTRODUCTION
At a time when the United States is enjoying one of the longest
periods of economic prosperity on record, poverty, disadvantage,
and alienation beset large numbers of our people. Drug abuse and
violent crime, homelessness, illiteracy, school dropouts, AIDS,
teen pregnancies and suicide, the breakdown of communities and
broken families, the indignities of life on welfare, loneliness
and disconnection from society make America's prosperity
incomplete. As regards young people in particular, the situation
is especially frightening:
- 31% of the victims of violent crime are 19 or younger;
4
- 406 people died in Los Angeles alone in 1988 from teen-
gang-related attacks
- the 3 leading causes of teen deaths are drug or alcohol-
related accidents, suicide and murder;
- 3600 high school students drop out of school each day;
- 2740 teenagers run away from home each day;
- 1650 teenagers attempt suicide each day;
- more than 2700 teenagers get pregnant each day;
- 4 out of 10 high school graduates read at or below 8th
grade level.
The difficulties our society faces today are significant, complex
and deep-rooted, and cannot be remedied by Government alone.
Unless we deal with these problems today, our prospects for the
next century will be dimmer than they might be.
But Americans are unique among world peoples. When faced with
great challenges, we have always risen to the occasion. When
called to act for the common good, Americans have never failed to
respond.
Drawing upon this rich tradition, the President should call all
Americans and all institutions to dedicate themselves to making
life better in their own communities by participating in existing
service programs and initiatives and creating new ones. The
simple fact is that it is only through the unified effort of
every American community that the negative trends existing within
certain segments of our society can be reversed.
The President should call each one of us, young and old, black
and white, male and female, affluent and poor, and every
institution such as corporations, law, consulting, accounting and
other service firms, media organizations, hospitals, unions,
churches, synagogues and mosques, civic and service organizations
and federal, state, and local government employees, to exercise
our rights and obligations of citizenship by taking
responsibility for someone else who is left out of the
mainstream.
YES to America is the first stage of the President's national
service movement. YES is an initiative that calls all young
Americans to lead the effort to attack critical challenges facing
the nation through community service. A lifelong ethic of
service will be instilled in the young when they are made aware
5
of their responsibility for their community's well-being. The
President should challenge every adult and institution in society
to make the development of America's youth part of their daily
life and work.
C. PRINCIPLES
The President should lead a national service initiative that
differs from each of the competing proposals introduced on
Capitol Hill. Specifically, unlike any of the Democrat
proposals, this initiative is not a federal government program.
It is a movement that:
-
Charges every American, particularly the young, and every
American institution to engage in voluntary service to
others.
-
Appeals to people's better instincts rather than their baser
ones in that it does not compensate people with federal
dollars for what should be an obligation of citizenship.
-
Is grass roots and locally-based rather than a bureaucracy
created in and imposed from Washington;
-
Weaves service into a young person's normal daily life and
career pattern, developing in them a lifelong commitment to
service, rather than a one to two year stint.
The President's initiative recognizes that it is critical to the
nation's future and to the character of a young person to instill
at an early age the notion that service to others is a necessary
part of any definition of a successful life. For a fuller
discussion of principles which concern: (i) the centrality of
service; (ii) the scope of the challenge; (iii) the nature of
community service; (iv) leadership and (v) the role of the
government, see Attachment "A."
D. PURPOSES
To call every young person, adult, school, college, union,
church, synagogue, mosque, business firm, association, civic
group, service organization and other institution to devise and
implement a program to engage themselves or their institutions in
community service, especially programs that involve and directly
affect young people. For a fuller statement of purposes see
Attachment "B."
6
E. POINTS OF LIGHT INITIATIVE (THE FOUNDATION)
During the campaign you announced that you would establish a
foundation devoted to national service and that you would chair
it.
After significant discussion on the issue of the Foundation, the
Office of National Service recommends that the Foundation house
and launch numerous initiatives in addition to YES with the
ultimate aim of involving all Americans (elderly, professionals,
unions, etc.) in meaningful community service.
The Foundation's first initiative will be the YES initiative.
We recommend that there be a Board of Directors with at least 19
voting members comprised of outstanding leaders drawn from the
private sector, voluntary organizations and the government.
- The Foundation would be charged with coordinating the
projection of the YES initiative into all communities so
that all young people and all institutions hear your call to
service and have the opportunity to respond.
- The Foundation would also provide "follow-up" and guidance
to institutions answering your call to service.
-
The Foundation would form a consultative and technical
assistance network to enable institutions across the country
to replicate community service programs successfully
undertaken elsewhere by similar institutions (see ServNet).
-
The Foundation would initiate the telephone hotline (see
ServLink) answered by existing local volunteer agencies who
can direct potential volunteers to community service
programs in their own communities.
- The Foundation would work with the major television and
radio networks, local broadcasters, newspapers, magazines
and other media organizations to spotlight and promote
community service and to recognize unique and extraordinary
efforts.
- The Foundation would announce monthly the commendations made
throughout the country by government and the private sector
to young individuals and institutions, reaching out to youth
who are doing noteworthy work in the field of community
service.
- The Foundation would convene regional leadership forums and
publicize the results of such forums.
- The Foundation would announce on a regular basis steps taken
by various constituent and interest groups pursuant to the
7
YES initiative (update on schools and universities,
religious institutions, professionals, accountants,
consultants, manufacturers, investment bankers, farmers,
grocers, etc.)
- The Foundation would distribute reports from existing
service and civic organizations as to the response to the
YES initiative (volunteers helping out with United Way or
Boy Scouts increased by 10%, etc.).
- The Foundation would devise the means to measure the effect
of this initiative on such chronic problems as homelessness,
illiteracy, drop-outs, etc.
- The Foundation would report on the number of new initiatives
undertaken as a result of the YES initiative.
- The Foundation would report on a regular basis activities
and initiatives undertaken by the Cabinet, Congress,
Governors and Mayors.
RECOMMENDATIONS
1.
We recommend that the Foundation be named "Points of Light
Initiative" to seize upon the fact that the phrase, "a
thousand points of light", has captured the imagination of
the American people beyond the Beltway and has already
become implanted in the public mind as a metaphor for the
kind of intense personal and institutional commitment to
bettering the lives of others that should be the aim of the
national service movement.
DECISION
Approve
C&
Disapprove
Approve as Amended
No Action
2.
We recommend that you be non-voting Chairman ex officio of
the Foundation and the Director of the White House Office of
National Service be non-voting Vice-Chairman ex officio.
Note:
During the campaign, you stated that " the YES
to America Foundation will be directed by
citizens through a volunteer board of directors.
And guess who's going to be chairman? I am
=
(Comstock Club, California 10/4/88).
8
OMB and Counsel's Office have no legal objections
to this structure and have recommended this non-
voting ex officio status as a compromise supported
by legal precedents between the alternatives of
your being active or honorary chairman.
DECISION:
Approve
Disapprove
Approve as Amended
No Action
3.
We recommend that Congress be asked to authorize and
appropriate $25 million a year for four years to endow the
Foundation. This would be matched by at least an equal
annual contribution from the private sector.
Note:
$25 million is the amount stated in the
President's budget and published in the Building a
Better America book which accompanied your State
of the Union address.
DECISION
Approve
Disapprove
Approve as Amended
No Action
4.
We recommend that you authorize the preparation of an
Executive Order that would establish a President's Advisory
Committee on National Service. The Committee would lead
your national service effort until legislation is enacted to
establish your Foundation. This Advisory Committee may or
may not become the Foundation's Board of Directors.
DECISION
Approve
N
Disapprove
Approve as Amended
No Action
9
F. STATE AND LOCAL CHALLENGE
-
State and community-based organizations and a wide variety
of other institutions will be the "multiple centers of
gravity" of this initiative and will be responsible for
activating it in local communities.
- The President should challenge every adult, young person,
business firm, association, civic group, union, religious
institution, service organization, school, college,
Governor, Mayor and government employee to devise and
implement a plan to commit themselves and their institutions
to youth development and community service.
- Thousands of leaders in communities across the country will
become seriously engaged in community service and will
demonstrate their commitment to others. The lives of an
entire generation of Americans will be changed.
i.
Institutional Challenge
-
In coordination with Governors, Mayors and Members of
Congress, the President should call every institution
in America formally to engage in the development of
youth.
-
From now on, every institution in society must see part
of its role as serving the needs of young people and
providing a means for young people to serve others in
their communities.
-
In answer to your call, through training and thoughtful
preparation, many organizations and institutions will
need to expand their capacity and sophistication to
utilize volunteers in meaningful service.
-
Employers will be urged to consider community service
as a criterion in hiring, compensation, and promotion.
-
Old and new community-based institutions, groups and
individuals should be challenged by the President to,
among other things:
-
Identify community needs and match those needs
with the talents and energy of the young people
affiliated with such organizations;
-
Direct young people and adults to groups and
projects which are in need of service and provide
them with a meaningful challenge;
10
-
Encourage young people to devise their own
programs and projects to suit their own unique
needs and capabilities;
-
Arrange meals and transportation where necessary;
-
Train volunteers, mentors and team leaders where
appropriate;
-
Attract members of the adult community as mentors,
co-workers and team leaders;
-
Create and support new ideas for youth service;
-
Evaluate service projects to assure that young
people have a meaningful service experience;
-
Ensure that young people make a significant
contribution to their community;
-
Encourage all community entities to recognize and
publicly honor the most outstanding efforts of
youth of every age in their communities;
-
Stimulate local fundraising efforts.
ii. The Challenge of Youth Not in School
-
We recognize that many young people are not in school.
Indeed, many of these youngsters are not "connected"
with any positive groups or institutions in the
community.
-
Community leaders and every institution should be
challenged by the President to make special, meaningful
and creative efforts to reach out to these alienated
young people.
-
Community leaders and every institution will be
encouraged to devise programs to engage dropouts in
strenuous and structured community service as well as
positive activities in locally-funded youth
recreational and arts centers, eventually redirecting
these young people toward a high school degree, job
training and placement.
-
Programs such as Pittsburgh's Oasis program that engage
inner city school dropouts in community service in
their neighborhoods, as a means of giving purpose and
structure to their lives and to entice them away from
gangs and street life should be encouraged.
11
-
Successful programs recognize that much of the
antisocial behavior of young people comes from an
abundance of aggressive energy that can be channeled
into a positive and constructive direction. Programs
should be physically and mentally challenging, in order
to engage the full attention of the young people
involved.
-
Media campaigns involving celebrities, entertainers,
sports figures and local leaders will be launched to
stress positive values of self-esteem, measurable
accomplishments, service, lawfulness, work, and family,
among others.
-
Through ServNet the Foundation will help institutions
replicate successful programs that address the needs of
youth not in school.
-
Programs and institutions involving youth not in school
will be able to participate in the President's National
Service Youth Awards. Participating programs will be
able annually to select one young person to receive a
National Service Youth Leadership Commendation.
RECOMMENDATION
5.
We recommend that you ask the Governor of every state to
form a state "President's Points of Light Initiating
Committee" to ignite this movement at the state level.
Governors would then be asked to request that mayors in
their states form local President's Points of Light
Initiating Committees.
DECISION
OB
Approve
Disapprove
Approve as Amended
No Action
12
6.
We recommend that you call upon all existing organizations
and institutions throughout the nation such as businesses,
unions, religious institutions, media organizations, civic
organizations as well as all existing service organizations
such as Boys Clubs, YWCA, Urban League, Rotary, Kiwanis, La
Raza, to find creative ways to address community problems
and to engage all young people in meaningful community
service.
DECISION
on
Approve
Disapprove
Approve as Amended
No Action
7.
We recommend that you call upon all individuals to work with
their peers to invent and develop new initiatives to suit
their own needs, abilities and interests, because existing
service outlets are alone insufficient to absorb all would-
be youth entrants into community service.
DECISION
in
Approve
Disapprove
Approve as Amended
No Action
8.
We recommend that the President call upon employers to
consider community service in hiring, compensation, and
promotion decisions.
DECISION
Approve
Disapprove
Approve as Amended
No Action
iii. School Challenge
-
Schools will be encouraged to weave community service
and citizenship into existing curricula (K-12).
-
Schools will be asked annually to select and award the
National Service Youth Leadership Commendation to the
student most outstanding in service to the community.
13
-
Community service builds self-esteem, leadership and,
when connected to classroom learning, increases student
interest in classroom education and strengthens what is
learned from service by providing for systematic
reflection.
-
The original mission of schools is to teach academic
skills, citizenship and leadership. A premium should
be placed on devising service programs that complement
the learning of basic educational skills (e.g., 3rd
graders reading to kindergarten students).
-
School-based service can be a successful strategy to
re-engage students in learning. Students become more
interested in school when they are actively engaged in
a meaningful project which brings classroom learning to
life. This is especially relevant to young people re-
entering school after dropping out or students lacking
self-esteem, motivation or students on the verge of
dropping out.
-
The success of a school-based community service
initiative is dependent upon the participation of
parents, students, and education leaders. The
principal, faculty champion(s) (member( of the
faculty personally committed to the success of the
project) as well as the remaining faculty and parents,
are all imperative to a successful service experience
for the student.
-
The education leaders and parents must constantly
evaluate and monitor programs to ensure that the
programs adequately train the student for the community
service experience. They must account for what is
being taught to ensure that the community service
project is meaningful to the community and the youth.
a.
Kindergarten - 6th Grade
-
Activities of elementary school children will be
organized through their local schools. Elementary
school teachers will be asked to design activities
appropriate for each age level, such that each
grade level participates regularly in some
community service, from drawing pictures to be
sent to children's hospitals to asking 4th graders
to read to kindergartners.
-
Through education materials such as the widely
read Weekly Reader, you will communicate directly
with young people and suggest ways that they can
14
help their neighbor and how they can become
involved in YES.
b.
7th - 12th Grade
-
Junior high and high school students will focus
their activities in existing community
organizations and develop their own programs.
Such students will be expected to involve
themselves in these organizations or,
alternatively, to create new programs specifically
tailored to their individual interests, aptitudes
and community needs.
C.
The YES Summer Initiative (Summer between 8th and
9th grade)
-
During the summer between 8th and 9th grade, young
people will be given an opportunity to work in a
program jointly designed by students, local
governmental leaders and civic leaders to harness
the enthusiasm, creativity and energy of young
people and focus them on specific local problems.
-
The aim of this summer initiative is to expose
young people to critical local needs and challenge
them to find creative ways of addressing them as a
rite of passage to young adulthood, a shared
experience that would create an esprit de corps
among the young, as well as go a long way toward
alleviating pressing community problems. From
this point forward, the student will focus
community service activities beyond the school and
into the community.
1
It will be the responsibility of every community
to devise a summer program for its young people.
-
The Foundation will provide communities with
possible models of a YES Summer Initiative and
will publicize creative initiatives.
-
The Foundation will determine such issues as
costs, liability concerns and transportation.
d.
High School - Age 25
-
Young people in this age group will be challenged
to be mentors to other members of the community,
particularly younger ones, to serve in existing
college or community-based programs, or create new
programs to suit their individual needs and gifts.
15
RECOMMENDATIONS
9.
We recommend that you call to action each Board of Education
to weave community service into existing school curricula
(kindergarten through 12th grade) in a manner that
complements the learning of basic education skills and where
possible involves students in community service outside of
school hours. Also, each Board of Education should consider
a minimum number of hours of community service as a
prerequisite to graduation. To the extent possible and
desirable, service initiatives after school and on weekends
should be encouraged.
DECISION:
Approve
01/1
Disapprove
Approve as Amended
No Action
10. We recommend that you call on all Colleges and Universities
to grant degree credit for community service and include it
in their curricula. In addition, admissions departments
should be asked to weigh community service in determining
admissability of applicants.
DECISION:
Approve
Disapprove
Approve as Amended
No Action
G. SERVNET
- ServNet will be led by some of the most talented citizens in
the country whose services would be "donated" to the
foundation by their institutions.
- ServNet participants would travel across the country
challenging their fellow engineers, lawyers, investment
bankers, consultants, advertisers, union leaders, ministers,
educators, etc. to devise community service programs for
their own institutions and employers.
-
ServNet will serve as an information sharing program and
facilitating resource. It will provide for individuals and
institutions who wish to learn of programs and initiatives
16
that are working, devise new programs and initiatives or
make existing ones more effective.
- ServNet will attempt to facilitate and promote cooperation
and "networking" among programs in communities that are
addressing the same or similar problems so that the efforts
of these programs are complementary rather than conflicting.
ServNet will provide analyses of "successful" programs and
offer advice as to what makes for a "successful" program and
what pitfalls to avoid.
-
ServNet will provide community service organizations,
private institutions and individuals with technical
assistance by linking them up with institutions experienced
in areas such as fundraising and training (for both the
organization and the volunteer).
- ServNet will attempt to cause people and institutions to see
social problems as interconnected to each other and as
problems to be addressed comprehensively.
- Issues such as cost, staffing and volume of inquiries and
requests will be decided by the Foundation.
RECOMMENDATION
11. We recommend that ServNet become a part of the Foundation.
DECISION:
Approve
Disapprove
Approve as Amended
No Action
H. SERVLINK
- It is anticipated that most young people and adults will
look to their own schools, churches, civic clubs,
businesses, firms, unions, etc. to provide them with service
opportunities, or that they will create their own
opportunities perhaps in partnership with their peers.
- There should, however, be a service information source of
last resort for people unable to identify or create service
opportunities on their own.
- ServLink is a hotline number for those who want to engage in
community service. A person in any given community could
call a hotline number and have his or her own call
17
automatically routed back to his or her locality. The call
would be answered by a staff member of an existing local
organization who would then direct the caller to appropriate
service programs and initiatives in his or her own community
based on the caller's articulated preferences, capabilities
and needs. There would be a 1-800 ServLink number in every
telephone directory in the country.
- To create ServLink, we propose a partnership among select
7
existing service organizations with specific strengths and
expertise. Vital characteristics of ServLink include: an
infrastructure which reaches into every community, an
experienced clearinghouse, an established hotline and a
sophisticated data base.
- The issue of managing the volume of anticipated inquiries
will be determined by the Foundation which may decide to
phase in ServLink incrementally over time.
RECOMMENDATION
12. We recommend that ServLink become part of the Foundation.
DECISION
Approve
Disapprove
Approve as Amended
No Action
I.
THE PRESIDENT'S NATIONAL SERVICE YOUTH REPRESENTATIVES
- We recommend that you annually select two college-aged young
people from each state. These outstanding young people
would have a demonstrated record of extraordinary
achievement in the field of community service.
- Governors can make recommendations to you from among the
past recipients of the National Service Youth Leadership
Commendation - see Section K.
- Members of Congress can make recommendations from among the
past recipients of the Gold Congressional Award.
- The mission of the President's National Service Youth
Representatives will be to spend one full year before,
during or after college, calling their peers and younger
Americans in their respective regions to action, suggesting
ways that they too might become involved in community
service and offering examples of successful community
programs that might be replicated.
18
- The President's National Service Youth Representatives can
also go into communities to assist in program development
and implementation where needed.
- The representatives will serve as liaisons to the
Foundation.
- The Foundation will pay the living and travel expenses of
the representatives during their year of service.
- The Foundation will determine the specific role of each
representative and how and by whom each one is to be
supervised.
RECOMMENDATION
13. We recommend that you approve the President's National
Service Youth Representatives.
DECISION Approve but I'm a little unclean Disapprove on funding-
it the annual apropmation
Approve
as
Amended
an
No Action
J.
THE PRESIDENT'S NATIONAL SERVICE YOUTH LEADERSHIP
FORUMS
- Because we believe that the development of young community
leaders is critically important, a series of regional forums
should be convened, to be called the President's National
Service Youth Leadership Forums, bringing together young
people, educators, community activists and other interested
parties to examine the issue of creating a new generation of
community leaders.
- Through the forums, the President should challenge existing
institutions and concerned individuals to devise ways to
inspire young people to pursue a career in community
leadership and to help them develop the skills and training
necessary successfully to do so.
- The Foundation would ask forum participants to return to
their communities to brief and coach other young leaders
unable to attend the forums.
- The Foundation will follow-up with the participants in these
forums to track their longer-range community impact and to
19
continue to challenge participants to apply what they have
learned.
- The Foundation will determine such issues as the suggested
level of Presidential involvement, participants and costs.
RECOMMENDATION
14. We recommend that you approve the President's National
Service Youth Leadership Forums.
DECISION
Approve
50
Disapprove
Approve as Amended
No Action
K.
THE PRESIDENT'S NATIONAL SERVICE YOUTH LEADERSHIP
AWARDS
= Dynamic and promising young community service leaders
performing outstanding work should be honored and
encouraged.
- The President should annually recognize up to 1000
outstanding youth community leaders through the National
Service Youth Leadership Awards.
- Award nominees should be reviewed and selected by the
Foundation and White House Office of National Service from
submissions received from state and local President's Points
of Light Initiative Committees.
- The presentation of up to 1000 President's National Service
Youth Leadership Awards should be made by the President with
appropriate ceremonies.
- All schools (elementary through post-secondary) and selected
youth organizations would be encouraged to participate in
the awards program. The foundation will make a "National
Service Youth Leadership Commendation" available to all
participating schools and organizations. Each school and
organization would present the commendation and a lapel pin
to the youth most outstanding in community service. The
presentation is to be made at a graduation ceremony or other
appropriate time. All recipients would be nominated for the
President's National Service Youth Leadership Award through
their local President's Points of Light Initiative
Committee.
20
- Governors will have the opportunity to nominate two of the
President's National Service Youth Leadership Award
recipients (17 to 24 years of age) to the President to be
considered for the President's National Service Youth
Representatives.
- The Foundation will introduce all of President's National
Service Youth Leadership Award winners to their respective
Senators and Representatives, local officials, and local
media for additional recognition.
RECOMMENDATION
go
15. We recommend that you approve the President's National
Service Youth Leadership Awards.
DECISION
let's seemst that Five the
Approve
Disapprove
Approve as Amended
No Action
he
1000
L.
THE PRESIDENT'S "BUILD A COMMUNITY" AWARDS
som
- The destruction of the family and the disintegration of
facing the nation. Many young people have the sense that no
one, not peers, not parents, teachers, pastors or civic
ceremony
as
communities lie at the heart of many of the social woes
group leaders, cares about them or has a stake in their
future. Somehow a caring, committed community must be
developed in the place of non-existent families and
communities.
- The aim of helping young people or devising means of
Please
involving young people in helping others can serve as a
magnet to draw together disparate individuals and
achid
institutions who have never worked together before and are
unlikely to have done so, but for a common interest in
responding to the needs of youth.
- We must inspire and encourage the creation of such
"communities." One way to do so is to reward those who have
already "rebuilt" or "created" successful communities.
Through the foundation, the names of worthy award recipients
would be solicited and received from all across the country.
These awards would be presented either at the White House or
in the locality, depending upon the circumstances.
- Examples of programs that might be recipients of such
awards include Atlanta's Emmaus House, a program begun by
an Episcopal minister and involving community volunteers
21
which picks up babies born of school-age mothers, feeds
and teaches them during the day while their mothers work
and provides instruction, shelter, job training and
placement for some mothers.
- Another example is that of the One to One (Uno a Uno)
Movement, a program bringing together Warner Communications,
Big Brothers and Big Sisters of America and C.O.O.L. (a
student volunteer organization on campuses across the
country), that aims to match every young person from a
fractured family with an adult male or female positive role
model.
- The Foundation will determine the process for selecting
recipients and presenting the awards.
RECOMMENDATION
16. We recommend that the Foundation initiate the President's
"Build a Community" Awards.
DECISION
Approve
Disapprove
Approve as Amended
No Action
M.
INTERNATIONAL ASPECT
The National Security Council has recommended that the national
service initiative be applied to the international context.
-
USIA should publicize the national service initiative
internationally.
-
Talented community service leaders in the United States and
other countries should exchange visits and information about
successful programs.
The input and representation of the American military should
be solicited in implementing this initiative.
A link should be established to our overseas bases and
embassies, so the thousands of Americans and their family
members serving overseas are part of your initiative.
22
RECOMMENDATION
17. We recommend that the suggestions of the National Security
Council be approved.
DECISION
given &
Approve
Disapprove
Approve as Amended
wong delution about
No Action
N.
GOVERNMENT SPACE
50 was balls M our
To demonstrate the central importance that you place on national
service, we propose that government space near the White House
(preferably a Jackson Place location) be made available to
accommodate the Foundation with a staff of approximately 50.
RECOMMENDATION
18. We propose that a government space, as described above, be
dedicated to the Foundation. contin
DECISION
Approve
provided
Disapprove
no
Approve as Amended
No Action
O.
FOUNDATION FUNDING
RECOMMENDATION
19. We recommend the following preliminary notional Foundation
budget:
-
Funding for the Foundation's work will be approximately
allocated in the areas listed below between the youth
initiatives and all other initiatives on a 70 - 30 ratio
(other initiatives include elderly initiatives,
professionals initiatives, etc.)
- This budget assumes $25 million in government funding and
$25 million in private funding per Building a Better
America.
23
Budget
1.
Training and Technical Assistance
$ 14 million
(educational materials, fundraising
counsel, curriculum supplements).
2. ServNet, ServLink
$ 14 million
3.
Communications
$ 10 million
(television and radio spots,
newspaper and magazine features,
pamphlets, posters, etc.).
4.
Recognition of Outstanding Initiatives
$ 5 million
and Individuals, and Communication of
their Achievements through Media and
Awards and the President's National
Youth Service Award (Commendations and
Lapel Pins).
5.
Regional Leadership Forums
$ 3 million
6.
Youth Representatives
$ 2 million
(living and traveling expenses only).
7.
Administrative Costs
$ 2 million
(e.g. staff salaries, equipment costs,
building rent, stationery, printing, postage).
TOTAL
$50 million
DECISION
M
Approve
Disapprove
Approve as Amended
No Action
24
II. ELEMENTS OF PROPOSED EXECUTIVE ORDER
We believe that it would be disingenuous for the President to
call upon the nation at large to engage in service without
calling on the Executive Branch which you lead to set an example
for others to follow.
RECOMMENDATION
20. We recommend that you sign an executive order calling upon
the heads of all federal departments and agencies themselves
to engage in community service to the extent practicable,
devise programs and identify opportunities to engage all of
their employees in community service and recognize and award
employees and others outside the department or agency who do
so.
DECISION
Approve
Disapprove
Approve as Amended
No Action Discuss
Cabinet officers are serving
this county -
25
ATTACHMENT A
PRINCIPLES OF YES TO AMERICA
i. Centrality of Service
-
While you do not endorse compulsory community service,
what is needed in America today is systemic change in
thinking which leads to the expectation that every
yes
young person will engage in community service - and
that service becomes the norm of our society.
-
The principle of unselfish giving to others is best
internalized through life experiences starting at one's
earliest years.
-
Programs devised pursuant to the YES initiative should
demonstrate and instill the notion that service to
others is the highest calling of human life.
-
Lack of self-esteem is at the very heart of many of the
problems of youth. Learning to, help others effectively
builds self-esteem.
ii. Scope of Challenge
-
The President should challenge every individual and
institution in society (e.g., corporations, law,
consulting, accounting and other service firms, media,
hospitals, unions, churches, synagogues and mosques,
civic and service organizations and federal, state, and
local government employees) to devise and implement
their own program to improve the quality of life for
young people and to involve young people in meaningful
community service.
-
Each young person has gifts to give and the nation is
now in need of these gifts.
-
"YES to America" should provide a framework around
which the young people in America will feel united in a
collective effort to improve the quality of life in
their respective communities and, thereby, in the
nation as a whole.
-
All people, and particularly, those between the ages of
kindergarten to 25 (students, dropouts, poor, affluent,
disabled and delinquent) should work together and with
older Americans and engage themselves in community
service.
26
iii. Nature of Community Service
-
The federal government should not mandate service or do
so indirectly by, for example, making federal student
financial aid dependent on service. However, other
institutions in society may, if they choose to do so,
create incentives and offer inducements (e.g., school
districts may require service for promotion; colleges
and universities may consider service for admission and
graduation; employers may use service as a hiring and
promotion criterion).
-
The principal motivation for service should be a sense
of civic obligation rather than the promise of
remuneration. Through YES, service will be
acknowledged and encouraged by awards, commendations
and other forms of recognition to be given by all
levels of government and every significant private
institution in the community.
-
Service opportunities, informational materials and
educational programs should be sensitive to the unique
needs and differing perspectives of diverse groups and
peoples.
-
Programs and activities will be specifically designed
to maximize the particular skills and capabilities of
discrete age groups.
-
It is essential that a young person's service
experiences be incremental in nature, beginning at an
early age, with progressively more sophisticated
opportunities and learning experiences as he or she
grows older.
-
YES should encourage existing programs and new programs
organized in and by local communities rather than
create a supernational program. The strengths,
capabilities and experience of existing community youth
programs should be utilized and expanded. Not only
will this avoid "reinventing the wheel," but also it
will be cost-efficient, limiting start-up costs for new
programs.
-
Training, for both the service provider and the service
organization, is a vital component of a successful
service experience. The potential volunteer must be
trained with the particular skills necessary for the
individual service endeavor and the community service
organization needs to be trained on how to engage
27
volunteers, particularly young volunteers, in a
meaningful service experience.
-
Service opportunities are most fruitful for both the
provider and recipient of service if the experience is
devised on an individualistic basis, taking into
account the convictions, motivations, interests and
commitments of the provider and recipient. Such goals
are best fostered by diverse, small programs devised,
implemented and managed by numerous agencies and non-
profit organizations accountable to and supported by
local communities.
-
YES initiatives should meet real community needs. Such
programs must be meaningful and purposeful, meeting
real needs identified by the communities themselves,
not artificial or theoretical ones.
-
Programs should be developed in such a way as to
liability
provide maximum protection for young people from
danger, abuse and chicanery.
-
While there should be an emphasis on individual agency
efforts, such efforts should be developed as part of
local community-wide planning which involves existing
service agencies, new agencies and organizations
created in communities by communities, schools,
churches, unions, adults and young people themselves.
Programs should stress collaboration and linkages among
schools, human service and youth service organizations,
businesses and other community leaders.
-
Citizenship is an integral part of a good education.
The nation's educational goals and the notion of
community service are complementary. Efforts will be
made to "weave" the notion of community service into
existing curricula.
-
To the maximum extent possible, young people and adults
will be encouraged to work in teams, out of the belief
that teamwork teaches young people positive values of
cooperation, collaboration, esprit de corps and mutual
understanding and appreciation and that a team approach
to problem solving is most likely to be effective.
-
Among young people, peer pressure can be a positive or
negative influence. We encourage young people to work
with their peers in community service activities in
order to channel peer pressure in a positive direction.
-
Collaboration among disparate individuals and
institutions within a community to address the social
28
ills of that community will be encouraged, in the hope
that the concept of youth service will serve as a
magnet drawing together people and entities who would
otherwise continue to be isolated from each other.
iv.
Leadership
-
Young people have the ability to evaluate their own
community needs and to devise and implement strategies
to meet those needs.
-
YES to America should identify, develop and enable a
new generation of community leaders who will see
service as one of the most rewarding and exciting
vocations or avocations.
-
Ultimately, the bulk of youth service work should be
devised and implemented by young people themselves
through existing or new institutions or wholly outside
institutions through individual initiatives.
V.
Role of Government
While there is a role for government spending to play,
the principal hope for solutions to our major social
problems lies at the community level.
-
The President should call upon all federal departments
and agencies to set an example by: calling on them to
(develop department or agency community service
initiatives; recognizing and awarding employees engaged
in outstanding community service; and highlighting and
honoring outstanding community initiatives and
outstanding volunteers in the nation.
-
The President should call all Governors and Mayors to
action to develop statewide community service
initiatives and to recognize and honor outstanding
community service programs and volunteers.
-
Governors and Mayors will work with other elected
officials such as State Legislators, County and City
Councils to assist the President in carrying out the
YES initiative.
-
The President should ask every member of the House of
Representatives to lead an effort in his or her
district and every Senator to spur statewide efforts
working with Governors.
29
ATTACHMENT B
PURPOSES OF YES TO AMERICA
- To instill in young people the sense that the nation is
theirs to inherit and that it is therefore in their interest
to improve the lot of their fellow citizens.
- To expand the capacity of existing service organizations to
absorb new volunteers into meaningful service opportunities
with special emphasis on the young.
- To promote community service through the means of existing
and new programs and initiatives in every community.
- To improve the quality of life in America by attacking the
most fundamental socio-economic problems in the country at
their source: the disintegration of communities and
families and the resulting sense of loss of self-esteem
among young people.
- In the context of community service, each young person
should be made to feel a part of the "social compact," with
an obligation to do his or her part to better the lives of
other people, particularly other young people, in his or her
community.
- To ennoble young Americans and improve their lives by
instilling in them a lifelong sense of concern, compassion
and obligation to others.
- To remove barriers to service including the high cost of
liability insurance (tort reform).
30
III. DISSENTING COMMENTS
of all of the commentators on this memorandum, only Jim Pinkerton
of OPD and Tom Lewis of OMB had dissenting comments.
A.
COMMENTS OF JIM PINKERTON
Jim Pinkerton recommends that you give speeches on the importance
of moral virtue and periodically visit and present awards to
outstanding community service leaders and projects. He believes
that the Foundation and its activities would be unnecessary and
would represent undue government involvement.
B.
COMMENTS OF TOM LEWIS
Tom Lewis recommends that the foundation be named "The National
Service Foundation" and that the ServLink proposal be rejected.
31