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Community Service Act (Not Given) 11/16/90 [OA 8318] [2]
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4
THE OF NEW STATES OF UNUM THE UNITED
Selected Presidential Statements
on the
Points of Light Initiative
The White House
Office of National Service
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
SELECTED PRESIDENTIAL STATEMENTS ON COMMUNITY SERVICE
INDEX TO SELECTED PRESIDENTIAL STATEMENTS ON COMMUNITY SERVICE
The Presidential statements in this document have been arranged
chronologically. The statements have been indexed also by state,
issue, and targeted sector,
THEME:
"A Thousand Points of Light"
Quotes #1, 2, 27, 43, 56, 62, 73, 74, 85, 92, 93,
106, 117, 118, 119, 123, 141, 146, 150, 164, 165, 205, 207,
216, 228, 234
Service = Success
Quotes #3, 6, 11, 12, 19, 23, 24, 29, 32, 42, 107,
148, 158, 166, 217
Meaning and Adventure
Quotes #9, 13, 30, 33, 96, 108, 120, 134, 135,
147, 153, 232
Service Takes Courage
Quotes #162, 186, 214, 227, 231
Some Americans Have Been Left Out
Quotes #4, 34, 48, 49, 57, 60, 67, 68, 121, 122
Every Problem Can Be Solved
Quotes #7, 44, 69, 70, 159, 169, 172, 173, 177, 178,
187, 188, 189, 198, 204, 220, 221, 233
Government Alone is Not the Answer
Quotes #10, 20, 35, 45, 50, 59, 66, 81, 82, 86, 87,
94, 98, 100, 101, 103, 109, 110, 111, 112, 124, 125, 126,
127, 128, 129, 142, 151, 154, 160, 174, 185, 190, 191, 210,
223
The Call to Action
Quotes #14, 46, 47, 51, 52, 58, 71, 75, 76, 88, 105,
113, 130, 143, 152, 155, 161, 163, 167, 168, 175, 179, 180,
192, 193, 194, 195, 196, 203, 206, 225
Each of Us has a Gift to Give
Quotes #5, 37, 38, 77, 90, 131, 136, 144, 145, 149,
176, 181, 202, 220, 223
The Young People of America Can Save Us
Quotes #8, 39, 41, 53, 61, 156
The Talent and Experience of Older Citizens
Quotes #31, 114, 115
One-to-One Relationships
Quotes #15, 40, 54, 91, 116, 226, 235
Heroism on Grand Scale: Volunteering
Quotes #16, 17, 63, 78, 84, 213
Spirit of Volunteerism
Quotes #18, 21, 25, 55, 64, 65, 79, 132, 157, 170,
208, 211
Role of the Office of National Service
Quotes #22, 26
Role of the Points of Light Initiative Foundation
Quotes #104, 209
Recognition of Those Who Serve Their Communities
Quotes #72, 80, 182, 183, 184, 197, 199, 200,
201, 214, 215
Service Makes a Difference
Quotes #83, 89, 95, 97, 99, 102, 133, 137, 138, 171,
222, 228, 229, 230
Service as a Way of Life
Quotes #28, 36
State of the Union, Not the State of the Government
Quotes #139, 140
0
INDEXED BY ISSUE
AIDS
Quote #49, 78, 105, 206, 215, 225
Crime
Quote #4, 57, 88, 103, 117, 126, 143, 186, 212, 220,
228, 233
Drugs
Quote #4, 13, 49, 52, 57, 58, 66, 70, 75, 78, 81,
83, 84, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 103, 105, 122, 125, 126,
128, 138, 143, 155, 156, 161, 167, 168, 169,
171, 172, 173, 175, 177, 178, 179, 180, 182, 183,
184, 186, 191, 196, 198, 199, 201, 213, 215, 218,
214, 227, 228, 231, 232, 233
Education
Quote #15, 21, 36, 46, 47, 52, 58, 59, 61, 63, 84,
103, 115, 116, 124, 140, 149, 154, 155, 160,
168, 174, 176, 185, 204, 210, 221, 222, 225, 229,
230
Elderly
Quote #1, 11, 13, 31, 55, 63, 80, 114, 115, 189,
215, 220
Environment. Quote #100, 101, 102, 103, 105, 156, 203, 204,
208, 213
Homeless
Quote #4, 11, 25, 49, 57, 58, 60, 75, 78, 105, 119,
121, 122, 127, 138, 143, 146, 156, 164, 186, 189,
191, 204, 215, 228
Hunger
Quote #13, 45, 56, 59, 74, 77, 102, 140, 154, 186,
189, 191, 204, 218, 225, 228
Illiteracy
Quote #11, 13, 30, 47, 58, 75, 76, 78, 105, 107,
144, 146, 168, 191, 204, 215, 225
INDEXED BY SECTOR
Athletics
Quote #168
Construction
Quote #118, 119, 120
Education
Quote #9, 10, 53, 61, 66, 70, 90, 91, 93, 94,
97, 116, 148, 149, 163, 221, 222, 225, 226
Fire Fighters
Quote #23, 24, 25, 26
Law Enforcement
Quote #125, 128, 129, 132
Legal
Quote #56, 57, 58, 142, 143, 144, 145, 202
Media
Quote #48, 75, 76, 77, 169, 171, 177, 178,
179, 182, 183, 184
Medical
Quote #31, 141, 157, 162, 163, 234, 235
Religious
Quote #56, 57, 58, 94, 146, 147
Science
Quote #150
INDEXED BY STATE
(state in which speech was given)
California
Quote #150, 172, 173, 174, 175, 176, 180,
227, 228
Colorado
Quote #90, 91
Florida
Quote #29, 30, 117
Georgia
Quote #118, 119, 120
Illinois
Quote #66
Indiana
Quote #211
Maryland
Quote #162, 163, 234, 235
Michigan
Quote #210
Missouri
Quote #125, 128, 132
Nebraska
Quote #231, 232, 233
New York
Quote #42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47
Ohio
Quote #106, 107, 108, 109, 110, 111, 112, 113,
114, 115, 116, 151, 152
Oklahoma
Quote #221, 222
Tennessee
Quote #74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 148, 149
Texas
Quote #85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 98
Virginia
Quote #224, 225, 226
SELECTED PRESIDENTIAL STATEMENTS ON COMMUNITY SERVICE
It's the volunteer who delivers meals to the home of the elderly.
And these are a Thousand Points of Light -- everyone who pitches
in and builds up. This is America's greatness. Ladies and
gentlemen, it is the ambition of my Presidency to make these
Thousand Points of Light shine brighter than ever before.
-- January 1989
Opening Ceremony of Inauguration Week
Quote #1
I have spoken of a Thousand Points of Light -- of all the
community organizations that are spread like stars throughout the
nation, doing good. We will work hand in hand, encouraging,
sometimes leading, sometimes being led, rewarding. We will work
on this in the White House, in the Cabinet agencies. I will go
to the people and the programs that are the brighter Points of
Light, and I'll ask every member of my government to become
involved.
-- January 20, 1989
Inaugural Address
Quote #2
My friends, we are not the sum of our possessions. They are not
the measure of our lives. In our hearts we know what matters.
We cannot hope only to leave our children a bigger car, a bigger
bank account. We must hope to give them a sense of what it means
to be a loyal friend, a loving parent, a citizen who leaves his
home, his neighborhood, and town better than he found it.
And what do we want the men and women who work with us to say
when we are no longer there? That we were more driven to succeed
than anyone around us? or that we stopped to ask if a sick child
had gotten better, and stayed a moment there to trade a word of
friendship?
-- January 20, 1989
Inaugural Address
Quote #3
1
My friends, we have work to do. There are the homeless, lost and
roaming. There are the children who have nothing -- no love and
no normalcy -- there are those who cannot free themselves of
enslavement to whatever addiction -- drugs, welfare, the
demoralization that rules the slums. There is crime to be
conquered, the rough crime of the streets. There are young women
to be helped who are about to become mothers of children they
can't care for and might not love. They need our care, our
guidance
-- January 20, 1989
Inaugural Address
Quote #4
I am speaking of a new engagement in the lives of others -- a new
activism, hands-on and involved, that gets the job done. We must
bring in the generations, harnessing the unused talent of the
elderly and the unfocused energy of the young. For not only
leadership is passed from generation to generation, but so is
stewardship.
-- January 20, 1989
Inaugural Address
Quote #5
In just three days, we mark the birthday of Abraham Lincoln --
the man who saved our Union, and gave new meaning to the word
opportunity. Lincoln once said: 'I hold that while man exists,
it is his duty to improve not only his own condition, but to
assist in ameliorating that of mankind.'
-- February 9, 1989
Remarks to the Joint Session of Congress
Quote #6
let all Americans remember that no problem of human-making is
too great to be overcome by human ingenuity, human energy, and
the untiring hope of the human spirit. I believe this. I would
not have asked to be your President if I didn't.
-- February 9, 1989
Remarks to the Joint Session of Congress
Quote #7
And to the young people of America, who sometimes feel left out -
- I ask you tonight to give to us the benefit of your talent and
energy
-- February 9, 1989
Remarks to the Joint Session of Congress
Quote #8
2
Together, we can show that what matters in the end are not
possessions. What matters is engaging in the high moral
principle of serving one another. That's the story of America
that we can write through voluntary service.
-- February 28, 1989
Remarks to Students at Washington
University
Quote #9
our efforts must reach beyond government, to care about
communities and to assist our neighbor.
-- February 28, 1989
Remarks to Students at Washington
University
Quote #10
As we look around us today, we see signs of truly successful
lives. We see neighbor helping neighbor, Americans serving
Americans. Today nearly half of all adult Americans are active
as volunteers. We know them well: the grandmother at church or
temple who cares for infants so their parents can attend
services, the cook at the local soup kitchen, the tutor who helps
the illiterate learn to read, the teen who visits nursing
homes
and the family that opens its home to unwed mothers or
foster children.
-- April 10, 1989
National Volunteer Week Proclamation
Quote #11
Our forefathers' sacrifices have helped the United States to
become a great and prosperous nation. For the sake of
generations to come, our own generation must likewise accept the
obligation to serve others.
-- April 10, 1989
National Volunteer Week Proclamation
Quote #12
You're taking on the most difficult challenges that we face as a
nation. You're fighting poverty, drug abuse, illiteracy, teen
pregnancy, the alienation of young and old. And you're winning
because you refuse to believe that it can't be done. And so I'm
here to thank you. You've lived up to an ideal once given voice
by Horace Mann that I've always admired. 'Be ashamed to die', he
said, 'until you have won some victory for humanity'
-- April 10, 1989
Remarks to National Volunteer
Organizations
Quote #13
3
I challenge every American who cares about the future of this
country to get involved. Find a place or an organization or even
a single life where you can make a difference for someone else.
-- April 10, 1989
Remarks to National Volunteer
Organizations
Quote #14
It is individuals doing their part to make America a better place
in which to live. It is the student who stays after school to
tutor a classmate It's the businessman who adopts a school and
pays the college tuition of every student who has made the grade.
we recognize all those Americans who generously donate their
time and energy to the service of others. These selfless
individuals have a profound influence upon the life of their
communities and the character of our Nation.
-- April 10, 1989
National Volunteer Week Proclamation
Quote #15
It's not simply volunteering, but the personal act of helping
another individual in need, which gives us membership in a
community. Giving and expecting nothing in return is what it
means to be a citizen. When you volunteer you confirm your
citizenship. Volunteering is an act. It's an act of heroism on
a grand scale. And it matters profoundly. It does more than
help people beat the odds; it changes the odds. You might say it
puts the unity in community.
-- April 10, 1989
Remarks to National Volunteer
Organizations
Quote #16
there is no exercise better for the human heart than reaching
down and lifting someone else up. You understand that helping
the less fortunate is in everyone's best interest; that the most
powerful gift we can offer anyone is a sense of purpose -- a path
to self-esteem; that the fabric of the family, like that of
society, must forever be renewed and rewoven.
-- April 10, 1989
Remarks to the National Volunteer
Organizations
Quote #17
4
I'm told that over half of adult Americans -- 80 million --
actively volunteer in some way in their communities. And last
year that was worth almost $150 billion in man-and-woman-hours.
But what you're doing goes above and beyond dollars and cents.
Your work and the work of many others as motivated as yourselves
is a testament to a powerful idea that, along with the many
rights and privileges that distinguish us as Americans, is the
shared responsibility to look after one another.
-- April 10, 1989
Remarks to the National Volunteer
Organizations
Quote #18
To serve others, to enrich your community -- this truly defines a
successful life. For success is personal, and it is charitable
-- the sum not of our possessions, but of how we help our
neighbors.
-- April 11, 1989
Remarks at Volunteer Action Awards
Ceremony
Quote #19
government can and should be a catalyst for caring. Its role
is critical. But we have surpassed -- far surpassed -- the
limits of what government alone can do.
-- April 11, 1989
Remarks to Volunteer Action Awards
Ceremony
Quote #20
Volunteerism says that individuals, like communities, can join
hands and exchange talents for the good of America. One person
can tutor an inner-city student; that boy or girl can someday
become an engineer or an artist. The child-turned-adult will
then become a role model to others
-- April 11, 1989
Remarks at Volunteer Action Awards
Ceremony
Quote #21
5
as President, I want to promote
basic values
And that is
why we have opened the Office of National Service, which is
leading our administration's national service movement. This
office will encourage partnerships between all levels of
government, private enterprise, and the voluntary organizations.
It's going to take things that work and carry them to the nation.
And it will enlist new volunteers in community-based efforts to
combat urgent social needs.
-- April 11, 1989
Remarks at Volunteer Action Awards
Ceremony
Quote #22
By saving lives, you have defined a successful life.
-- April 12, 1989
Remarks at Fire Service Dinner
Quote #23
And some of you may know, Teddy Roosevelt is among my favorite
Presidents his dad said to him on the eve of his 16th birthday:
'All that gives me most pleasure in the retrospect is connected
with others. We are not placed here to live exclusively for
ourselves.'
-- April 12, 1989
Remarks at Fire Service Dinner
Quote #24
In a recent Gallup Poll, nearly 50 percent of the population was
involved in community service. And today, millions of people are
lending a hand, tending a wound, helping the less fortunate -- in
a homeless shelter, in an inner-city school, or in our fire and
emergency services.
April 12, 1989
Remarks at Fire Service Dinner
Quote #25
We've done much. But we must do more And that's why I have
opened, at the White House, the Office of National Service. This
office is leading my administration's community and national
service efforts.
-- April 12, 1989
Remarks at Fire Service Dinner
Quote #26
6
You've heard me talk about a Thousand Points of Light, a metaphor
that I've used to celebrate the extraordinary selflessness of
Americans who give so much to the service of others.
-- April 21, 1989
Remarks at Congressional Gold Medal Award
Ceremony
Quote #27
Nearly one year ago, we announced one of the nation's chief goals
--to make service to others central to the life and work of every
individual and institution in America, from our largest
corporations to our smallest neighborhood group. This goal
requires leadership, and leadership certainly comes by example.
-- April 24, 1990
Remarks During the Signing of the
National Volunteer Week, 1990 Proclamation
Quote #28
success
cannot, be measured by the sum of our possessions,
but by the good we do for others
whatever life, and health, and
love we have within us, we must share with others.
-- April 27, 1989
Remarks at the Dedication of The Michael
Bilirakis Alzheimer's Center, Florida
Quote #29
In New York City, my wife Barbara met with a group helping young
Cambodians learn English. While she was there, one older lady
told Barbara how desperately lonely she had been, before she
volunteered. Her eyes filled with tears at remembering it. And
then her face lit up, as she told Barbara, 'I've never been
lonely a day since.
-- April 27, 1989
Remarks at the Dedication of The Michael
Bilirakis Alzheimer's Center, Florida
Quote #30
Older Americans represent a phenomenal reserve of talent and
experience, qualities this country can use right now...I would
ask all of you who have the health and inclination, to consider
how much we gain, when we give of ourselves.
-- April 27, 1989
Remarks at the Dedication of The Michael
Bilirakis Alzheimer's Center, Florida
Quote #31
7
So, first, YES is voluntary, truly voluntary. You don't need to
be bribed with incentives and threatened with penalties to get
engaged in community service. And that's not what the idea of
service is all about anyway. Service is its own reward,
satisfaction guaranteed.
-- June 21, 1989
Remarks Announcing the Youth Engaged in
Service to America Initiative.
Quote #32
When it comes right down to it,
what all of us want out of life
-- are two things: meaning and adventure
you can find what
you're looking for in helping others. If you walk this path with
me, I promise you a life full of meaning and adventure.
-- June 21, 1989
Remarks on Youth Engaged in Service
Quote #33
It's a time of need for millions of Americans. The storm clouds
of war fortunately are not on the horizon -- but you and I know
that the storm clouds of a different kind are gathering. A
simple fact in America today is that too many people are free
falling through society with no prospect of landing on their
feet. No one, young, old, white, brown or black, should be
permitted to go through life unclaimed.
-- June 21, 1989
Remarks on Youth Engaged in Service
Quote #34
I'm not talking about another government program. Another
bureaucracy is the last thing we need. Believe me, I understand
that. Youth Engaged in Service is a movement, a way of looking
at life.
-- June 21, 1989
Remarks Announcing the Youth Engaged in
Service to America Initiative.
Quote #35
Serving others shouldn't be a detour on your career path.
It's not something that you do when you're young and then outgrow
when you're a little bit older. It's a way of life, something
you start when you are young and stick with it, all life long.
-- June 21, 1989
Remarks Announcing the Youth Engaged in
Service to America Initiative.
Quote #36
8
regardless of the life that you are living, there is something
special about each and every one of you
your gifts are all
different. But you each have a gift that America needs and I'm
asking you to give that gift now.
-- June 21, 1989
Remarks on Youth Engaged in Service
Quote #37
Even the youngest of us have gifts to give Don't worry about
whether it's a lot or a little. Do what you can. Get in the
habit of helping others -- and that's one habit that you'll never
ever break.
-- June 21, 1989
Remarks on Youth Engaged in Service
Quote #38
We need you
Your commitment can convince yourselves and your
nation that you're not the problem -- you are the solution And
so today, I call on you to commit yourselves make
it
your
mission to make a difference in somebody else's life
Make a
commitment. Reach out a hand to people in need. Build a better
future for yourselves -- a better future for America.
-- June 21, 1989
Remarks on Youth Engaged in Service
Quote #39
You heard their message, how much it means to know that someone
cares, and how much it means to care for someone else. And you
can carry that message across the country -- from the inner city
out to farm country, and every community in between. You can let
the phrase "one-to-one" symbolize all America's commitment to
each other.
June 21, 1989
Remarks on Youth Engaged in Service
Quote #40
YES means getting involved where you know you can make a
difference in your own community. I want service organizations
in the cities and towns where you live to open their doors, to
make room for people your age to contribute.
-- June 21, 1989
Remarks Announcing the Youth Engaged in
Service to America Initiative.
Quote #41
9
From now on in America, any definition of a successful life must
include serving others.
-- June 22, 1989
Speech to The New York Partnership
Quote #42
Our challenge, then, is to [engage] 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 backyard.
-- June 22, 1989
Speech to The New York Partnership
Quote #43
There is no problem in America that is not being solved
somewhere.
-- June 22, 1989
Speech to The New York Partnership
Quote #44
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
anytime in our history. And some problems aren't better. In
fact, they're worse. Most Americans know that
those
who
say,
'It's government's problem,' are really part of the problem
themselves.
-- June 22, 1989
Speech to The New York Partnership
Quote #45
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
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.
-- June 22, 1989
Speech to The New York Partnership
Quote #46
10
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.
-- June 22, 1989
Speech to The New York Partnership
Quote #47
We are enjoying prosperous years. But not all Americans are a
part of that prosperity, and I ask that business do its part.
Prosperity cannot be truly enjoyed unless the Points of Light
about which I've spoken shine on every American in need.
-- June 26, 1989
Remarks at The Wall Street Journal's 100th
Anniversary Dinner
Quote #48
we do have people in need -- problems that cause immeasurable
pain and suffering. The breakdown of the family. Teenage
pregnancy. Housing unaffordable to the poor. Homelessness. The
locked door of illiteracy. AIDS and other cruel diseases. And
perhaps the worst scourge of all: drug use.
-- September 12, 1989
Remarks in Video Message for The United
Way
Quote #49
I know that government's role is critically important, but
government alone cannot overcome our problems.
-- September 12, 1989
Remarks in Video Message for The United
Way
Quote #50
I'm asking you to think about what you can do to make a
difference for someone else.
-- September 12, 1989
Remarks to Students on Drug Abuse
Quote #51
11
You know -- all of you in a classroom know -- who's got a
problem. Today I am not just asking you to get help. I'm asking
you to find someone who needs you, and offer to help. I'll say
it again: If you're not in trouble, help someone who is.
-- September 12, 1989
Remarks to Students on Drug Abuse
Quote #52
You're here to make a difference -- for yourself and those around
you. So learn to count on each other. Take care of each other.
Give someone else another chance
And make the days mean
something.
-- September 12, 1989
Remarks to Students
Quote #53
I would like to call on all of you to reach out to people in your
community -- to go to them one-to-one. I'm asking you to join
with me to initiate a new era of volunteerism.
-- September 12, 1989
Remarks in Video Message for The United
Way
Quote #54
We celebrate this spirit in many ways. We see it in the smile of
a senior citizen when there's a warm meal and someone who cares.
I've seen it in the faces of children when they know they have a
home and love. That spirit lives everyday, wherever they have a
home and love. That spirit lives every day, wherever volunteers
work with the sick, the poor, the handicapped -- whenever one of
us reaches out a helping hand, or a quiet voice says to someone
in need, 'I'm here. 'I'll help. 'I care.'
-- September 12, 1989
Remarks in Video Message for The United
Way
Quote #55
The grassroots movement that we've called "a Thousand Points of
Light" must reach out to America's hurting where they are, in the
classroom as well as the courtroom, and in church basements,
street corners and lonely apartments.
-- September 23, 1989
Remarks to Catholic Lawyers Guild
Quote #56
12
We must devote special attention to the problems of those on the
margins, those lacking adequate food or shelter, those addicted
or mentally ill, those whose neighborhoods have been decimated by
crime. And we must remember the unremembered. Protect the
unprotected. Stand up for those who live in a world of pain --
the hungry and the homeless, the haunted and the hurting.
-- September 23, 1989
Remarks to Catholic Lawyers Guild
Quote #57
Make community service central to your life and work
somewhere
in your own community there is an illiterate man yearning for the
gift most of you have enjoyed since childhood --the ability to
read. Somewhere in your own community there's a homeless family
that needs food and clothing and shelter. And somewhere in your
own community there is a scared little kid tempted to buy crack
or join a gang -- a kid who needs love and guidance of a Big
Brother. There are countless unmet needs, countless ways in
which you can make a difference for the better.
-- September 23, 1989
Remarks to Catholic Lawyers Guild
Quote #58
one of the first points that we all agreed on was the need for
schools and communities to work together
Every
school
here
today represents a successful community of businessmen,
businesswomen, civic groups and parents. And no one had to tell
you how to do this -- not Washington, not your state government.
You set your own high goals and then you met them.
-- September 28, 1989
Remarks Upon Arrival at the White House
from the Education Summit
Quote #59
We are a compassionate people, a nation of neighbors and
neighborhoods -- and America will never sleep well SO long as a
single man, woman or child goes to sleep hungry or homeless,
haunted or hurting.
-- October 16, 1989
Remarks at the End Hunger Awards Ceremony
Quote #60
13
our schools and our communities prosper most when they join
together in common cause, when one of the lessons are children
learn is community consciousness -- the importance of getting out
of the classroom and getting involved in community service. And,
of course, every community is a rich source of expertise and
support for our schools.
-- October 18, 1989
Remarks to Distinguished School Principals
Quote #61
This past summer when I announced my Points of Light community
service initiative, I said that my aim was to make community
service central to the life and work of every individual and
institution in America; from the largest corporations right down
to the neighborhood softball team.
-- October 25, 1989
Remarks to Prime Time to End Hunger
Campaign
Quote #62
we recognize and salute the outstanding work done by members
of our Nation's philanthropic organizations. Through their
schools, churches, local museums, cultural centers, youth groups,
hospitals, research institutions, and many other organizations,
millions of concerned Americans are generously serving others.
Whether bringing aid and comfort to the sick, the elderly, and
the disadvantaged, or providing rewarding educational and
recreational opportunities for everyone, these individuals are
illustrating that there is no better excuse for the human heart
than reaching out and lifting someone else up.
November 15, 1989
National Philanthropy Day, 1989
Proclamation
Quote #63
Throughout our Nation's history, individual Americans have
voluntarily joined together to meet important needs in their
communities. This generosity, this willingness to work together
toward a common goal, is a hallmark of the American character.
-- November 15, 1989
Community Foundation Week, 1989
Proclamation
Quote #64
14
another American tradition helping others less fortunate
than ourselves may be the best way we have of giving thanks.
-- November 17, 1989
Remarks at the Thanksgiving Day
Proclamation Signing Ceremony
Quote #65
And this is important because people think the President of the
United States -- he can do everything. A lot of people think
that. But there are certain limits on what you can do. And this
one (the drug war) is not going to be won unless it starts in the
classroom or in the home and it goes into the city.
-- November 20, 1989
Remarks and a Question-and-Answer
Session With Fifth-Grade Students at
Pickard Elementary School in Chicago,
Illinois
Quote #66
Each year more than 50,000 American children are adopted into new
families to be loved and cherished. And each child returns one
hundredfold the special joy that comes from belonging, from
caring, and from sharing together. Yet thousands more continue
to wait. This year an estimated 30,000 children, available for
adoption, will spend their Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays
without a permanent family. Most of these kids, about 60
percent, are special needs children. Some have disabilities.
But they all have special love to give.
-:
-- November 21, 1989
Remarks on Signing the National
Adoption Week Proclamation
Quote #67
15
Adoption is a generous and loving act that benefits everyone
involved: the little ones who need a permanent home, the couples
hoping to become parents, and the young women who face a crisis
pregnancy. Each year many, many babies are given the chance to
be loved when their mothers choose adoption over abortion. Each
year, some 60,000 children in the United States are adopted.
However, some 30,000 children who are legally available for
adoption still wait in foster care for a family of their own.
Many of these are children with special needs -- children who
have physical, mental, or emotional disabilities; older children;
minority children; and children with siblings who need to be
adopted by the same family. All of these children, however, have
a wealth of love to share with their adoptive families.
Encouraging their adoption is worthy of our greatest commitment.
-- November 21, 1989
Proclamation 6076: National Adoption
Week, 1989
Quote #68
Adoption provides a loving family and a lasting home to children
who may have neither. It also can help address some of the most
pressing issues facing our nation today: issues such as teen
pregnancy, welfare dependency, drug addiction and child abuse.
-- November 21, 1989
Proclamation 6076: National Adoption
Week, 1989
Quote #69
We cannot give our students one message while they're in
elementary and high school and another when they start to
college. No school can afford to remain diffident when it comes
to drugs because in the war on drugs there are no noncombatants.
-- November 21, 1989
Remarks at the Annual Meeting of the
National Association of State
Universities and Land-Grant Colleges
Quote #70
We must make adoption a true national concern and alternative.
-- November 21, 1989
Remarks on Signing the National
Adoption Week Proclamation
Quote #71
16
let us also recognize the many Americans who work to place
needy children in loving homes. These concerned individuals
include thousands of foster parents, child welfare workers,
pregnancy counselors, judges, lawyers, physicians, members of the
clergy, legislators, volunteers, and adoptive family support
groups. This week, let us also renew our determination to
support both the courageous women who choose life for their
children and the generous adoptive families who welcome needy
children into their homes.
-- November 21, 1989
Proclamation 6076: National Adoption
Week, 1989
Quote #72
And especially touching is that so many Americans have answered
the call for community service, the Thousand Points of Light, by
rolling up their sleeves and pitching in for the hopeless, the
helpless -- each volunteer, a beacon of light for someone who has
lost his way.
-- November 22, 1989
Advanced Text of the Thanksgiving
Address to the Nation
Quote #73
the "Points of Light" initiative its goal is to make
community service central to the life and work of every
individual and every institution in America.
-- November 22, 1989
Remarks at the Commercial Appeal's
Thanksgiving Celebration in Memphis,
Tennessee
Quote #74
For the news media, I made a special request because no other
institution in America has the unique ability of the media to
shape public attitudes, to heighten awareness, to mobilize people
for action. And I ask members of the media to remind Americans
that illiteracy, drug abuse, homelessness, hunger, and other
social problems do have solutions
Just
imagine
an
America
where
service to others is a fact of life, part of everyone's everyday
thinking. Imagine the impact if every single newspaper and
magazine and television and radio station and cable system found
and recognized a thousand Points of Light.
-- November 22, 1989
Remarks at the Commercial Appeal's
Thanksgiving Celebration in Memphis,
Tennessee
Quote #75
17
So let it be a decade with no dark corners, no forgotten people,
no forgotten places And so, if you've got a hammer, find a
nail. If you can read, find someone who can't. If you're well,
do it [sic] like the volunteers I just saw at St. Jude's. Help
someone who isn't well. If you're not in trouble, seek out
someone who is. Because everywhere there is a need in America,
there is a way to fill it. And everywhere there is a dream in
America, there's a way to make it come true.
-- November 22, 1989
Remarks at the Commercial Appeal's
Thanksgiving Celebration in Memphis,
Tennessee
Quote #76
Everyone has a gift to give. And every one of us has a special
talent that can help solve America's problems.
-- November 22, 1989
Remarks at the Commercial Appeal's
Thanksgiving Celebration in Memphis,
Tennessee
Quote #77
Imagine if every institution, from the airlines to dry cleaners
to high schools to neighborhood softball teams, were to join us
in regularly honoring as heroes those who are engaged in the war
against drug abuse or illiteracy, AIDS, homelessness, hunger, and
the other problems.
-- November 22, 1989
Remarks at the Commercial Appeal's
Thanksgiving Celebration in Memphis, TN
Quote #78
Rendering service without pay, and often in addition to meeting
the demands of their own careers and immediate families, these
men and women provide a powerful example of faithfulness and
generosity.
-- November 22, 1989
Proclamation 6077: National Family
Caregivers Week, 1989
Quote #79
18
All of us owe a debt of gratitude to the hardworking men and
women who give older members of our society the love, respect,
comfort, and assistance they need and deserve. More important,
however, these men and women merit our recognition and support.
-- November 22, 1989
Proclamation 6077: National Family
Caregivers Week, 1989
Quote #80
Ultimately, it is the actions of concerned Americans that will
win the war on drugs This week, we salute those Americans in
cities all across our nation who are serving as full partners in
this all-important campaign. They are helping to build a better
future for our nation -- a future that is drug-free.
-- December 6, 1989
Proclamation 6081: National Cities
Fight Back Against Drugs Week, 1989
Quote #81
And so, we've got to work together to protect this heritage, work
together as leaders in government and business, as men and women
concerned with the future. Nothing less than a national effort
will suffice The corporate leaders here today understand that
supporting education and training is good business as well as
good
citizenship
By contributing to the many programs
that
advance the cause of Hispanic youth, you have truly made an
investment in this generation and in the future of our country.
-- December 6, 1989
Remarks to Hispanic Leaders
Quote #82
Fortunately, however, this terrible problem is not going
unchallenged. In every area of the country, cities are fighting
back. Today, concerned residents of our Nation's cities are
working together to regain control of their streets, their parks,
their schools, and their lives.
-- December 6, 1989
Proclamation 6081: National Cities
Fight Back Against Drugs Week, 1989
Quote #83
19
In the finest tradition of democratic government and voluntary
association, individual citizens are standing shoulder to
shoulder with local authorities as they confront the merchants of
death who deal drugs. They are marching in the streets,
asserting their right to live without fear in secure homes and
neighborhoods
They are also remaining vigilant against
suspicious activity in their communities while encouraging young
people to resist the temptation to try drugs. These determined
men and women are behaving as responsible citizens in a free and
just society by working closely with their local representatives
and law enforcement agencies.
-- December 6, 1989
Proclamation 6081: National Cities
Fight Back Against Drugs Week, 1989
Quote #84
Thousand Points of Light, that galaxy of individuals and
institutions who live not just for themselves but also to serve
others, is really what we're talking about here today.
Each day at the White House, I announce now a Daily Point of
Light, an individual or group working to rid our communities of
drugs or homelessness or hunger or illiteracy, loneliness -- so
many other problems.
each point of light counts; each point of light can mean one
life changed, or one life saved we need thousands, thousands in
every city and every neighborhood. And if anyone wants to know
just how bright that light can be when a thousand points come
together, look around you; look at the home of strong hearts,
clear minds, and indomitable wills; look at the people of Winzer
Park.
December 7, 1989
Remarks at the Acres Homes War on
Drugs Rally in Houston, Texas
Quote #85
Only the American people can make this change in attitude (toward
drugs). Only you can cultivate character and a sense of values
in our kids. It's not a Federal problem for which there is a
simple Federal solution. We can't do it by looking to the
Government alone You, and probably only you, can teach our kids
right from wrong. Erma Scales says: 'We need to teach a system
of values. Parents need to spend more time with their kids and
go back to being parents, not just being buddies.'
-- December 7, 1989
Remarks at the Acres Homes War on
Drugs Rally in Houston, Texas
Quote #86
20
What's the difference between the wonderful young kids in behind
me, this great looking group back there, and the kids who huddle
a few blocks from where we stand, using and dealing drugs? Same
neighborhood. Same schools. Same Houston. But a different
choice. Often a choice made by the parents. Always a choice
made by the kids
Roy Douglas Malonson said it right here in
Acres Homes the same night I addressed the entire nation on
drugs. He said: 'The bottom line is we're going to have to take
a stance and quit blaming others for the problem. We need
personal accountability.
-- December 7, 1989
Remarks at the Acres Homes War on
Drugs Rally in Houston, Texas
Quote #87
we live in dramatic and exciting times, times that present
great opportunities for great and historic change. And that's
true not just in Eastern Europe but right here in places like
Acres Homes, where brave men and women
have
used
"People
Power"
to fight for another kind of freedom: the freedom from fear; the
freedom from crime; and the freedom from drugs. And just as with
that new freedom in Eastern Europe, freedom from drugs isn't
something the Government can give you. You have got to take a
stand. You've got to take back the streets.
-- December 7, 1989
Remarks at the Acres Homes War on
Drugs Rally in Houston, Texas
Quote #88
And you not only put the drug dealers out, you put pride back in.
And you were among the first to assemble and rally and move
forward with a plan to fight drugs, and you were among the first
to recognize that community's future is in the hands of the
community.
-- December 7, 1989
Remarks at the Acres Homes War on
Drugs Rally in Houston, Texas
Quote #89
And if you have an idea to fight drugs, let's hear it. If you
have a plan share it -- with your community leaders and local
officials;
Believe me -- an individual can make the difference.
-- December 8, 1989
Remarks at an Anti-drug Rally at
John F. Kennedy High School in
Denver, Colorado
Quote #90
21
And if someone you know is using drugs, then be a decent friend
to the guy. Help him. Talk to him. Talk to her. Just ask your
friend to take the problem home. And if that doesn't work, to a
counselor or to the church or somewhere But do something; don't
just sit there. Help your friend. Take your friend to someone
who will listen.
-- December 8, 1989
Remarks at an Anti-drug Rally at
John F. Kennedy High School in
Denver, Colorado
Quote #91
Each point of light matters. Each time your message gets through
can mean one life changed and another life saved each point of
light matters.
-- December 11, 1989
Remarks on Signing the National Drunk
Driving Awareness Week Proclamation
Quote #92
Next, service to others, and this, too, has helped the Church
uphold Christ's special mission to mankind. Think of the
Catholic charities who illumine what I love to call a Thousand
honoree Points of Light, and of individuals, heroes really, like your
-- December 12, 1989
Remarks at the Catholic University of
America Anniversary Dinner
Quote #93
in the final analysis, the success of our efforts depends not
on what happens inside the White House but what happens inside
your house.
-- December 12, 1989
Remarks at the Catholic University of
America Anniversary Dinner
Quote #94
by helping others, we also help ourselves. This simple lesson
has become one of the cornerstones of the better America that you
and I are working to build. You're devoting your lives not only
to serving others but also to saving others. And the good that
you have done is nothing short of outstanding and astounding.
-- December 12, 1989
Remarks at the Catholic University of
America Anniversary Dinner
Quote #95
22
but it is daily acts of goodness and generosity -- performed
time and time again throughout the year -- that hold the true
meaning of the holy season. Every kind of selfless deed we
perform for others can rekindle in our hearts and in our
communities the light of that first Christmas.
-- December 18, 1989
Message on the Observance of Christmas
Quote #96
Just as one cruse of oil was able to lift the darkness for eight
nights, so, too, can one act of kindness brighten the lives of
others.
-- December 18, 1989
Message on the Observance of Hanukkah
Quote #97
But I must say that it's not going to be solved at the Federal
level alone, that a lot of it's going to be done right here at
the county level, right here at the city level, or right here at
the State level.
-- December 27, 1989
Remarks at the Bee County
Presidential Barbecue in Beeville,
Texas
Quote #98
At home, more and more Americans are accepting the challenge to
get involved in volunteer projects to assist the needy or in
other ways to make a difference for good in their communities.
-- December 27, 1989
Message on the Observance of
New Year's Day
Quote #99
But the Federal Government is only part of the story. It is in
the city halls and the State capitals, in schools and in the work
place, in this country and around the world that real progress on
the environment will be made.
-- January 3, 1990
Remarks on Signing the Earth Day
Proclamation
Quote #100
23
As a nation, we must acknowledge that our environment and economy
are interdependent. We must also go beyond the traditional
regulatory role of government and continue to seek solutions that
embrace all sectors of society in preventing pollution and
ecological damage before they occur.
-- January 3, 1990
Proclamation 6085: Earth Day, 1990
Quote #101
Across the country, millions of people rallied to express their
concerns about pollution and to learn how they could help clean
up and protect the environment. Thanks to the educational
programs and the volunteer programs established since then, many
Americans now are more faithful stewards of our precious natural
resources.
-- January 3, 1990
Proclamation 6085: Earth Day, 1990
Quote #102
While there is a critical role for government programs and social
spending, it is increasingly clear to more and more Americans
that our greatest social problems -- drugs, education reform, the
environment, crime -- will only be solved by the active
engagement of tens of thousands of individuals and millions of
groups and institutions who have never been involved before in
these problems and who will never be compensated one nickel for
their work.
-- January 4, 1990
Remarks to the Presidents Advisory
Committee on the Points of Light
Initiative Foundation
Quote #103
This [Points of Light Initiative] Foundation will help implement
my strategy to make community service central to the life and
work of every individual and institution in America.
-- January 4, 1990
Remarks to the President's Advisory
Committee on the Points of Light
Initiative Foundation
Quote #104
24
I am committed to making community service national policy of the
highest priority. Drug abuse, illiteracy, homelessness, AIDS,
environmental decay, and hunger must no longer be seen as someone
else's problems for someone else to solve. To be a "point of
light" is to measure your own success by what you do for someone
else. Community service must become part of our daily pattern of
living.
-- January 4, 1990
Statement on Receiving the Report of
the President's Advisory Committee on
The Points of Light Initiative
Foundation
Quote #105
I keep talking about something called a Thousand Points of
Light And that really means involvement of one person in the
lives of others
-- January 12, 1990
Question-and-Answer Session With
Participants in the Youth
Collaborative Mentor Group in
Cincinnati, Ohio
Quote #106
And sure, people have different ideas about success. Some think
it's measured by what's parked in your driveway or hanging in
your closet. But real success is something else. An educated
man or woman gains so much more. With just a pen or pencil and a
desire to learn, there are no limits to success. Maybe it has to
do with the finding of one's own talents, using them to reach
your fullest potential, whatever path you choose, working to make
a difference for yourself and those around you. If you stay in
school, you'll find that the key to success is right next to you.
And if you keep struggling to live up to your own expectations,
you'll find the strength to succeed right deep in your heart.
-- January 12, 1990
Remarks to the Students of Robert A.
Taft High School in Cincinnati, Ohio
Quote #107
25
what you're doing to help somebody -- which is impossible to
price because not only do you bring a certain number of hours a
day but you bring a dimension for your own dedication that you
can't purchase. You're doing it because you believe in something
and you want to help somebody.
-- January 12, 1990
Question-and-Answer Session With
Participants in the Youth
Collaborative Mentor Group in
Cincinnati, Ohio
Quote #108
programs where individuals involve themselves in the lives
of others become even more important. I happen to think that the
more involvement we have at the local level, the better.
-- January 12, 1990
Question-and-Answer Session With
Participants in the Youth
Collaborative Mentor Group in
Cincinnati, Ohio
Quote #109
It's got to come from peers. It's got to come from family. It's
got to come from dedicated volunteers or workers who are saying,
Hey, you are somebody. You can amount to something.
-- January 12, 1990
Question-and-Answer Session With
Participants in the Youth
Collaborative Mentor Group in
Cincinnati, Ohio
Quote #110
a lot of it is family. A lot of it has got to be our, in some
way, encouraging the strength of a family.
I happen to
think that some of the despair and some of the discouragement
comes from the dissolution or the strains on the American family.
-- January 12, 1990
Question-and-Answer Session With
Participants in the Youth
Collaborative Mentor Group in
Cincinnati, Ohio
Quote #111
26
I think that I can do more to encourage individuals and
volunteers all over the country to -- and it's far more than a
Federal Government can do, far more in terms of total dollars
brought to bear on the program. When you price out what each
person here is doing and then try to multiply that, if you could
project this program around the country, it would mind-boggle you
in terms of Federal budget.
-- January 12, 1990
Question-and-Answer Session With
Participants in the Youth
Collaborative Mentor Group in
Cincinnati, Ohio
Quote #112
I understand that every television station in greater Cincinnati,
all six broadcasting companies and two cable channels, will be
launching a two-hour program called a 'Future-Thon." It's like a
telethon for the schools of Cincinnati. But Future-Thon is
asking for something even more precious than money. It's asking
people to volunteer their talents and their time to be role
models, to help Cincinnati students get the future they deserve.
And the kids of Cincinnati deserve the very best.
-- January 12, 1990
Remarks to the Students of Robert A.
Taft High School in Cincinnati, Ohio
Quote #113
Every adult in America can gain so much by developing a special
relationship with a young person. When you lift the spirits of
the young, you raise their horizons to the stars, you give them
the promise of a future bright with possibility. I hope the
adults here today are just the first of what will soon be
thousands like you, helping the young people of your community.
-- January 12, 1990
Remarks to the Students of Robert A.
Taft High School in Cincinnati, Ohio
Quote #114
27
Three years ago business, educational, and community leaders here
came together to take on a mighty task; reduce the numbers of
students at risk, that staggering 40-percent dropout rate in
Cincinnati's public schools. The result was what I saw today:
that Cincinnati Youth Collaborative, an intensive people-to-
people mentoring program that many of you support. And it's
already seen some fantastic, early success
I guess the most
moving part of it for me today was the mentoring part --
involvement of one Cincinnatian in the life of another; an older
man, an older woman taking under his or her arm a kid, lifting
them up, helping them when they're hurt. A beautiful experience.
-- January 12, 1990
Remarks to Members of the Chamber of
Commerce in Cincinnati, Ohio
Quote #115
But it offers something even more important, because with every
friendship you build with a CYC mentor and with every hour you
spend with a tutor you're getting something more than skills:
You're gaining power, purpose, a friendship you can count on,
somebody to lift you up when you're a little bit down. And once
you have that, you can never be stopped, never denied the
potential that's yours and the success that's waiting for you.
-- January 12, 1990
Remarks to the Students of Robert A.
Taft High School in Cincinnati, Ohio
Quote #116
I'm talking about the victims of crime. I hope that each of
you, one way or another, will try to help out what I call a
Thousand Points of Light, try to learn a little more about these
organizations to help the victims of crime.
January 19, 1990
Remarks at a Fund-Raising Dinner for
Governor Bob Martinez in Miami, Florida
Quote #117
But our partnership needs a third element: that constellation of
volunteers I referred to that I called the Thousand Points of
Light.
-- January 19, 1990
Remarks at the Annual Convention of the
National Association of Home Builders in
Atlanta, Georgia
Quote #118
28
We're all going to have to work in a partnership to solve the
problems of the helpless and the homeless What better Point of
Light -- one American helping another have a better life.
-- January 19, 1990
Remarks at the Annual Convention of the
National Association of Home Builders in
Atlanta, Georgia
Quote #119
all of this ultimately saves the taxpayers money. But this
isn't about money, it's about caring. And if it takes love to
make a house a home, then perhaps the same could be said of a
country.
-- January 19, 1990
Remarks at the Annual Convention of the
National Association of Home Builders in
Atlanta, Georgia
Quote #120
But the real answer for homeless with mental problems or
dependent on drugs or alcohol -- the real answer is shelter plus
care
And it's not a matter of each individual waging a lonely
battle against the impersonal forces of society. We're not
alone. The values that I am talking about have a home in the
family, in our churches and in our communities.
-- January 22, 1990
Remarks During the American Spectator
Annual Dinner.
Quote #121
29
in some ways, our difficulty with dealing with homelessness
begins with the label -- a label that tells us what homeless lack
is homes
But the problem is far more complex -- more complex
because the real problem of homelessness is not one-dimensional.
There are homeless families, cases where the husband and wife and
children are all together, out on the street. But most often,
homelessness is a symptom of a more pervasive problem -- drug or
alcohol addiction or chronic joblessness, or mental illness or
family problems -- conditions that prevent the unfortunate people
that we see on the streets from caring for their children, from
keeping a home If our policy towards the homeless doesn't treat
these causes -- if it doesn't combine the basic need for shelter
with other support services that reach the real reasons for
homelessness -- all the best intentions and all the housing in
the world won't get the homeless off the street once and for all
and back into society.
-- January 22, 1990
Remarks During the American Spectator
Annual Dinner.
Quote #122
Together -- and that isn't just Federal Government spending and
municipal spending. I am talking proudly of the Thousand Points
of Light. We need to get more involved. Together let's defeat
Public Enemy Number One (Drugs).
-- January 26, 1990
Remarks to the United States Conference
of Mayors
Quote #123
To go from fail to pass will require school boards, teachers, and
parents to work together with all levels of government.
January 26, 1990
Remarks to the United States Conference
of Mayors
Quote #124
Part of the solution to the drug menace lies in effective,
community-based initiatives like the Ad Hoc group here.
-- January 26, 1990
Remarks to Members of the Law Enforcement
Community in Kansas City, Missouri
Quote #125
30
I do believe that as partners we, too, can accomplish what some
might deem impossible. So let us assault the drugs and crime
that form the first of our challenges.
-- January 26, 1990
Remarks to the United States Conference
of Mayors
Quote #126
And we know that to help the homeless, like improving education
or stopping drugs, will require a combined Federal, State, and
local effort.
-- January 26, 1990
Remarks to the United States Conference
of Mayors
Quote #127
Ad Hoc recognizes early on that the war on drugs meant
unconventional warfare, a battle to be fought day by day, house
by house, family by family, child by child, because each kid
saved is a victory won.
-- January 26, 1990
Remarks to Members of the Law Enforcement
Community in Kansas City, Missouri
Quote #128
Strong families are an important element in a healthy, respectful
society. Many of life's most important lessons are learned
within the walls of our own homes, and we must do everything we
can to strengthen our families and help them to cultivate
character in our children.
-- January 26, 1990
= Remarks to Members of the Law Enforcement
Community in Kansas city, Missouri
Quote #129
The. Gordon Black Poll figures mean that Americans are willing to
donate more than 500 million hours per week nationally.
They
want to serve, they want to give, but they have to be asked
before they can do either.
-- January 26, 1990
Remarks to the United States Conference
of Mayors
Quote #130
31
First, there are the corporate leaders who have committed to
helping children like you find loving homes. For example, how
many of you watch cartoons? Do you know the Jetsons? or the
Flintstones? or Yogi Bear? Well, the people who work at Hanna
Barbara created those cartoons. And now they're creating a new
character who will encourage families to adopt children.
-- January 26, 1990
Remarks at the Celebration of
Children Ceremony
Quote #131
But you also know what really sets Kansas City apart
It's your
people. They call it the Kansas City Spirit -- restless,
idealistic,
determined
And, yes, it's a community spirit, a
spirit that emphasizes the value of collective well-being.
-- January 26, 1990
Remarks to Members of the Law Enforcement
Community in Kansas city, Missouri
Quote #132
And some of you may be aware of TV programs in which children who
want to be adopted go on television in cities across America --
it's called 'Wednesday's Child.' And it's very successful.
Almost three-quarters of all the kids who appear on this show
find families. And so NBC network is going to work with us to
get more kids on TV and more stations to show 'Wednesday's Child'
so more families will see these children.
-- January 26, 1990
Remarks at the Celebration of
Children Ceremony
Quote #133
Perhaps he believes, like so many
volunteers, that recognizing
something greater than ourselves is what really matters
You
don't often hear from them because they're too modest to brag.
And you don't often notice them at work because theirs is a quiet
mission. But together, [sic] helping to move this country
forward.
-- January 31, 1990
Remarks at a White House Ceremony
Commemorating the 25th Anniversary of
VISTA
Quote #134
32
For an individual, dignity comes when he realizes that he's the
true author of his destiny; for a troubled community, it comes by
finding leadership from within. so, your achievements come as
much from the power of self-confidence as they do from the
material side -- from material assistance. Sounds like a
miracle. Maybe it is. It is a miracle that comes from caring.
-- January 31, 1990
Remarks at a White House Ceremony
Commemorating the 25th Anniversary of
VISTA
Quote #135
Parents: Your children look to you for direction and guidance.
Tell them of faith and family. Tell them of all the gifts they
can give, the greatest is helping others.
-- January 31, 1990
State of the Union Address
Quote #136
Every effort is important. It all adds up to who we are -- and
who we will be.
-- January 31, 1990
State of the Union Address
Quote #137
President Johnson charged the VISTA volunteers with a tough
mission, committing you -- and here's what he said -- 'to guide
the young, to comfort the sick, to encourage the downtrodden, to
teach the skills which may lead to a more rewarding life. That
was your mission then and that certainly is your mission today.
Every time a kid learns to read, you make a difference. Every
time a homeless family finds shelter, you make a difference. And
every time a troubled?person stays off drugs, you make a
difference for all Americans.
-- January 31, 1990
Remarks at a White House Ceremony
Commemorating the 25th Anniversary of
VISTA
Quote #138
The 'state of the government' does indeed depend on many of us in
this very chamber. But the State of the Union depends on all
Americans.
-- January 31, 1990
State of the Union Address
Quote #139
33
The State of the Union depends on whether we help our neighbor -
-claim the problems of our community as our own. We've got to
step forward when there is trouble -- lend a hand, be what I call
a point of light to a stranger in need. We've got to take the
time after a busy day to sit down and read with our kids, help
them with their homework, and pass along the values we learned as
children. That's how we sustain the State of the Union.
-- January 31, 1990
State of the Union Address
Quote #140
Each and every one of you have my thanks and admiration for your
outstanding commitment to help others. You are all examples of
those Thousands Points of Light that I like to talk so much
about.
-- February 1990
Video Message to the Visiting Nurses
Associations Annual Meeting
Quote #141
While there is a critical role for government programs and non-
profit organizations, these problems can never be solved until
each individual and each institution comes to see them as their
problems, too. only active, "hands-on" engagement can reclaim
the lost lives of those in need. For what those "left out" need
most is a relationship with someone who cares.
-- February 1990
American Bar Association Journal
Quote #142
But America today needs much more from the legal profession we
must devote special attention to those living on the edge, those
lacking adequate food or shelter, those addicted or mentally ill,
those whose neighborhoods have been decimated by crime and decay.
-- February 1990
American Bar Association Journal
Quote #143
34
As lawyers, you can play a major role in the evolving community-
service movement that I have called a 'Thousand Points of Light.'
In every community, there are forgotten children whose lives can
be made whole by a mentoring relationship with a caring adult.
In every community, there are men and women who cannot read and
write. In every community, there are needs to be met and a
difference you can make.
-- February 1990
American Bar Association Journal
Quote #144
Alone none of us can change the world. But each one of you can
turn darkness into light for someone in need.
--- February 1990
American Bar Association Journal
Quote #145
Thousands of Americans are finding their soul, finding their God,
by reaching out to their brothers and sisters in need. You've
heard me talk about a Thousand Points of Light across the
country. Americans are working through their places of worship,
through community programs, or on their own to help the hungry or
the homeless, to teach the unskilled, to bring the words of men
and the Word of God to those who cannot even read.
-- February 1, 1990
Remarks at the Annual National Prayer
Breakfast
Quote #146
A close friend of mine sent me a poem recently which eloquently
embodies this spirit of giving. 'I sought my soul but my soul I
could not see. I sought my God, but my God eluded me. I sought
my brother and found all three.
-- February 1, 1990
Remarks at the Annual National Prayer
Breakfast
Quote #147
It's not the winners trophy at the end of the quest: it's the
quest itself.
-- February 2, 1990
Remarks to the Students and Faculty of the
University of Tennessee at Knoxville
Quote #148
35
But as I said
real improvement in our schools is not simply a
matter of spending more: it's a matter of asking more --
expecting more -- of our schools, our teachers, our kids and
ourselves.
-- February 2, 1990
Remarks to the Students and Faculty of the
University of Tennessee at Knoxville
Quote #149
So I thank all of you for your commitment to community. I think
people are beginning to understand what I mean when I talk about
a Thousand Points of Light
one American pitching in to help
another.
-- February 7, 1990
Remarks to the Staff of the Lawrence
Livermore National Laboratory in
San Francisco, California
Quote #150
We know that all the answer are not found in Washington, D.C.
And we know about the vital work that gets done at the State
level -- in Columbus and in every other city and town We
know
the power of the private sector -- the source of growth and jobs.
And we know the power of individual citizens -- people in every
community across this country who don't wait for word from
Washington before they dig in and make a difference.
-- February 8, 1990
Remarks at a Fundraising Dinner for the
Ohio Republican Party
Quote #151
And I'd love to hear from the parents exactly how it all works,
how many parents end up getting involved. The more the better we
think.
-- February 8, 1990
Remarks at a briefing for Head Start
Volunteers in Columbus, Ohio
Quote #152
And as public servants, you, too, have learned the simple truth
-- what we do for ourselves dies with us; what we do for others
remains.
-- February 9, 1990
Remarks to the National Conference of
State Legislatures
Quote #153
36
In education, the solution to the problem is not re-enforcing the
federal bureaucracy, but re-enforcing the American tradition of
state and local education. Because real improvement in the
schools is not simply a question of spending more where we need
to provide more, but we also need to demand more, expect more of
our schools, our teachers, our kids and ourselves.
-- February 9, 1990
Remarks to the National Conference of
State Legislatures.
Quote #154
And let me assure you, we're not just talking about interdiction,
we're not just talking about anticrime aspects of this in the
United States, we're talking about a major effort on the demand
side, a major initiative -- and most of it is out in the private
sector or in the schools, to educate the people against the use
of narcotics
-- February 12, 1990
The President's News Conference
Quote #155
It teaches the spirit of serving others and self-respect. And
let me make it pure and simple: It teaches lessons that last a
lifetime. And so, when I hear about Boy Scouts that are out
there helping the homeless or feeding the hungry or cleaning up
our cities and towns or helping other kids stay drug-free when
I here about boys as young as 8 and 9, Cub Scouts, doing things
like that, I see a glimpse of the future -- what this nation can
be like if we follow the lead of the Scouts.
-- February 12, 1990
Remarks Upon Receiving the Boy Scouts of
America Report to the Nation
:- Quote #156
volunteers generously bring not only their knowledge and
skills but also welcome companionship to homebound Americans in
rural and urban communities.
-- February 16, 1990
Proclamation 6096: National Visiting Nurse
Association Week, 1990
Quote #157
37
I still talk about a Thousand Points of Light. And I think that
the American people are beginning to understand that this isn't
an escape from the responsibility of the Federal Government;
rather, that it is an attempt to enlist the noblest impulses of
the American people in one helping another, the concept that you
shouldn't measure a successful life without throwing in the
equation of doing something for someone else.
-- February 21, 1990
Remarks and a Question-and-Answer Session
at the Annual Dinner of the Business
Council
Quote #158
because there are some marvelous examples of how a corporation
can get involved in programs like mentoring. I understand that
many companies have agreed to actually take a significant role in
working with the localities and freeing up corporate personnel to
go in and help some of these programs. And I think that's an
important area.
-- February 21, 1990
Remarks and a Question-and-Answer Session
at the Annual Dinner of the Business
Council
Quote #159
in this room, just sitting here, are people that, when they
pool their resources -- and I'm not just talking about money; I'm
talking about talent and mobilizing people -- can do more in this
room combined than the Federal Government can do, particularly in
the field of education.
-- February 21, 1990
Remarks and a Question-and-Answer Session
at the Annual Dinner of the Business
Council
Quote #160
I bragged on the work of Jim Burke and others in this room who
are out front trying to -- in a private way, no government
involvement -- making the American people and the kids,
particularly, aware that this use of narcotics cannot be
condoned
the reason that I want to mention that subject is
because I think the business community has an enormously
constructive role to play.
-- February 21, 1990
Remarks and a Question-and-Answer Session
at the Annual Dinner of the Business
Council
Quote #161
38
I ask you today to avoid the understandable urge to practice
defensive medicine
fear of malpractice
has not only hurt
medical innovation and treatment, it also hurts medical
voluntarism.
-- February 22, 1990
Remarks at the Centennial Celebration of
the Johns Hopkins University Medical
Institution in Baltimore, Maryland
Quote #162
in our country today, there is a growing awareness that to
make this country as healthy as it can be, all of us must
accept a share of the responsibility: government, the health care
profession, and the American people themselves.
-- February 22, 1990
Remarks at the Centennial Celebration of
the Johns Hopkins University Medical
Institution in Baltimore, Maryland
Quote #163
Just as for millions of people in need, from that snowbound
mountaineer to families made homeless by floods and hurricanes,
the Red Cross is what I like to refer to as a brilliant point of
light -- part of that vast galaxy of individuals, businesses,
schools, churches, synagogues, voluntary associations working
together to solve problems.
-- February 23, 1990
Remarks by the President to the
Red Cross
Quote #164
A point of light. A star of hope across the globe providing
light at the end of the tunnel, a rainbow through the clouds.
-- February 23, 1990
Remarks by the President to the
Red Cross
Quote #165
For like you, he [Admiral Grayson, the founder of the Red Cross]
believed that we succeed in life only when we make a difference
in someone else's life.
-- February 23, 1990
Remarks by the President to the
Red Cross
Quote #166
39
Schools, churches, synagogues, community groups, law enforcement
-- all can help us turn the tide on drug and alcohol abuse, but
none can take a parent's place. Drug education must begin at
home and in the neighborhood long before the classroom.
-- February 26, 1990
Remarks announcing the Publication of the
Guidebook "Growing Up Drug Free:
a Parent's Guide to Prevention.
Quote #167
You don't have much time off now
But I urge you to take some of
this fame that you have earned and help the kids in this country
stay off of drugs and learn to read and grow up to be the kind of
sportsman that each and every one of you are.
-- February 27, 1990
Remarks Congratulating the Super Bowl
Champion San Francisco 49ers
Quote #168
Even now, you are doing what legislation can't. Changing
attitudes. Showing Americans that drugs aren't hip -- they're
self-destructive Through education, treatment, interdiction,
and enforcement, we're going to defeat Public Enemy Number One.
-- March, 1990
Video Message to the American Association
of Advertising Agencies
Quote #169
It [service] teaches young Americans the spirit of serving others
and self respect. Pure and simple -- the lessons learned last a
lifetime.
March, 1990
Remarks in a PSA for the Boy Scouts of
America
Quote #170
I have said this scourge [drugs] must stop. And it will. And it
is beginning to stop, through selfless volunteers like you.
-- March, 1990
Video Message to the American Association
of Advertising Agencies
Quote #171
40
And where the most troubling challenge to our communities is
concerned, the enslavement of illegal drugs, your members can
help us turn the tables against the dealers forever.
-- March 1, 1990
Remarks at the California Chamber of
Commerce Centennial Dinner in Los Angeles
Quote #172
And I believe we can and will win this battle against drugs Let
me encourage all of you: We need to make it very clear to every
American that if you do drugs you don't get hired.
-- March 1, 1990
Remarks at the California Chamber of
Commerce Centennial Dinner in Los Angeles
Quote #173
To make sure our educational system gives our kids the skills
they need to thrive in the future, new partnerships between
schools and yes, businesses need to be expanded.
-- March 1, 1990
Remarks at the California Chamber of
Commerce Centennial Dinner in Los Angeles
Quote #174
let me also encourage you to get involved with local efforts,
at street level. On every block, in every town, in every city in
America, there should be a home or a business willing to serve as
a safe house for kids, where they can go for help; for refuge
from drug dealers; or just for the comfort of somebody who cares,
of a caring, listening heart.
-- March 1, 1990
"% Remarks at the California Chamber of
Commerce Centennial Dinner in Los Angeles
Quote #175
Our. schools need your time and talents, and if you are already
involved, keep at it, and if you are not, this is your decade to
do it.
-- March 1, 1990
Remarks at the California Chamber of
Commerce Centennial Dinner in Los Angeles
Quote #176
41
And thank goodness the days when popular culture glorified and
glamorized drug-use are fading fast. Public opinion is turning
around. We used to here that drugs were fashionable and fun and
risk-free. Not anymore. Now we're hearing something different.
We're hearing that it's okay -- no that it's great, really, to be
drug-free.
-- March 2, 1990
Remarks to the Academy of Television Arts
and Sciences
Quote #177
I think that change is taking place because we all see the
damage that drugs can do. We've seen too many sports stars, too
many entertainers, too many of the men and women we look up to,
too many of our heroes pulled down, destroyed by drugs. Drugs
and success simply do not mix.
And I really want to thank every one of you in this room for
smashing that stereotype. Because the truth is, drugs don't care
who you are, how famous you are, how much you earn. Drugs are
deadly for everybody.
-- March 2, 1990
Remarks to the Academy of Television Arts
and Sciences
Quote #178
so this morning, I want to make sure that I'm understood by all
the writers and producers and actors in this room. I'm not
asking you to compromise your art. I'm not asking TV producers
or film makers to portray some kind of fantasy world where drugs
don't exist. Sugar-coating isn't going to solve anything. What
I'm suggesting is that you have an opportunity to help your
country. And I'm with those of you who believe the answer is to
treat drugs with the same degree of realism TV brings to so many
other subjects. To show what happens in the real world. When
someone does drugs, show what happens -- how what starts out as a
high turns into the lowest form of self-abasement, where drugs
mean more than family, friends, self-respect. To show in the
real world how drugs destroy, how drugs kill every single day.
-- March 2, 1990
Remarks to the Academy of Television Arts
and Sciences
Quote #179
42
In order to win, America's war on drugs must be total war. Waged
from the board room to the classroom. From the White House to
your house.
-- March 2, 1990
Remarks at 'Drug Use is Life Abuse'
Antidrug Rally in Santa Ana, CA
Quote #180
I came here this morning to make a serious point about a
different kind of opportunity. About the tremendous power of
television -- and how it can help us meet some of the most
pressing social challenges that we face. And I know this
industry is more involved than ever in focussing on some of our
nation's most serious problems -- whether it's hunger, or
homelessness, or drug abuse.
And there's tremendous potential in that because every one of us
in this room knows that television does more than entertain. It
informs and it educates.
-- March 2, 1990
Remarks to the Academy of Television Arts
and Sciences
Quote #181
We've got simply to drive down demand -- dry up the market for
illegal drugs right here in our country. We do that by
increasing awareness. Education, providing people, especially
young people, information that helps them separate fact from
fiction when the subject is drugs.
That really is why I was so pleased to accept your invitation,
Leo and Chuck, to come over here this morning. To thank you --
the leaders in the television industry -- for enlisting the power
of the TV as a force for positive change. Each of you is a
'point of light, with a unique ability to inform and to change
attitudes, and to catalyze public action in our fight against
drug abuse.
-- March 2, 1990
Remarks to the Academy of Television Arts
and Sciences
Quote #182
43
This morning, I want to thank so many of you for the work you're
doing with my friend, Jim Burke, the head of Media Advertising
Partnership for a Drug-Free America. We see those hard-hitting
antidrug commercials every day -- and really, they are hitting
home. We're starting to see a shift in attitudes in the regions
where those spots are on the air.
But it's not just the commercials that are getting the antidrug
message across -- increasingly, it's also your regular
programming, the shows themselves. And that's important.
-- March 2, 1990
Remarks to the Academy of Television Arts
and Sciences
Quote #183
But our kids do face peer pressure from their peers, pressure
from the pushers out there to snort coke, or smoke pot, or even a
killer called crack cocaine. "Just once can't hurt.' "Everybody
does it." "It's cool." And that's what our kids hear. That's
what they are up against. For too many of our kids, regrettably,
that is the real world. And we've got to help our children
develop the power to say no, power that comes from self-
confidence. We've got to arm our kids with the facts: Drugs
aren't part of life in the fast lane; drugs are a dead-end.
And that's why I am so delighted that the Academy is taking the
lead in producing a show called 'Cartoon All-Stars To The
Rescue.' A story about a boy who, with the help of more than a
dozen of today's most popular cartoon characters, learns that he
can draw the lines against drugs, that every kid can be drug-
free.
-- March 2, 1990
Remarks to the Academy of Television Arts
-1 and Sciences
Quote #184
not State governments and not really even the Federal
Government. Success in education starts with you, from every
parent and every teacher who will settle for nothing less than a
world-class education for our kids.
-- March 5, 1990
Remarks to Members of the National PTA
Legislative Conference
Quote #185
44
The story I want to tell you today -- a story that Martin Luther
King, Jr. told in his speech he made the night before that
terrible day in Memphis, 22 years ago. It's a story about
serving others and the courage that it takes. It's a familiar
story about the Good Samaritan and the stranger he helped. But
there's another part of the story we don't always remember.
Before the Good Samaritan stopped that day, two other men saw the
injured stranger and passed him by. And Dr. King thought long
and hard about it, and he used to ask himself: Why didn't the
others stop to help? And Dr. King came up with some good
reasons: They didn't stop because they were too busy, had more
important work waiting in Jerusalem of far more consequence than
helping one unfortunate man; and so on they went.
And then one day, Martin Luther King put himself in their shoes.
At the age of 30, on his very first visit to the Holy Land, he
and his wife, Coretta, travelled that road from Jerusalem to
Jericho. And Dr. King saw the story of the Good Samaritan in a
new light.
That road starts off more than 1000 feet above the sea level and
ends in Jericho 2000 feet below sea level. A twisting road, full
of blind curves. He imagined the road 2000 years ago, each curve
a perfect ambush for robbers. And at that moment, Dr. King
realized why the two men didn't stop. It had nothing to do with
the reasons he had imagined. They didn't stop because they were
afraid.
The way Dr. King imagined it, one asked himself: 'If I stop to
help this man, what will happen to me?' And he went on about his
way. But then the Good Samaritan came along, and asked himself a
different question: 'If I don't stop to help this man, what will
happen to him?' And he asked himself that question and he found
the courage to stop; the courage to help; the courage to serve.
So which question, then, do we ask ourselves? About going down
to the soup kitchen in that dangerous neighborhood. About
stopping on a dark street to help a homeless man. About reaching
out to those desperate kids out there -- kids who have no home
life, who are hooked on drugs, who live a nightmare we can't
begin to imagine. Doing any of these things isn't easy. Every
one takes an act of courage. But unlike the Good Samaritan, we
don't have to act alone. Each one of you understands the power
of collective action -- how much we can get done when we work
together, pool our resources, combine our talents.
And don't think that it won't take courage. It's going to take
courage to go back to your member organizations, back to their
CEOs and Boards of Directors and suggest that they place
community service at the center of their agenda. It's going to
take courage to insist that community service has a place at the
45
very heart of every organization. It will take courage to make
one believe that from now on in America, any definition of a
successful life must include serving others. But that's just
exactly what I'm asking you to do.
-- March 6, 1990
Remarks to the American Society of
Association Executives
Quote #186
Because the fact is, coping with the problems we face is within
our power. There is no problem in America that is not being
solved somewhere. Think about that. The programs I've just
mentioned -- in New York, Atlanta, Portland, Oregon -- and
thousands more.
-- March 6, 1990
Remarks to the American Society of
Association Executives
Quote #187
First, build a firm foundation. Find out what's working in your
industry -- in your profession -- in your community. Let your
members know which community service programs are most effective
-- and challenge them to make them the blueprint for their own
efforts Find new ways to use existing assets. I understand
that one of the ASAE's great strengths is its Allied Societies
structure -- 69 state and local organizations, thousands more
association executives. I'm asking each of these Allied
Societies to take the lead in their community for solving social
problems -- become what we call "Points of Light Action Groups."
-- March 6, 1990
Remarks to the American Society of
Association Executives
Quote #188
I know most associations are already active in community service
-- and I have heard about some of the wonderful work being done.
By the Medical Association of Atlanta -- working after-hours to
provide free medical care to the homeless. By the Oregon
Remodelers Association in Portland -- in Project Pride, a program
to do repairs for low-income elderly. By the Hotel Association
of New York City -- with its ongoing commitment to donate surplus
food to feed the hungry. These are just three of the countless
community service projects your associations are engaged in. A
priceless commitment of time and talent.
-- March 6, 1990
Remarks to the American Society of
Association Executives
Quote #189
46
The fact is, government isn't the only organized entity put there
with the power to change things, the power to make a difference.
Everyone in this room is well aware of the advantages of
association. But I don't whether you are really aware of the
full extent of your power. of the resources -- the expertise --
the potential energy -- your organizations can command. Your
ability to help solve community problems.
-- March 6, 1990
Remarks to the American Society of
Association Executives
Quote #190
Look around at the problems we face: Drug abuse. Hunger,
homelessness. Illiteracy. Despair in our inner cities. The
breakdown of the family. There's a role, a critical role, for
government finding solutions -- but we know government doesn't
have all the answers. If we could eliminate these problems --
solve them once and for all -- with more programs, more
bureaucracy -- these problems would have disappeared long ago.
-- March 6, 1990
Remarks to the American Society of
Association Executives
Quote #191
Think about the ways your organization -- everyone of your
members -- can make this mission of serving others their own.
-- March 6, 1990
Remarks to the American Society of
Association Executives
Quote #192
So today, I'm asking you: Channel that energy into community
service. Tap that power to transform a nation.
-- March 6, 1990
Remarks to the American Society of
Association Executives
Quote #193
set a target of 100% participation in community service.
Challenge your constituents to call on every employee and member
at every level of every organization -- from the CEO on down to
the newest hire -- to make community service their personal
mission.
March 6, 1990
Remarks to the American Society of
Association Executives
Quote #194
47
Find new ways to use existing assets. I understand that one of
the ASAE's great strengths is its Allied Societies structure --
69 state and local organizations, thousands more association
executives. I'm asking each of these Allied Societies to take
the lead in their community for solving social problems -- become
what we call "Points of Light Action Groups."
-- March 6, 1990
Remarks to the American Society of
Association Executives
Quote #195
One thing more while we're talking about cartoons -- every one of
us knows those scenes where a character falls off a cliff or gets
hit by a truck and then bounces right back up, dusts himself off
and moves right on to the next scene. Kids see that stuff -- and
they know it isn't real. But how many kids and young adults
today have seen the programs or movies that show a character take
drugs and, just like the cartoon characters, survive without a
scratch? That isn't real either. And in the real world, whether
it is Hollywood or Harlem, or out in the Heartland, small-town
America, we know what drugs do. And the simple truth is that
they destroy.
-- March 6, 1990
Remarks to the American Society of
Association Executives
Quote #196
Finally, a third challenge. Recognize those members who are what
I call 'Points of Light. I've belonged to many associations in
my life, and I know one of the things you do best is to recognize
outstanding performance. So I ask you to turn the spotlight on
community service -- in your newsletters and magazines, at your
annual meetings -- on individuals who give 110% helping people in
need -- and on those organizations who demonstrate 100%
participation in community service.
-- March 6, 1990
Remarks to the American Society of
Association Executives
Quote #197
48
A few months ago, Bill Bennett wrote a booklet called "Fighting
Back.' And many of you here were profiled in that piece.
Almost every story was different. But almost every story began
the same way. It began when one man or woman threw down the hat,
took off the gloves, stepped forward, armed with the most
powerful force known to man -- the force of an idea.
-- March 7, 1990
Remarks by the President During National
Drug Control Policy Luncheon
Quote #198
You are the stars in America's war on drugs. You shine through
the dark, you give hope in the night. And we're here today
really to say that someone noticed
-- March 7, 1990
Remarks by the President During National
Drug Control Policy Luncheon
Quote #199
In the past year, I have spent a lot of time praising those
involved in service to others. And I am grateful for this
opportunity to salute you not only as what we call 'Points of
Light, but as also 'points of courage.'
-- March 7, 1990
Remarks by the President During National
Drug Control Policy Luncheon
Quote #200
So I think you are America's hometown heroes -- unconventional
warriors -- but this is an unconventional war [the war on drugs].
You've shown how the communities under siege can be united in a
battle for life, and how they can be restored to health and
safety. Doing it your way, on your turf.
-- March 7, 1990
Remarks by the President During National
Drug Control Policy Luncheon
Quote #201
they are taking all these cartoon characters and working
in
in an antidrug message.
-- March 19, 1990
Remarks to the National Association of
Attorneys General
Quote #202
49
It [the National Tree Trust Foundation] will sound a nationwide
call for each American to become a volunteer for the environment.
And most of all, plant the trees that clean our air, prevent
erosion, consume carbon dioxide, and purify our water.
-- March 22, 1990
Remarks During a Tree Planting Ceremony
Quote #203
Drug abuse, illiteracy, inadequate education, homelessness,
hunger, environmental decay and other critical social problems
can indeed be solved. In fact, as we demonstrated Monday by
naming the 100th Daily Point of Light, these problems are already
being solved in every corner of the Nation -- men and women of
all ages and organizations of every conceivable type who are
tackling these problems in a direct and consequential way.
-- March 30, 1990
Remarks to the Founding Directors of The
Points of Light Initiative Foundation
Quote #204
But the money that's spent by the Federal Government is a tiny
percentage of the work that is being done at the State, at the
local level, and also at what I think is the "Points of Light"
level. The dynamism of individuals participating is fantastic.
-- March 23, 1990
Remarks During a Press Conference With
Regional Media
Quote #205
You, too, are in a powerful, unique position to influence the
response to HIV and AIDS. Washing our hands of it won't help
solve the problem; rofling up our sleeves will.
-- March 29, 1990
Remarks to the National Leadership
Coalition on AIDS
Quote #206
The growth and the magnification of Points of Light must now
become an American mission. Today, we're not creating a program;
we're adding a new dimension to a national movement. Block by
block, neighborhood by neighborhood, life by life, we can reclaim
those living in darkness. And with every American's help, we
will.
-- March 30, 1990
Remarks to the Founding Directors of The
Points of Light Initiative Foundation
Quote #207
50
Volunteers helping thousands of new volunteers to learn not only
how and where to plant trees, but how to care for them, why we
need them, and how they help the environment.
-- March 22, 1990
Remarks During a Tree Planting Ceremony
Quote #208
The Founding Directors and I share the same vision for this
foundation [The Points of Light Initiative Foundation] and the
aim of it is to make service to others central to the life and
work of every individual, group, and institution in America, from
our largest corporations to our smallest neighborhood
associations.
-- March 30, 1990
Remarks to the Founding Directors of The
Points of Light Initiative Foundation
Quote #209
[Educational] excellence will be obtained not by spending more
and more money but by demanding higher standards, greater
accountability, better teachers, and greater involvement by
parents and communities.
-- April 3, 1990
Remarks at a Republican Party Fundraiser
in Detroit, Michigan
Quote #210
This urban forestry program will help volunteers show new
volunteers not only how and where to plant trees but also how to
care for them, why we need them, and how they will help our
precious environment.
-- April 3, 1990
Remarks at a Tree Planting Ceremony in
Indianapolis, Indiana
Quote #211
Everywhere I went I found hope. I found people who have had
enough of fear, had enough of crime, had enough of dope so the
people of these neighborhoods are rallying together, using people
power to fight for another kind of freedom -- freedom from crime
and drugs. Freedom from fear. We must march with them in
solidarity, side by side, block by block, city by city.
-- April 4, 1990
Remarks to the Joint Center for
Policy Studies
Quote #212
51
Through their continuous efforts to strengthen and enrich our
communities, volunteers not only bring hope to others but also
renew our faith in the ideals upon which this Nation was founded.
By reaffirming the dignity and worth of the individual and the
power of collective action, volunteers help the United States to
experience a "new birth of freedom" each day. Time and time
again, these generous and hardworking individuals demonstrate
that ours is, indeed, a 'government of the people, by the people,
and for the people.
-- April 24, 1990
A Proclamation: National Volunteer
Week, 1990
Quote #213
I ask all Americans to join in saluting and thanking our Nation's
volunteers, as well as the organizations that support their
efforts.
-- April 24, 1990
A Proclamation: National Volunteer
Week, 1990
Quote #214
we salute the millions of volunteers who help to ensure that
their fellow Americans enjoy freedom from injustice and freedom
from fear and want. They are nearly half of our adult citizens
who devote their time to uplifting those encumbered by substance
abuse, homelessness, and illiteracy. They are older men and
women who comfort chemically dependent 'border babies' in our
inner-city hospitals. They are young professionals who befriend
AIDS victims or disadvantaged children need of positive role
models. They are couples who counsel and shelter single mothers
or foster children, and they are teenagers who collect canned
goods for needy families. Because of dedicated volunteers like
these, there is no problem in America that is not being solved
somewhere.
-- April 24, 1990
A Proclamation: National Volunteer
Week, 1990
Quote #215
52
Through the combined force of examples like these two women,
federal employees have helped lead the advance of volunteerism.
The Thousand Points of Light as an ideal all across America. A
sort of "Charge of the Light Brigade," if you will. And our
Points of Light Initiative is a new effort, but its goals are
just as old and as traditional as the values that we cherish.
-- April 24, 1990
Remarks During the Signing of the
National Volunteer Week, 1990 Proclamation
Quote #216
It is with great pride that we salute the 80 million Americans
who serve as volunteers. These individuals have moved us all by
the strength of their convictions and they've gently challenged
us through their example of selflessness and concern for others.
And they've shown us -- they really have -- that any definition
of a successful life must include serving others.
-- April 24, 1990
Remarks During the Signing of the
National Volunteer Week, 1990 Proclamation
Quote #217
together there is nothing -- drugs, poverty, loneliness --
that we cannot overcome.
-- April 24, 1990
Remarks During the Signing of the
National Volunteer Week, 1990 Proclamation
Quote #218
Americans everywhere can learn a valuable lesson from the
volunteers that are gathered here today. The seal hanging in
front of me says, 'E Pluribus Unum', which means 'Out of many,
one. all of you here are proof of what Americans have always
known, that when we band together in service, there is no problem
too big, no obstacle too stubborn to overcome.
-- April 24, 1990
Remarks During the Signing of the
National Volunteer Week, 1990 Proclamation
Quote #219
53
All people, young or old, wealthy or poor, book-smart or street-
wise, possess the traits to truly shine. Prejudices and fears
must give way to the realization that everyone has value, that
every life has meaning.
A pregnant unwed teenager can talk to young girls about teen
pregnancy in a way that perhaps we can't. And a prisoner can
speak to young men and women about crime and delinquency in a
special language that we might not understand. The drug addict
can talk tough to those who believe that a little marijuana can't
hurt you. And the school-drop-out can tell those who are tempted
to skip the books that quitting school is really a dead-end
street.
-- April 24, 1990
Remarks During the Signing of the
National Volunteer Week, 1990 Proclamation
Quote #220
Today, more than 100 Oklahoma communities have local private
foundations, many inspired by your lead. Think of it: Each of
these foundations-I call them Points of Light-each does what the
Federal Government cannot do: serve as a wonderful model for
other States and localities to emulate.
By increasing private support for public education, you've
enriched academic opportunities for students all across
the State. If there's any doubt, you've resolved it. When it
comes to Oklahoma education, Washington doesn't know best,
Oklahomans do.
-- May 4, 1990
Remarks at the Foundation for
Excellence Dinner in Tulsa, Oklahoma
-8 Quote #221
Yet you also know that progress made can't be measured by dollars
spent alone. So, you're showing how parents, teachers,
administrators, school boards can work together to help our kids-
like Oklahoma's fabled pioneers-discover the unlimited frontiers
of learning.
-- May 4, 1990
Remarks at the Foundation for Excellence
Dinner in Tulsa, Oklahoma
Quote #222
54
It is around small businesses that you find communities growing
and prospering. It is where women and minorities make their mark
as business owners. It is here where you find so many of the
Thousand Points of Light that are aiding those in need all across
the country.
-- May 8, 1990
Remarks at the Presentation Ceremony
for the Small Business Person of the
Year Award
Quote #223
a Thousand Points of Light: volunteers who measure life by
holding themselves accountable for the well-being of their
community.
-- May 12, 1990
Remarks at the Liberty University
Commencement Ceremony in Lynchburg,
Virginia
Quote #224
55
America's major export has always been generosity. Today, more
than ever, we need to use that generosity to combat such global
problems as hunger and health care, literacy and helplessness.
Remember, individually, we can change a life; collectively, we
can change the world. Each of you can reject membership in a 'me'
generation, proving that yours is the 'we' generation, and in the
process show how a definition of a successful life must include
serving others.
a Thousand Points of Light can become a galaxy of people
working to solve problems in their own backyard.
Today the choices for your future are many. Make one of them,
just one of them, continued commitment to community service. Be
tutors in inner-city schools or candy stripers at local
hospitals. Assist those without food to eat or a place to sleep
or those coping with AIDS. Help not merely colleagues but
strangers, stemming their desperate aloneness to make them feel
needed and loved. And if you become a lawyer, ask the firm to do
pro bono work. If a teacher, volunteer for counseling. Let the
Office of National Service-which our administration formed last
year to encourage voluntarism-let it know what you're doing.
Serve at day care centers, homes for the elderly, shelters for
addicts. Join what Edmund Burke called little, but mighty,
platoons. Become a light unto the world.
In this more peaceful time, when our armies can become smaller,
we must mold a world where the armies of people-people helping
others-can become bigger, using what has been given to us to
give back to ourselves.
-- May 12, 1990
Remarks at the Liberty University
Commencement Ceremony in Lynchburg,
Virginia
Quote #225
We must uphold those ideals through what I call one-to-one
caring.
Each of us can make a difference in the life of another.
the need for involvement in the lives of others is not just a
problem outside our borders: empowerment must be for Americans,
too.
-- May 12, 1990
Remarks at the Liberty University
Commencement Ceremony in Lynchburg,
Virginia
Quote #226
56
In a special way, when the first people decided to take back
their community, they lit the first candle of hope. When more
and more of their neighbors joined them, their unified spirit
shone with a light that banished the darkness of despair.
-- May 21, 1990
Remarks to Oakwood Community Members in
Los Angeles, California.
Quote #227
Oakwood proves that no community has to accept things as they
are. Americans don't have to live in fear. Crime, drugs,
hunger, homelessness, and so many other social problems can be
driven from every community if every community cares enough to
light the candle of hope.
-- May 21, 1990
Remarks to Oakwood Community Members in
Los Angeles, California
Quote #228
There are so many stories to tell and so many Americans to thank
in Head Start centers all around the country. In fact, over
600,000 committed volunteers, each one a Point of Light, are
giving their all to make Head Start a national treasure.
-- May 24, 1990
Remarks at a White House Ceremony
Celebrating the 25th Anniversary of
Head Start
Quote #229
While government leadership is important, the caring and
dedication of parents and volunteers are the key to Head Start's
success. Today there are more volunteers than enrolled children
in Head Start programs, and there are eight times more volunteers
than paid staff members. Thus, Head Start not only serves as a
shining example of the good that can be accomplished by concerned
individuals working together at the community level, but also
demonstrates that income and life circumstances are not barriers
to serving others.
-- May 24, 1990
Proclamation 6140-25th Anniversary of
Head Start, 1990
Quote #230
57
So, this angry father and his friends formed MAD DADS. In the
last year, along with more than 550 others who have joined them,
they have become the dominant presence on their previously
devastated streets. And they're father figures who take a hard
line against the drugs and the gangs which are the predators, but
speak softly, put their arm around and hug the kids who are the
victims.
-- June 8, 1990
Remarks Upon Presenting the Members of MAD
DADS With a Point of Light Award in Omaha,
Nebraska
Quote #231
The handful of determined neighbors who formed MAD DADS were
those voices. They shouted out against this meaningless violence
they saw leading today's young men and women into self-
destruction, and one by one, others joined them in their cry of
protest. And now their world is filled with a lion's roar,
supremely strong, fiercely proud, challenging and redeeming.
-- June 8, 1990
Remarks Upon Presenting the Members of MAD
DADS With a Point of Light Award in Omaha,
Nebraska
Quote #232
If every community could band together as you have, we could see
the MAD DADS' spirit of caring spread, street by street,
neighborhood by neighborhood, city by city. Crime, drugs, and
hopelessness can be and will be banished from the shadows of our
great land when each individual cares enough to add his or her
own voice to the growing chorus of outrage.
-- June 8, 1990
Remarks Upon Presenting the Members of MAD
DADS With a Point of Light Award in Omaha,
Nebraska
Quote #233
Yours is also an inspiring message of bravery, sacrifice, and
hope that can bring together individuals, political parties,
professionals, volunteers, private businesses, and then the
Government itself As brilliant Points of Light in the hard,
dark world of battling illness, you've given this rare and loving
gift, and you've shown your belief in the shining role which
family support plays in the treatment of a sick child.
-- June 21, 1990
Remarks at the Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony for
the Children's Inn at the National
Institute of Health in Bethesda, Maryland
Quote #234
58
The lesson of the Inn will show us all that the most important
part of life is a very simple one: taking time to hold a hand,
share a laugh, wipe away a tear.
-- June 21, 1990
Remarks at the Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony for
the Children's Inn at the National
Institute of Health in Bethesda, Maryland
Quote #235
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