US Presidency
1991

Everyone who steps forward today â€“ to get one addict off drugs, to convince one troubled teenager not to give up on life, to comfort one AIDS patient, to help one hungry child. We have within our reach the promise of a renewed America. We can find meaning and reward by serving some higher purpose than ourselves, a shining purpose, the illumination of a Thousand Points of Light. And it is expressed by all who know the irresistible force of a child's hand, of a friend who stands by you and stays there, a volunteer's generous gesture, an idea that is simply right. The problems before us may be different, but the key to solving them remains the same. It is the individual, the individual who steps forward. And the state of our Union is the union of each of us, one to the other, the sum of our friendships, marriages, families, and communities. We all have something to give. So, if you know how to read, find someone who can't. If you've got a hammer, find a nail.