Presidential Documents

18501

Federal Register

Vol. 62, No. 72

Tuesday, April 15, 1997

Title 3—

The President

Proclamation 6986 of April 11, 1997

National Service and Volunteer Week, 1997

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

Citizen service is a vital force in American life, helping to build a stronger

sense of community and citizenship and engaging Americans to meet the

obligations we all share. Whether tutoring children, mentoring teens, renovating housing, restoring public parks, responding to natural disasters, or caring

for aging parents and grandparents, those who serve and volunteer are

strengthening our communities for America’s future.

The era of big government may be over, but the era of big challenges

for our Nation is surely not. Citizen service reflects one of the most basic

convictions of our democracy: that we are all responsible for one another.

It is a very American idea that we meet our challenges not through big

government or as isolated individuals, but as members of a true community,

with all of us working together.

Americans can take pride in knowing that our tradition of service is being

preserved and expanded. As we recognize the devoted service of our Nation’s

citizens, we must continue to foster the spirit of volunteerism, making

service the common expectation and experience of every American. Working

together, we can respond to our shared problems and build a better future

for the generations to come.

National Service and Volunteer Week is a time to celebrate the American

spirit of service and volunteerism and a time to encourage citizens to use

their individual talents to serve the common good. During this week and

throughout the year, let us salute all those who devote their time, their

talents, and their energy to improving our communities—through organizations like AmeriCorps and other programs within the Corporation for National

Service; the Points of Light Foundation; Learn and Serve America; the National Senior Service Corps; and thousands of other voluntary, civic, religious,

and neighborhood groups.

Later this month, at Independence Hall in Philadelphia, we will convene

an historic Presidents’ Summit on Service. I will be joined there by every

living former president, or his representative, and other prominent Americans

as we take specific steps to serve our children and to rebuild our communities. Our mission is nothing less than to spark a renewed national sense

of obligation, a new sense of duty, a new season of service.

I hope that the many related activities in the days leading up to this

important event will make all Americans think about our shared responsibility for one another. Citizen service can take many shapes—it can mean

joining AmeriCorps as a high school student, volunteering nights or on

weekends in a religious group or neighborhood association, or devoting

years of one’s life to service in the Peace Corps or in the Jesuit Volunteer

Corps.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, WILLIAM J. CLINTON, President of the United States

of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution

and laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim the week of April 13

through April 19, 1997, as National Service and Volunteer Week. I call

upon all Americans to observe this week with appropriate programs, cere-
18502 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 72 / Tuesday, April 15, 1997 / Presidential Documents

monies, and activities to express appreciation for all those who serve and

to encourage others to continue the American legacy of service.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this eleventh day

of April, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and ninety-seven, and

of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred

[FR Doc. 97–9914

Filed 4–14–97; 11:17 am]

Billing code 3195–01–P

and twenty-first.

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