 Thank you all very much, but as you who deserve the applause It's a great honor for me to welcome all of you to the White House. The truth is your presence here makes me feel a bit humble You've all done such great work for charity in the private sector initiative effort You know I have to tell you I've never been very good at fund-raising myself I can No, I mean this This going out and asking people for something like that. That's the reason I got into government. We don't ask for it We just take it away from Another story about a small town charity a new chairman was elected and he was going through all the records This came time for the annual charity drive and he saw we're one of the richest men in town had never given a penny So he went to see him and he said that he'd been going through the records and he said the records show that you have never Given anything to the annual town charity and the man said well do the records also show that I had a brother who was permanently Injured as a result of a wound in World War two and is unable to work or take care of himself Do they show that my sister was widowed with seven children left and no insurance and no means of support Well the chairman a little abashed said well no our records don't show that Well, he said I don't give them anything. Why should I guess? Well, thankfully that kind of thinking is about as alien as you can get Not only do the people gathered here today, but to the American character in general Perhaps the most striking thing about Americans is their generosity of spirit the famous chronicler of early 19th century America the Frenchman de Tocqueville remarked upon this quality He went back after visiting America and he said these Americans are the most peculiar people in the world No sooner do they recognize a need that isn't being met then they round up their neighbors form a committee and start addressing that need It's a remarkable fact one. I've often said that philosophers should contemplate that the freest nation on earth Is also the most altruistic its people among the most generous anywhere You know when you've been around for as long as I have and have lived through most of the 20th century There's not a whole lot that surprises you Sometime ago, however, I saw something that really touched my temperature control It was one of those TV commentators going on and on scolding the American people Saying we'd become selfish. We were only out for ourselves had lost our dedication to community and country Well, I don't know what crowd he's hanging around with but they sure aren't representative of the American people Recent poll by George Gallup found Volunteerism in this country has reached a 10-year high and is on a steady upswing And the report found that despite the high mobility of families in the United States The increase in women in the workforce and charges that Americans are increasingly preoccupied with their material well-being Volunteerism continues to grow in this nation Last year it said another new record as it does just about every year Private giving to worthy causes in this country somewhere in the neighborhood of 87 billion dollars last year It's interesting to note the Gallup polls have also found that Volunteerism to be a particularly American trait with charitable activity here found far outstripping other countries So all I can say about those who pontificate about the new selfishness in this country Maybe they should get out of their TV studios and introduce themselves to the real America Of course, what a lot of these people mean is not that the American people should give more But that the government should take more Somehow freely given personal charity doesn't count for them Only the public dole bureaucratic largesse that is backed up by coercive powers of the state Well government of course has its place But we've seen in the last two decades that the impersonal giving of government can often do more harm than good Creating a welfare trap from which the poor and underprivileged can hardly escape The fact is it's probably more important to give well and wisely than to simply give and that kind of intelligent giving thoughtful charity and volunteer spirit is What you the recipients of this year's volunteer action awards so perfectly exemplify I Wish I had time to mention each and every one of the individuals and organizations that are here by name But let's just say that the good You do reaches beyond your specific projects and all the many people that you've helped You're part of an American tradition of neighbor helping neighbor. You're keeping it alive Making it grow your work touches all of our hearts embraces all Americans and Draws them into one community of caring As that same Alexis to Tocqueville said these Americans so generous and always ready to volunteer Are a pure peculiar people and we can be awfully proud of that fact As you know this great American spirit has caught the attention of people around the world In fact last November the first international conference on private sector initiatives took place in Paris, France Where leaders of six other countries Got together to hear about our success in America and earlier this month while I was at the economic summit in Italy They must have had a terrible spring there because when we went over in the helicopter. I looked on all the streets were flooded I I attended there in Venice an Italian-American conference on private sector initiatives And as a result of that conference Italian leaders have formed their own national task force to try to establish programs in their countries like the ones that You've organized here and it was wonderful. I went to that meeting I was asked if I would come and address this group a little bit And I looked out and I was seeing old familiar faces there the Americans who had come From here over there to help them as they got this task force established Incidentally one of their first projects was there in Venice They built an American Italian Park and that's what it's called the American Italian Park So remember when you return to your hometowns and you tell your co-workers about this trip Let them know what they're doing is not just making their town a better place But our nation and the world as a whole and now I'm going to ask Donna Alvarado the director of action and governor Romney To come up here and assist me in the presentation of your awards Mr. President is indeed an honor and a pleasure to present to you your 1987 Volunteer Action Award recipients First the fraternity of the desert bighorn from Henderson, Nevada Has developed 21 new water supplies for the bighorn sheep in the area around Las Vegas Making over 100,000 acres of desert habitable for this endangered species Accepted by Wilford Allen president the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers local 25 Melville, New York Formed its community services committee in 1980 to give members an opportunity to participate as a group in Community activities and now raises over $70,000 annually for health organizations in the area Charles Baldwin president The shell oil company employees and retirees volunteerism effort Houston, Texas Provides a mechanism to involve over 1500 employees in community volunteer programs annually and makes grants totaling over $43,000 to 45 community agencies in which employees volunteer John F. Bookout president and chief executive officer shell oil company Hexagon incorporated Bethesda, Maryland is an all-volunteer theater troupe that satirizes political life in Washington annually raising over $135,000 for Washington based charities Jerry Borgier president Mrs. Ruth Johnson Colvin Syracuse, New York founded literacy volunteers of America in the mid 1960s a program that now has over 350 local chapters and has helped over 100,000 Americans learn to read Ruth Johnson Colvin project literacy U.S. The first major public service project to join two broadcasting networks ABC and public broadcasting service Includes programming and public service announcements on literacy as well as over 350 local literacy task forces We have two recipients first James Duffy president communications capital cities ABC and Lloyd Kaiser president WQED TV Pittsburgh accepting on behalf of PBS the Los Angeles Orange County corporate volunteer council in Los Angeles, California Adopted Gladys Park in the city skid row section Painting adjacent buildings cleaning the park and developing murals which provide information to the area residents on where to find shelter and medical aid Shirley Evans CVC past president Jack egg lover Roseburg, Oregon has worked for the past 13 years in developing a nature trail along the north Umquac River in Oregon and drives over 5,000 miles a year on trail business jack egg lover The north central mental health services teen suicide prevention volunteer program in Columbus, Ohio Involves teenage volunteers in providing peer counseling to teenagers with school personal and family problems accepted by Phil Hart volunteer Dr. Robert A. Hinkson, Osilla, Georgia Is the inventor of the gas powered jet peace gun Which has made mass inoculations possible? And he is responsible for vaccinating over 15 million people in 30 countries Against smallpox and has founded the brothers brother foundation located in pittsburgh, pennsylvania Dr. Hinkson Stephanie joice con long beach new york Founded the Stephanie joice con foundation 11 years ago to provide recorded books and materials To sighted patients unable to read to themselves a program that now serves over 1700 people each month Stephanie joice con talk line kids line elk grove illinois Is the first 24 hour crisis intervention hotline for latchkey children now responds to nearly 18,000 calls annually in the chicago metropolitan area Accepted by lorraine lasusa weymouth founder silvia Lowry new york new york began her work on behalf of victims of multiple sclerosis over 40 years ago And is responsible for the formation of both the national and international multiple sclerosis societies silvia. Lowry the campus outreach opportunity league Washington dc Works with over 300 colleges across the country to develop programs to involve students in meaningful community volunteer work Wayne myzel founder The volunteer involvement program of exxon company usa houston texas involves over 1000 employees and retirees in community activities and contributed over 112,000 in 1986 to houston area agencies randall meyer president exxon company usa Ronald mcdonald houses involve over 5000 volunteers in the development and daily management of more than 100 houses Which provide a home away from home for families of children undergoing medical treatment in nearby hospitals edward renzi president mcdonald's corporation and co-founder of ronald mcdonald houses 20 good men Kansas city, kansas involves over 100 men who perform minor home repairs every saturday For low-income elderly and handicapped neighbors Accepted by ned taylor volunteer George wager anaheim california has developed a where resistant identification tag to provide emergency medical information For children and has distributed over 40 million of these across the country George wager Mr. President this concludes the presentation