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 Proclamations Proc. 7279 hospitals nationwide with the latest in high-quality, state-of-the-art blood and tissue services. Last year it provided more than 700,000 emergency and personal services for military personnel and their families, including relay- ing messages from their families to the three American servicemen held captive by Yugoslav forces. And in communities across the Nation, more than 12 million people received Red Cross instruction in lifesaving tech- niques last year, ranging from first aid and CPR to water safety and boat handling. Forming the backbone of the American Red Cross is a vast network of near- ly 4.5 million blood donors and 1.3 million dedicated volunteers who en- sure that help will be there when and where it is needed. Virtually every community in the United States is served by an American Red Cross chap- ter, Blood Services region, or both; and as we have seen demonstrated so dramatically over time, no community is immune to the sudden and dev- astating disasters that require the services and stewardship of the American Red Cross. Each of us owes a lasting debt of gratitude to this extraordinary organization that has given so much to our people, our country, and our world. NOW, THEREFORE, I, WILLIAM J. CLINTON, President of the United States of America and Honorary Chairman of the American Red Cross, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim March 2000 as American Red Cross Month. I urge all the people of the United States to demonstrate support for their local Red Cross chapters and to become actively involved in fur- thering the humanitarian mission of the American Red Cross. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-ninth day of February, in the year of our Lord two thousand, and of the Inde- pendence of the United States of America the two hundred and twenty- fourth. WILLIAM J. CLINTON Proclamation 7279 of March 1, 2000 Irish-American Heritage Month, 2000 By the President of the United States of America A Proclamation More than two centuries ago, our founders envisioned a new Nation, a land free from tyranny and filled with opportunity, prosperity, and liberty for all. Many Irish people, faced with severe hardship in their homeland, em- braced the dream of a more promising future and left behind Ireland's shores, their families, and their friends for a new beginning in America. Each year during the month of March, we celebrate these courageous men and women of Ireland and remember with pride their many contributions to our Nation. With strength, courage, wit, and creativity, Irish Americans have flourished in our diverse Nation of immigrants. Writers such as Flannery O'Connor and Eugene O'Neill have transformed our literature; entrepreneurs like 41

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