Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 123.djvu/3650

 123STA T . 3 6 3 0PROCL A M AT I O N8 36 4— APR. 22 , 200 9children, c omf or t in gs eniors, a nd reaching o u tto v eterans .T he y are p roviding critical support to schools, shelters, hospitals, and nursing homes, through faith -b ased and community organi z ations, at home and abroad. V olunteers change lives and strengthen our N ation and our w orld. M y A dministration is committed to supporting and supplementing the crucial efforts that Americans ma k e to volunteer. The E dward M. K en- nedy S erve America Act, which I signed into law today, will help mil- lions of Americans of all ages to volunteer and to direct that service towards meeting our most pressing challenges. It truly will usher in a new era of service. This landmark law recruits an army of 250 ,000 per year to engage in intensive service, and it focuses that work on today ’ s challenges, in- cluding clean energy, education, health, veterans care, and economic opportunity. It creates new service opportunities for seniors, baby boomers, and young adults, and improves service learning in our schools. The law also creates a Social Innovation F und. This fund looks for new ideas in communities and leverages private, nonprofit, and faith-based support to invest in local innovation. The fund also allows us to test the impact of new ideas and e x pand successful programs to scale. Volunteering provides the opportunity to j oin and better a community. Every American who volunteers can become an integral part of a school, a hospital, or a neighborhood. Those who give of their time also join our Nation’s proud history of service and help preserve this tradition for generations ahead. D uring National Volunteer W eek, we express heartfelt thanks to all who have worked hard in this effort, and we urge more Americans to reach out and meet the manifold unmet needs of fellow Americans. N O W,T H E R EFORE, I, B ARA C K OBAMA, P resident of the U nited States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Con- stitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim April 19– 25, 2009 as National Volunteer Week. I call upon all Americans to join ongoing volunteer service efforts, and to create new ones. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-first day of April, in the year of our L ord two thousand nine, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-third. BARACK OBAMA Proclam a ti o n8364 o fAp ril 2 2, 2 0 0 9EarthD a y,20 0 9BythePr e sid e n t of the U nited S t a tes of Am eri c a A Proc l amation The story of the United States is inextricably tied to our vital natural resources. As we enter a new era filled with challenges and promise, we must protect our land, wildlife, water and air — the resources that