Proclamation 5378

By the President of the United States of America A Proclamation

The American people throughout our history have shown their commitment and concern for the welfare of their fellow men and women, both in their own communities and around the globe. Nowhere has the proud American tradition of voluntarism been better illustrated than through the Peace Corps, which has begun a year-long observance of its twenty-fifth anniversary.

For a quarter of a century, the Peace Corps has recruited and trained volunteers to serve in countries of the developing world, helping people help themselves in their quest for a better life. More than one hundred and twenty thousand Americans have served in the Peace Corps in more than ninety countries. Their projects and programs have built bridges of understanding between the people of the United States and the peoples of the countries they have been privileged to serve.

Peace Corps volunteers have returned to their communities enriched by the experience, knowing more of the world, its complexities, and its challenges. They continue to communicate with people in the countries where they served, thereby strengthening the ties of friendship and mutual understanding.

The Peace Corps' call for service has renewed importance today, as American volunteers help others overseas seek long-term solutions to the complex human problems of hunger, poverty, illiteracy, and disease. The generous response to this call continues to exceed the Peace Corps' recruitment requirements.

The Congress, by House Joint Resolution 305, has designated the period from October 1, 1985, through September 30, 1986, as the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Peace Corps and authorized and requested the President to issue a proclamation on this occasion to honor Peace Corps volunteers past and present.

Now, Therefore, I, Ronald Reagan, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim October 1, 1985, through September 30, 1986, the Twenty-fifth Anniversary Year of the Peace Corps. I call upon public and private international voluntary organizations, development experts, scholars, the business community, individuals and leaders in the United States of America and overseas, and past and present Peace Corps volunteers to reflect upon the achievements of the Peace Corps during its twenty-five years, as well as to consider ways that talents and expertise of its volunteers may be used even more effectively in the future. During this time, I invite all Americans to honor the Peace Corps and its volunteers past and present, and reaffirm our Nation's commitment to helping people in the developing world help themselves.

In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this seventh day of October, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and eighty-five, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and tenth.

RONALD REAGAN

[Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 2:20 p.m., October 8, 1985]