Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: MONDAY, April 2, 1990                   TAG: 9004020016
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: The Baltimore Sun
DATELINE: WASHINGTON                                LENGTH: Medium

SURGE IN VOLUNTEERING PUTS STRAIN ON SOME AGENCIES

"A thousand points of light," the metaphor Bush used to describe community activists in his acceptance speech at the 1988 GOP convention, gets even more of a workout in presidential speeches than its companion cliche, "kinder, gentler."

For months, there have been "daily points of light" - a seemingly endless stream of individuals and organizations honored for the sort of contribution Bush believes Americans ought to be making to their fellow man.

And as of last Friday, there is a Points of Light Foundation, with the sole purpose of hammering the message home ever harder.

But if an eye-glazing numbness has come over official Washington, the rest of the country seems to be getting the word.

Directors of volunteer agencies say their phones are ringing off the hook with requests for information and referrals. Volunteer programs sponsored by major corporations for their employees have increased by one-third over the past 18 months, reports Kay Drake, a spokeswoman for VOLUNTEER, a national coordinating group.

People are coming forward to teach reading, work in soup kitchens and take their children to visit the elderly in nursing homes. Lawyers and accountants are offering professional services to charitable groups.

Many would-be volunteers are just thumbing through the phone book looking for a place to offer their time, says Fred Dodril Jr., vice president for operations of the Washington-based League of Volunteers, which he says has been getting a steady increase of such calls.

No one can say for certain whether Bush has inspired new recruits to community service, but he is believed to have encouraged a trend already in progress.

"They have found something that is real and tangible," said Jack L. Powell, a community college instructor from Salisbury, Md., who was honored as a Daily Point of Light in December for his efforts in organizing a Thanksgiving food and clothing drive. "I believe individuals are really searching for causes, and the secret is giving them an opportunity to participate."

C. Gregg Petersmeyer, the former Bush campaign aide who heads the newly created White House Office of National Service, likes to think of the rise in volunteerism as "a movement," like those for civil rights, women's suffrage and democratic reforms in Eastern Europe.

Some volunteer coordinators complain, however, that the ranks of would-be helpers are swelling too fast for the existing agencies to deal with them. They say the $25 million Bush is seeking from Congress for the Points of Light Foundation - to be matched by an equal amount of private money - will provide little or nothing for screening, training and other services needed to make the best and safest use of volunteers. The bulk of the money would be used for public awareness efforts.

"The mythology that volunteers can do it all is just that - mythology," said Maggie Gaines, executive director of Baltimore Reads, an 18-month-old literacy program. "Volunteers need training, they need support and they need encouragement. That costs money."