THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, January 25, 1997 TAG: 9701250340
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: KNIGHT-RIDDER NEWS SERVICE
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: 71 lines
Mustering an elaborate display of bipartisan star power, President Clinton on Friday announced plans for a summit on volunteerism ``to mobilize America's citizen power in a united effort to solve our common problems, especially those that threaten our young people.''
Backed by former President George Bush, the man he defeated to gain the White House, and former Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Colin Powell, who flirted with a bid to unseat him, Clinton said, ``Citizen service belongs to no party, no ideology. It is an American idea which every American should embrace.''
The summit will be held in Philadelphia on April 27-29, involving about 2,000 representatives from 100 U.S. cities, to ``re-energize ideals that were born in that city more than two centuries ago,'' Vice President Al Gore said.
Virginia Beach and Richmond are among the cities that already have been invited to send delegates.
The meeting underscores the theme of bipartisanship Clinton has stressed in the early days of his second term, and demonstrates his acknowledgment that private efforts are needed in a time of tight government resources.
What distinguishes this event is the effort to obtain strict commitments from corporations and nonprofit organizations to provide goods and services to needy communities, and to expand various philanthropic endeavors.
Among the commitments already obtained are:
Big Brothers/Big Sisters of America, headquartered in Philadelphia, has committed to double their mentoring relationships, reaching 200,000 matches by 2001.
LensCrafters will provide 1 million needy people, especially children, with vision care by 2003.
Columbia/HCA Healthcare Corp. has committed to immunize 1 million children by the year 2003.
The Greek Orthodox Church in America has pledged to assist one needy child per every 10 families in the more than 550 Greek Orthodox churches nationwide.
The NFL Players Association is launching a mentoring program for Native American teen-agers in partnership with the Johns Hopkins Center for Indian Youth.
The first ``Presidents' Summit for America's Future'' is located at the intersection of various interests.
The White House wanted a vehicle to carry Clinton's inaugural rhetoric about a ``new spirit of bipartisanship.'' Former Sen. Harris Wofford, who has been fighting to retain funding for Clinton's AmeriCorps community-service program, was looking for a way to promote volunteerism. The Points of Light Foundation - a service group that takes its name from Bush's famous call for ``a thousand points of light'' - wanted to expand on efforts begun in the Bush administration.
Clinton paid particular tribute to the Points of Light Foundation, and said he shared Bush's desire that ordinary Americans doing extraordinary things ``grow by the power of their example into millions of points of light.''
Bush will head a cast of former presidents who will participate in the event, either in person or electronically. Nancy Reagan will represent her husband, Ronald Reagan, who is suffering from Alzheimer's disease. Lady Bird Johnson, the widow of Lyndon B. Johnson, will also attend.
```As far as I know,'' Clinton said, ``there's not much of a precedent for this sort of thing, at least in recent history.''
Powell, a potential Republican presidential candidate for 2000, will serve as general chairman of the event. Former Housing Secretary Henry Cisneros, just named president of Univision, the Spanish-language TV network, will be vice chairman. ILLUSTRATION: Retired Army Gen. Colin Powell speaks Friday in the
East Room of the White House, where President Clinton announced that
Powell would lead a summit on community service and volunteerism.
The summit is scheduled to be held in Philadelphia in April.
ASSOCIATED PRESS