Summit for America's Future to renew spirit of social service

The first time I remember volunteering was in grade school, when my friends and I put on a neighborhood Olympics to raise money for a local charity. Not only did we have great fun working on the project, we felt a special sense of pride and accomplishment that we were doing something to help other people.

My youth group at church also provided me with chances to do volunteer work. We performed chores in the community, visited nursing homes and held car washes for the church. But what I remember best is the baby sitting we did for the children of Mexican migrant workers who harvested fruits and vegetables in the fields outside of Chicago.

These opportunities gave me an early taste of what volunteering can mean in one's life. And over the years, I have seen what volunteering means in the life of our country. Whether through tutoring children, picking up litter on a highway or providing free legal counsel to a needy client, we all have a chance to help address problems in our communities and enjoy the satisfaction that comes from being good neighbors.

What we may not realize is that, in the process, we are also strengthening our democracy. Democracy depends on citizenship. And citizenship depends on people voluntarily contributing their time and performing services that their communities and their country need.

As the French visitor Alexis de Tocqueville observed more than 150 years ago, the greatest strength of America rests on individual and collective efforts to improve our communities and our nation. Citizen service is vital to fulfilling the ideals of our democracy. Yet today, at a time when our country faces the economic and social challenges inherent in a newly competitive world, we see a decline in volunteer activity, a drop-off in voting and other indications that Americans are no longer as eager or as willing to do their part to promote the common good.

This is a disturbing trend and one that speaks volumes about how we view ourselves as Americans. And it's one reason that the President has called for the three-day Summit for America's Future, which will consider ways to renew the spirit of service across our country.

On Sunday in Philadelphia, the President and I will join former Presidents Bush and Carter, along with summit co-chairs Gen. Colin Powell, Henry Cisneros and Lynda Johnson Robb, to kick off the summit. For three days, educators, business leaders, community organizers and volunteers will discuss the importance of volunteer activity and focus on just how we can meet the special needs of children and families.

Today, as children and families cope with stresses as varied as poverty, poor health, the lure of tobacco and drugs, and competition for jobs, it is no surprise that so many young people have lost faith in themselves and hope in their futures. We owe it to them to feel a greater stake in their lives and what they have to offer their country.

At the summit, we will ask all Americans to pledge their best efforts to ensure that we meet the needs of every child, with recommendations about what each of us can do. None of this will require a lot of money or an advanced degree but simply time and a commitment to serving our nation's children. Here's what the summit will ask:

First, that we make sure every child has an ongoing relationship with a caring adult, whether it's a mentor, tutor or coach.

Second, that we work hard to provide safe places for children to learn and grow -- from schools to libraries to after-school programs to recreational centers that can offer safe havens for boys and girls who need positive outlets for their creativity and energy.

Third, that we promote healthy lifestyles for our children from the earliest years on. This should not be left solely to health professionals. Any of us can volunteer to help immunize children, for example, or spend time with young mothers and fathers who need guidance about the responsibilities of parenthood.

Fourth, that we provide young people with marketable skills through effective education and training. Business leaders have a special role to play here. I have seen examples of businesses around the country that have adopted schools, offered jobs to high school students and prepared young men and women for the workplace through experiences such as summer internships.

And fifth, that we expand opportunities for children of all ages to give back to their own communities and learn what it means to do something for someone else. As Martin Luther King Jr. said, "Everybody can be great because everybody can serve."

These are ambitious, and necessary, goals. But none of hem will matter to our children or our country if our work stops after three days of meetings in Philadelphia. All of us -- parents, teachers, business executives, religious leaders, politicians, grass-roots advocates and, most important, young people themselves -- need to do our part, day in and day out across America.

So let's use this summit to recognize our own duties and obligations to one another by making the time to serve our communities. Whether we are teaching a child to read, organizing a neighborhood crime watch, helping out at a hospital or serving our fellow citizens in any other way, we can make a difference. Through actions large and small, we can build a true community and fulfill the greatest responsibility of citizenship.

-- Creators Syndicate