President Bush is calling on all Americans to serve their country for the equivalent of 4,000 hours - or two years - in their lifetimes.
MSU Peace Corps recruiter Chris Foley said this push could definitely increase interest in the Peace Corps on campus.
“It gives good publicity and can only do good,” he said. “At least we know they won’t be cutting from the program.”
The president made his community service intentions for the nation known Tuesday in his State of the Union address.
“We want to be a nation that serves goals larger than self. We have been offered a new opportunity and we must not let this moment pass,” he said. “To sustain and extend the best that has emerged in America, I invite you to join the new USA Freedom Corps.”
The USA Freedom Corps is made up of the Citizen Corps, AmeriCorps, Senior Corps and Peace Corps.
In the USA Freedom Corps policy book, Bush said he hopes these organizations will create activities that will enhance homeland security, provide community-based service and volunteer opportunities, and assist people around the world.
“This will have a profound impact on Michigan, all for the good,” said Kyle Caldwell, executive director of the Michigan Community Service Commission. “It will definitely raise the profile and the opportunity to volunteer, which is our goal.”
The president proposed several goals in the USA Freedom Corps policy book, including increasing opportunities for 100,000 new Senior Corps volunteers and doubling the number of Peace Corps volunteers during the next five years. He also suggested increasing opportunities for 25,000 additional AmeriCorps participants, a 50-percent increase, and leveraging at least 75,000 additional AmeriCorps volunteers.
Bush is requesting more than $560 million in funds in the fiscal year 2003 to support this effort.
Despite the numbers the president hopes to reach, Foley isn’t sure the MSU Peace Corps office will see an increase.
“It will definitely get more interest in the program,” he said. “Although I don’t know how successful it will be in getting new volunteers.”
Caldwell agreed.
“The challenge is that Michigan is a state that already constantly volunteers,” he said. “About 50 percent of the people volunteer.”
Miranda Smith, an agriscience sophomore, said she doesn’t believe the president’s speech will make a difference in students’ activities.
“If you were really going to do something like that, you’d do it no matter what,” she said. “You do something like that because you believe in it, not because he said so.”
