The Clinton Presidency:
National Service and Philanthropy
Through the 1980s, America's sense of community and shared purpose began
to disintegrate. Between 1989 and 1993, charitable giving as a portion
of our economy declined and the number of people volunteering fell by
more than 9 million. President Clinton and Vice President Gore have
worked to create new opportunities for community service, and provided
leadership to develop innovative partnerships between federal agencies
and private nonprofits. They have also worked to involve the private
sector, challenging business leaders to work with community groups,
religious leaders and faith-based partnerships to tackle problems like
putting welfare recipients to work, teaching children to read and
closing the digital divide.
Restoring Community Service: AmeriCorps
| THEN: | No significant new investment in community service in a
decade.
Previous generations of Americans had answered the call to
service of their country through programs such as the Civilian
Conservation Corps, the Peace Corps and VISTA. However, it had
been more than a decade since the federal government challenged
the energy of Americans by putting significant resources behind a
meaningful effort to expand community service opportunities. The
Peace Corps and VISTA combined provided just 10,000 service
opportunities in 1993. |
| NOW: | 200,000 Americans have served communities in AmeriCorps.
President Clinton created the AmeriCorps National Service
Program in 1993, his first year in office. Since then, AmeriCorps
has brought together nearly 200,000 people of all ages, racial,
ethnic and economic backgrounds to solve community problems and
improve the lives of Americans. And after a year of full-time
public service, AmeriCorps members receive education awards to
help finance college or pay back student loans. The President
defended AmeriCorps from numerous Congressional efforts to
eliminate the initiative, and built it into a successful program
supported by Democratic, Republican and Independent Governors
across the country. |
AmeriCorps Members Investing in their Community
"When I started tutoring first graders, I was scared -- scared of the
responsibility, because it is so important for a child to get a good
foundation in education. One of the first students I tutored didn't know
the alphabet. He was so nervous about trying but he wanted desperately
to learn. I worked with him for about 20 minutes every day in the
classroom and twice a week after school. Within a month, he wrote
beautiful sentences. Now he's reading above grade level. I am proud to
say that my experience as an AmeriCorps member has given me the skills
and confidence to enter the classroom as a first grade teacher. Mr.
President -- thank you for giving young adults the opportunity to
improve American communities through national service. I just want to
let you know that thousands of AmeriCorps members are getting things
done throughout the country but especially right here in Philadelphia."
--Ardelia Norwood-Ross, AmeriCorps Volunteer, Phialdelphia.. In her
first year as a corps member, Ardelia served at an elementary in South
Philadelphia running three literacy programs for students in first
through third grades, two of which she developed herself. Ardelia is
currently enrolled in a Master's program in elementary education and
uses her AmeriCorps awards from her two years of service to pay back her
college loans and pay for her graduate school study.
Teaching Children to Read: America Reads
| THEN: | Children's reading scores drop during 1980s
Reading scores among young students dropped significantly
during the 1980s. Despite research demonstrating that reading to
young children was the best way to increase reading skills, in
1991, just 35 percent of young children were read to at home every
day. |
| NOW: | Thousands of volunteers tutor children in America Reads
In 1997, President Clinton challenged Americans to unite to
be sure that every child can read well and independently by the
end of the third grade. So far, more than 1,400 colleges have
committed more than 26,000 Work Study students to tutor children
in reading, and nearly one million children have been taught,
tutored or mentored through national service programs like
AmeriCorps, VISTA, and Foster Grandparents. President Clinton's
America Reads challenge also sought to involve businesses,
communities, pediatricians and child care providers in helping
recruit volunteers, organize book drives and tutor young children
in reading. President Clinton launched America Reads as a
volunteer partnership, then worked with Congress to pass the
Reading Excellence Act in 1998 to provide $260 million and serve
1.1 million children annually. This national effort to improve
reading has made a great difference for children learning to read.
Today, more families are spending time each day reading to their
children. In 1999, 53 percent of children ages 3-5 were read to
daily by a family member. Reading scores are also going up,
especially in our highest poverty communities. From 1992 to 1996,
reading scores of nine-year-olds in highest poverty schools
improved by nearly one grade level, reversing a downward trend. |
College Students Contributing to Their Communities through America Reads
"At California State University, Los Angeles, tutors participating in
the America Reads Challenge are part of a long-standing institutional
commitment to community service. Documented outcomes of the America
Reads project illustrate significant improvement in the literacy skills
of the children with whom we are tutoring. Our students and our
neighbors are benefiting from this relationship. Cal State, LA is proud
to be a part of the America Reads Challenge."
-- Dr. James Rosser, California State University, Los Angeles
Increasing Charitable Giving
| THEN: | Charitable giving and volunteering declines.
Charitable giving as a portion of Gross Domestic Product
declined from 1989 to 1993. The number of people volunteering
fell from 98.4 million in 1989 to 89.2 in 1993, and the total
number of volunteer hours dropped by one billion over the same
period. |
| NOW: | Administration encourages philanthropy and charitable giving
soars.
The Clinton-Gore Administration has worked to promote
charitable giving and philanthropy, hosting the White House
Conference on Philanthropy in October 1999, creating an
Interagency Task Force on Nonprofits and Government and working to
build partnerships between government, business and non-profit
organizations. The strong economy has driven a large share of the
increase in philanthropy -- as individual wealth has increased,
the value of the stock in foundations has soared. Charitable
giving reached a record high in 1999, surging to more than $190
billion, an increase of 43 percent since 1993; as a percentage of
GDP, charitable giving soared to 2.1 percent, the highest level in
almost three decades. |
Drawing on the Private Sector:
| THEN: | America has more problems than federal resources.
In 1992, America faced high poverty rates; record numbers of
people unemployed or on welfare; serious environmental problems;
and record-high deficits. Government alone could not solve all of
these problems. |
| NOW: | Clinton-Gore Administration draws on private sector
partnerships.
President Clinton challenged corporate, religious and
community leaders to join together to solve major problems facing
the country. The Clinton-Gore Administration has provided
important leadership to develop vital partnerships with the
private sector, including:
- Through the President's New Markets and Digital Divide
initiatives, corporations have pledged millions of dollars in
assistance and development commitments to bring economic
development and high-tech training to underserved urban,
rural, and tribal communities.
- The National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, a private
nonprofit organization, was launched in response to the
President's 1995 State of the Union in which he challenged
parents and leaders across the country to come together in a
national effort to reduce teen pregnancy. The Campaign has
raised the visibility of this issue nationwide by enlisting
the help of the media and private advertising experts. The
Campaign has also created a more effective grassroots
movement that brings together public, private, nonprofit
partners in states and local communities. Both teen pregnancy
and teen birth rates are now at record low levels.
- The Administration's efforts also resulted in the creation of
the Fair Labor Association, which includes apparel makers who
have adopted a code of conduct to eliminate child labor and
sweatshop working conditions in manufacturing plants
throughout the world.
- The President's work with the entertainment industry led to
the voluntary adoption of a ratings system for television
shows so parents can be informed about the content of the
programs their children are watching.
|
Service and Volunteerism Producing Progress for Communities
- Almost 200,000 AmeriCorps volunteers: Since 1993, nearly 200,000
AmeriCorps members have served our nation by building homes,
responding to natural disasters, helping to make our streets safer,
and tutoring in schools. More Americans have served in AmeriCorps
in its first five years than have served in the Peace Corps
throughout its history. In addition, nearly 500,000 senior
citizens provide community service through Senior Corps.
- America Reads volunteers teaching children to read: National
Service Participants have tutored nearly one million children,
helping them learn to read. Independent studies found that
children involved in the program improved their reading abilities
more than the gain expected for children at their grade level.
Additionally, many students closed the gap and were reading at or
near the grade-level expectation.
- Charitable giving and volunteering have rebounded: Charitable
giving reached a record $190 billion in 1999, increasing 43 percent
over 1993. As a percentage of GDP, charitable giving reached 2.1
percent in 1999, the highest level in nearly three decades. In
addition, the number of Americans volunteering reached an all time
high in 1998, as an estimated 20 million more Americans volunteered
than in 1993.
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