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Senor Corps Takes On Veterans History Project
Sept. 18, 02 - A partnership
between Senior Corps and the American Folklife Center at the Library
of Congress to promote and extend the Veterans History Project has
been announced by the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS).
Senior volunteers will help
identify and locate veterans and those involved in significant home
front activities, conduct interviews, collect documents, create
veterans history archives in local communities, and help preserve and
present veterans' stories to students and the public as a whole.
Senior Corps volunteers will be working with veterans of World War I,
World War II, and the Korean, Vietnam, and Persian Gulf Wars. More
than 500,000 Americans 55 and older serve with Senior Corps.
The new project is part of a
nationwide series of programs focusing on civics and history,
announced by President George W. Bush on the 215th anniversary of the
signing of the Constitution.
"As the federal agency that
administers national and community service programs, the Corporation
has always had a special responsibility to increase civic
responsibility among all Americans," Corporation CEO Leslie Lenkowsky
said. "In the wake of September 11, there is no better time to focus
on what it means to be an American citizen and what all of us ought to
know about our history and government."
He added, "Through our three
main programs-Senior Corps, AmeriCorps, and Learn and Serve America-we
offer Americans of all ages opportunities to serve their communities
and their country, while also acquiring the knowledge and habits of
being a good citizen. These new initiatives will increase the
contribution our service programs make to fostering civic
responsibility, while preserving an integral part of American
history." |
