USA Freedom Corps was a White House office and fifth policy council (along with Domestic, Economic, National Security, and Homeland Security) within the

Executive Office of the President of the United States The Executive Office of the President (EOP) comprises the offices and agencies that support the work of the president at the center of the executive branch of the United States federal government. The EOP consists of several offices and agenc ...

under

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

, who as

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

served as its

chair A chair is a type of seat, typically designed for one person and consisting of one or more legs, a flat or slightly angled seat and a back-rest. They may be made of wood, metal, or synthetic materials, and may be padded or upholstered in vario ...

. Bush announced its creation during his 2002 State of the Union Address, and the Corps was officially established the next day (30 January), describing itself as a "Coordinating Council... working to strengthen our culture of service and help find opportunities for every American to start volunteering." A USA Freedom Corps Network and online clearinghouse promoted individual

volunteer Volunteering is a voluntary act of an individual or group freely giving time and labor for community service. Many volunteers are specifically trained in the areas they work, such as medicine, education, or emergency rescue. Others serve ...

service opportunities within the United States and abroad and connected Americans to opportunities to serve in federal programs, such as

AmeriCorps AmeriCorps (officially the Corporation for National and Community Service or CNCS) is an independent agency of the United States government that engages more than five million Americans in service through a variety of stipended volunteer work prog ...

Peace Corps The Peace Corps is an independent agency and program of the United States government that trains and deploys volunteers to provide international development assistance. It was established in March 1961 by an executive order of President John F. ...

, and

Senior Corps AmeriCorps Seniors is a United States government program run by the agency Corporation for National and Community Service. The program engages volunteers aged 55 and older to serve their communities. There are over 200,000 volunteers nationwide. ...

, or to find local service opportunities by zip code and interest. The council and office were also involved with

U.S. federal government The federal government of the United States (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the Federation#Federal governments, national government of the United States, a federal republic located primarily in North America, composed of 50 ...

service programs and provided new support for these existing programs. AmeriCorps grew from 50,000 to 75,000 in 2004. The Peace Corps reached its highest levels in more than 30 years. Freedom Corps also created new programs such as the Citizen Corps for homeland security, ''Volunteers for Prosperity'' for

international volunteering International volunteering is when volunteers contribute their time to work for organisations or causes outside their respective home countries. International volunteering has a long association with international development, with the aim of brin ...

, and a President's Council on Service and Civic Participation, which promoted the new

President's Volunteer Service Award The President's Volunteer Service Award is a civil award bestowed by the President of the United States. Established by executive order by George W. Bush, the award was established to honor volunteers that give hundreds of hours per year helping ...

. Henry C. Lozano was Deputy Assistant to the President and Director of USA Freedom Corps from September 11, 2007 until July 25, 2008. He was preceded by Desiree Thompson Sayle and succeeded by Alison T. Young. The first director of the program was

John Bridgeland John M. Bridgeland (born May 1, 1960) is a former director of the United States Domestic Policy Council and USA Freedom Corps. He is president and CEO of the public policy firm Civic Enterprises, the co-founder and CEO of the COVID Collaborative a ...

, previously director of the

Domestic Policy Council The Domestic Policy Council (DPC) is the principal forum used by the president of the United States for the consideration of domestic policy matters and senior policymaking, Cabinet, and White House officials. The Council is part of the Office ...

on George W. Bush's White House staff. The USA Freedom Corps also announced it has begun to work "with educators and others to help increase civic awareness and participation" across the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and hosted a White House Summit on American History, Civics and Service, resulting in new initiatives to support civic education at the National Endowment for the Humanities and the National Archives. In his 2003 State of the Union Address, President Bush also announced that his USA Freedom Corps would provide new support school-based and community-based mentoring, including mentoring children of prisoners, working in partnership with his faith-based initiative. The goal to reach 100,000 children of prisoners with mentors was met. USA Freedom Corps building

Created within months of the 2001

September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercia ...

, the body sought in part to encourage volunteer participation in

homeland security Homeland security is an American national security term for "the national effort to ensure a homeland that is safe, secure, and resilient against terrorism and other hazards where American interests, aspirations, and ways of life can thrive" to ...

. USA Freedom Corps put in place the first annual measurement of volunteer service at the Census Bureau. Volunteering rose from 59.8 million Americans from September 2001 to 65.4 million Americans by September 2005, sustaining the wave of volunteering that occurred after the terrorist attacks of 9/11.U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Volunteering in the U.S. 2002 -- 2005. The Corps came to international attention on January 3, 2005, when George W. Bush named former presidents

George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushSince around 2000, he has been usually called George H. W. Bush, Bush Senior, Bush 41 or Bush the Elder to distinguish him from his eldest son, George W. Bush, who served as the 43rd president from 2001 to 2009; pr ...

and

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...

to lead a major campaign, through the Corps, to raise funds from private individuals and businesses to provide humanitarian support for victims of the

2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami An earthquake and a tsunami, known as the Boxing Day Tsunami and, by the scientific community, the Sumatra–Andaman earthquake, occurred at 07:58:53 local time (UTC+7) on 26 December 2004, with an epicentre off the west coast of northern Suma ...

. President Obama followed the USA Freedom Corps model by tapping Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton to lead the fundraising efforts in the aftermath of the

2010 Haiti earthquake A disaster, catastrophic Moment magnitude scale, magnitude 7.0 Mw earthquake struck Haiti at 16:53 local time (21:53 UTC) on Tuesday, 12 January 2010. The epicenter was near the town of Léogâne, Ouest (department), Ouest department, a ...

. Key components of the USA Freedom Corps have been continued under the administration of President Obama, including the

Volunteers for Prosperity Volunteering is a voluntary act of an individual or group freely giving time and labor for community service. Many volunteers are specifically trained in the areas they work, such as medicine, education, or emergency rescue. Others serve ...

program that was authorized under the

Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act The Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act or Serve America Act (Public Law 111-13 was introduced in the United States House of Representatives on March 9, 2009, by Representative Carolyn McCarthy of New York. Originally titled the Generations Invi ...

; the Citizen Corps for homeland security and its component programs—

Volunteers in Police Service The Volunteers in Police Service (VIPS) is a volunteer program that provides volunteer assistance to local police. The program is managed by the International Association of Chiefs of Police in partnership with the White House Office of the USA Fr ...

Medical Reserve Corps The Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) is a network in the U.S. of community-based units initiated and established by local organizations aimed to meet the public health needs of their communities. It is sponsored by the Office of the Assistant Secretary ...

, Community Emergency Response Teams, Fire Corps, and Citizen Corps Councils—the President's Volunteer Service Award; and the White House USA Freedom Corps office, now called the White House

Office of Social Innovation and Civic Participation The Office of Social Innovation and Civic Participation was an office new to the Obama Administration, created within the White House, to catalyze new and innovative ways of encouraging government to do business differently. Its first director w ...

. The White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives, which was under the USA Freedom Corps, was also continued by President Obama as the Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships.

External links

Serve.gov
online clearinghouse, successor to USA Freedom Corps initiative

References

{{Authority control Government agencies established in 2002 2009 disestablishments in Washington, D.C. Executive Office of the President of the United States Presidency of George W. Bush 2002 establishments in Washington, D.C.

See also

External links

References