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Skriven 2007-04-27 23:31:06 av Whitehouse Press (1:3634/12.0)
Ärende: Press Release (0704279) for Fri, 2007 Apr 27
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Mrs. Bush's Remarks at the Salvation Army National Advisory Organizations
Conference
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For Immediate Release Office of the First Lady April 27, 2007

Mrs. Bush's Remarks at the Salvation Army National Advisory Organizations
Conference Hilton Anatole Hotel Dallas, Texas



1:15 P.M. CDT

MRS. BUSH: Thank you everyone. Thanks so much. Please be seated. Thank you
all very, very much. And Ruth, thank you for the very kind introduction. I
know the Salvation Army knows what every single person in Dallas knows, and
that is, if you want to be successful, ask Ruth Altshuler to be a part of
your team. (Applause.)

I really was not going to talk about the Laura Bush Foundation for
America's Libraries, but I do want to tell you that I asked Ruth to be on
my board, and we've been very successful. And I want thank Ruth very, very
much for everything she's done.

The Schweitzer quote she used is really about her. She's the example. And
she's the example to women all over Dallas and all over Texas. And Ruth,
thank you very, very much for setting such a great example for all of us.
(Applause.)

I want to recognize Commissioner Israel Gaither and Eva Gaither --
Commissioner Gaither the Commander of the Salvation Army, and Eva is the
National President of the Women's Ministries of the Salvation Army. Thank
you very much. I also want to recognize my friends Gene and Jerry Jones who
are your hosts here. Jerry is on the National Advisory Board of the
Salvation Army, and, as all of you know, Dallas Cowboys Football owner. And
thank you all both for everything you do for Dallas and for our country.
(Applause.) Also I want to recognize your National Advisory Board President
Rob Pace. Rob, thank you for your service.

National Advisory Board members, volunteers, leaders, and staff of the
Salvation Army, thank you for the very, very warm welcome home to me, to
Dallas. I'm delighted to be with you, and I'm thrilled that Ruth gave me
this opportunity to speak, because today, I have the chance to thank you in
person for the important work you're doing for our country.

The Salvation Army helps carry out many of the President's initiatives to
serve the needy -- across the United States, and in countries around the
world. In Africa, the Army has distributed mosquito nets through the
President's Malaria Initiative, and has supported life-saving projects
through the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief. Army members also
serve the poor through programs run by the White House Office of
Faith-Based and Community Initiatives. President Bush and I thank you very,
very much. (Applause.)

This week, 2,500 of you have gathered to build on this proud tradition of
service. The Salvation Army is one of the largest service organizations in
the world. Across the United States, 35,000 officers, 60,000 staff members,
and 3.5 million volunteers extend compassion to our fellow Americans. At
Christmastime, when there's a Red Kettle on every corner, it seems like
there are 10 million more. (Laughter.)

This week, through meetings and informal conversations, you'll strengthen
the ties within the Salvation Army. And through panels and seminars, you'll
learn how to strengthen the Army's ties to the communities you serve. At
this conference, and in the acts of kindness you perform every day, you're
advancing the Salvation Army's mission to "Do the most good."

For 150 years, the good men and women of the Army have served their
neighbors in need. After September 11th, the Salvation Army was at Ground
Zero, helping those families who had lost. In Kansas, you brought much
needed relief after tornadoes uprooted whole communities. In North
Carolina, through the NightWatch program, you've provided food, clothes and
companionship to the homeless. In Ohio, through the Harbor House Treatment
Center, you've given substance abusers a second chance for healthy lives.
Just last week, you brought meals and comfort to law enforcement officers
responding to the tragedy at Virginia Tech.

Through each of these ministries, you're answering the Salvation Army's
call to be a "shelter in the storm." And on the Gulf Coast, you answered
that call literally. Immediately after Hurricane Katrina, the Salvation
Army was there, offering victims kindness and relief. I saw the Salvation
Army in action at the Yankie Stadium Relief Center in Biloxi, Mississippi.
There, volunteers provided medical care to the injured, and distributed
food and clothing to people who had lost everything.

At the center, I met the man who led these efforts, Captain Zach Bell.
Captain Bell says his time on the Gulf Coast was a powerful reminder of why
our country needs the Salvation Army. He'll always remember Isaiah, a
four-year-old boy who came to the shelter every day with his mom. Amid the
devastation, the Salvation Army Center was a place for Isaiah to get meals
and snacks, to run around, to just be a normal kid. This family was
determined to stay in Mississippi, Captain Bell says, "and to rebuild their
lives there." With help from the Salvation Army, Isaiah and his mother did
stay in Mississippi, and today they're rebuilding their lives and a new
home at D'Iberville. Captain Zach Bell is here in the audience. (Applause.)

Salvation Army officers, soldiers and volunteers serve around the world.
The Salvation Army is working to stop the scourge of human trafficking.
You're standing against religious persecution. The American Salvation Army
and sister Armies around the world raised millions of dollars for the
victims of the Southeast Asia tsunami.

On the continent of Africa, Salvation Army staff members and affiliates are
implementing the WORTH program in Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda, working with
USAID. The WORTH program helps women in African villages start private
banks, which lend and receive micro-credit. Women use these resources to
launch their own small businesses, stimulating local economies and
providing these women with help for themselves and their families.

With their newfound independence, women address the other challenges facing
their communities -- like the lack of education, and the spread of
HIV/AIDS. One of these women is Alexanderena Nanzala, a 60-year-old WORTH
participant from Uganda. Alexanderena's son died from AIDS, and his wife
left their village. Alexanderena was left to care for all eight of her
grandchildren, without a source of income or the education to find a job.
But with help from a WORTH loan, this grandmother opened a canteen in her
village, which has helped provide for her family.

Alexanderena also drew strength from her fellow WORTH participants. The
women encourage each other to keep saving, and to get an education. After
literacy classes, Alexanderena now proudly writes her name. And she's
making sure all of her grandchildren go to school. I'd like to thank the
Salvation Army for supporting the WORTH program, and for working to help
women and young people in Africa. (Applause.)

Helping young people everywhere is an integral part of the Salvation Army's
mission. Across the United States, caring "Sallies" take an active interest
in the lives of young people, showing them that adults care for them,
respect them, and believe in them.

Helping young people build the knowledge and the self-respect they need to
lead successful lives is at the heart of Helping America's Youth. President
Bush announced the Helping America's Youth Initiative in his 2005 State of
the Union address, and he asked me to lead it. So over the last two years,
I've traveled throughout the United States, visiting with young people and
with the adults who are so important to their lives. I've been to schools
and to after-school programs. I've met with mentors and Big Brothers and
Big Sisters. I visited a sports program in Detroit, a debate program in
Atlanta, and gang intervention programs in Los Angeles and Chicago.

All of these visits led to the White House Conference on Helping America's
Youth, where we introduced an online, interactive Community Guide. The
guide helps concerned adults learn more about their own communities, like
which neighborhoods have the most youth-related problems, and what local
resources are available to address these problems. The guide is available
at www.helpingamericasyouth.gov -- that's g-o-v. And I encourage each of
you to use this guide in your own neighborhoods.

Many of you have worked with young people as part of your service with the
Salvation Army. One of these young people is Zack Nunamaker. Zack was 13
when his mom and four siblings checked into the Salvation Army homeless
shelter in Kankakee, Illinois. His father was in jail, and the family had
nowhere else to go. Zack wasn't happy about the move. He told his mother
he'd rather go to jail than go to a shelter. But during his six weeks with
the Salvation Army, Zack changed his mind. Zack says, "They were the people
who taught me right from wrong -- that the way I was heading was not the
way to live."

After his family left the shelter, Zack kept coming back to visit and to
help out. Now he plans to be a leader in the Salvation Army, and he hopes
to change other young people's lives as caring "Sallies" did for him.
(Applause.)

Throughout the United States, members of the Salvation Army are helping
their neighbors change their lives. Thanks to each and every one of you for
serving your communities and our country. Thank you for building on the
Salvation Army's success through this conference, and thank you for showing
the compassionate character of America to the world.

Thank you all very, very much, and may God bless you and may God bless your
work. (Applause.)

END 1:28 P.M. CDT
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