USA Freedom Corps

The USA Freedom Corps (USAFC) was a White House office and interagency coordinating council located within the Executive Office of the President (EOP) tasked with coordinating a variety of national service and volunteer programs and initiatives.  The USA Freedom Corps also oversaw the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives.

President George W. Bush announced the creation of the USA Freedom Corps in his 2002 State of the Union address

“My call tonight is for every American to commit at least two years -- 4,000 hours over the rest of your lifetime -- to the service of your neighbors and your nation.  (Applause.)  Many are already serving, and I thank you.  If you aren't sure how to help, I've got a good place to start.  To sustain and extend the best that has emerged in America, I invite you to join the new USA Freedom Corps.  The Freedom Corps will focus on three areas of need:  responding in case of crisis at home; rebuilding our communities; and extending American compassion throughout the world.” President George W. Bush, State of the Union Address, January 29, 2002.

USA Freedom Corps proposed and oversaw the expansion of existing national service programs through various departments and agencies represented on its coordinating council, including expansion of opportunities in the Peace Corps, VISTA, AmeriCorps and Senior Corps. The Freedom Corps also worked with departments and agencies to create new service opportunities to prepare for and respond to disasters of all kinds after 9/11. The President also created Volunteers for Prosperity to engage highly-skilled Americans in service abroad in partnership with programs that provide clean water to the poor, promote democratic governance, develop economic freedom, promote free and open markets, and control HIV/AIDS and malaria. 

The USA Freedom Corps oversaw the creation of an online database for national service and volunteer opportunities known as the Volunteer Network. Potential volunteers used the database to identify positions that matched their skills and interests. 

The Freedom Corps through its coordinating council also worked with volunteer service liaisons throughout the Federal government, and with agencies overseeing national and volunteer service programs, such as the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS), Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Department of Health and Human Service, and Department of Justice. CNCS oversaw AmeriCorps and Senior Corps, which offered domestic service opportunities. FEMA oversaw VISTA, Citizen Corps, which encouraged individuals to assist with disaster relief.

USA Freedom Corps and its partners raised awareness of volunteer opportunities, from short-term opportunities like the Martin Luther King Day of Service, to long-term opportunities like the Peace Corps.

Image

The USA Freedom Corps also oversaw the President’s Council on Service and Civic Participation, a PSA campaign with the Ad Council, Senators John Glenn and Robert Dole, and other iconic Americans. The Council recommended the creation of a service award to recognize exceptional volunteers, which resulted in the President’s Volunteer Service Award that was earned by outstanding volunteers.

These service awards continue today, but are now distributed through Americorps in partnership with the Points of Light Foundation. The award levels are bronze, silver, and gold, and are based upon a person’s hours of service. There is also a Lifetime Achievement Award for individuals with 4,000 hours of service.

Exceptional volunteers were invited by the White House to participate in a Presidential Greeter program. These Greeters would meet President George W. Bush at the airport when he made official trips across the country. In addition to greeting the President, the volunteer being recognized would also receive a photograph with the President and the President's Volunteer Service Award.

Image

Although the USA Freedom Corps office was dissolved by subsequent Presidents, volunteer service initiatives live on. President Bush created the National Day of Service and Remembrance
on the anniversary of 9/11 and Congress made that permanent in the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act, which President Barack Obama signed in 2009.   

Today, there are numerous opportunities for Americans to serve. Individuals can commit to months of service, either domestically or abroad, or on specific days of service, such as Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service and the September 11 Day of Service and Remembrance. The President’s Volunteer Service Award still recognizes extraordinary volunteer service.