Hot Topics

Letter to President Bush from Service Clubs
(part of a response to the February 2002 hot topic )

The following is the full text of a letter submitted to President Bush on behalf of some of the major service club organizations:

Congratulations on a unifying and patriotic State of the Union address. Your words instilled comfort and inspired us to even greater service to our communities and country. Mr. President, we applaud your speech's rousing call to service, urging all Americans to commit at least two years of service over the rest of their lifetimes for the benefit of our neighbors and nation.

As leaders of the service club organizations, we speak for our members worldwide who devote millions of hours of service to our communities and countries annually. Tens of thousands of our clubs are in the United States and provide the types of service you mentioned in your speech, including mentoring, community support, and education. In fact, the terrorist events of September 11 saw the mobilization of many service clubs to provide support. We sponsored blood drives, coordinated the collection and delivery of disaster-relief supplies to Ground Zero, and raised millions of dollars to aid victims and support the families of the brave firefighters and police who lost their lives as a result of their courageous work.

Several years ago, 21 leading service organizations joined together to form the Service Clubs Leadership Conference. We encourage you to include our organizations in your call to service. Though charities and faith-based organizations play a key role, it's important to remember that our service club members-4.2 million strong-are exactly those Americans whose support you seek.

Our members are generous, courageous, and committed to community and country. As you move forward on the development of your service agenda, please include us in your deliberations. We can provide insight and enthusiasm and will dedicate ourselves to work with you to fulfill your goals. We look forward to entering into meaningful discussion with you ! and your staff soon.

Yours in service,

Brian G. Cunat, President Kiwanis International
J. Frank Moore, President Lions Clubs International
McKenzie C. Roberts, National President The National Exchange Club Trip Gore, Executive Director Optimist International
Janet Halstead, Executive Director Zonta International
Leigh Wintz, CAE, Executive Director Soroptimist International of the Americas
John Lord, Executive Director Altrusa International
Lynne Caroon, President Quota International
John Rynearson, Executive Vice President Civitan International
Sharon Slusher, President Pilot International
Diane Shannon, President Kinette Clubs of Canada
Roger Hebblethwaite, President Kinsmen Clubs of Canada

Return to hot topic responses OR respond through the links below.