Presidents Obama and Bush on Volunteerism

President Barack Obama will meet with President George Herbert Walker Bush at Texas A&M University, Rudder Auditorium, to discuss and encourage volunterism. Below is an excerpt from an article on the TIME magazine website, called "When Obama meets Bush 41: A Bipartisan Boost", about the upcoming event.

There is a long tradition of sitting Presidents courting, relying on and even plotting with, their predecessors, and the latest chapter is set to unfold Friday afternoon when former President George Herbert Walker Bush, accompanied by former Secretary of State James Baker, greets Barack Obama as he steps off a Marine Corps helicopter in College Station, Texas.

At Bush's invitation, the 44th Commander in Chief is paying a long-planned visit to the home of Bush's presidential library to mark the 20th anniversary of the voluntarism initiative begun by the former President in 1989. (See TIME's 2008 Person of the Year: Barack Obama.)

After being introduced by Bush, Obama will speak on community service before 2,500 people in Rudder Auditorium on the campus of Texas A&M University. Obama is expected to pay tribute to Bush's Points of Light Initiative, a community-service and charitable works program he launched in the early days of his presidency in 1989. Joining the two men on stage will be Robert Gates, the Secretary of Defense and former president of the university, who has worked for both Presidents.


I will post videos of speeches at the event once they become available.

Update: Please click on this link to view President Obama's speech on volunteerism. It was a great speech and I am glad to see the message of volunteerism is being supported in this way. Indeed, not just the two presidents but other famous individuals and organizations are getting into the act. And speaking of the seeming conflagation that volunteerism has become in recent days: I am currently reading a book called Tipping Point by Michael Gladwell. The central argument of the book is found in its subtitle: "little things can make a big difference." I will provide my thoughts on the book once I complete reading it.