President's Volunteer Service Award - Purpose and Establishment

Purpose and Establishment

The purpose for the President's Volunteer Service Award is to honor the hundreds of thousands of people across America that have volunteered hundreds, if not thousands of volunteer hours over their lifetime.

The program was established to honor the volunteer works of individuals, families and organizations throughout the United States. There have been several variations of this program using different names, including the President's Volunteer Action Award from the 1980s.

The current program is called the President's Volunteer Service Award and was created by President George W. Bush in 2002. He made this program known during his State of the Union address. In January 2003, President George W. Bush created an Executive Order that created the President's Council on Service and Civic Participation. The Council was established to recognize the important contributions Americans of all ages are making within their communities through service and civic engagement. The President's Volunteer Service Award is now an initiative of the Corporation for National and Community Service and the Points of Light Institute.

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