In an attempt to bring the spirit of 1776 back to Philadelphia, President Clinton and former President George Bush announced recently that the city will host a three-day community service gala this spring. Former Presidents Jimmy Carter and Gerald Ford and former first ladies Nancy Reagan and Lady Bird Johnson are expected to participate -- along with civic leaders from hundreds of American communities --in "The Presidents' Summit on America's Future." Retired Gen. Colin Powell will serve as chairperson of the summit, which is designed to address volunteerism and community service in the 21st century. Former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Henry Cisneros will be the event's vice chairperson. The summit is scheduled for April 27-29, and organizers expect it to attract between 2,000 to 2,500 participants, according to Deputy Mayor Kevin Feeley. At a Friday press conference with Mayor Ed Rendell, Clinton applauded the conference organizers for the "wise" decision to hold the summit in Philadelphia. He emphasized that community service transcends political and ideological lines. "Citizen service belongs to no party, no ideology," he said on Friday. "It is an American idea which every American should embrace." Feeley said he hopes the conference will accomplish three goals -- honoring past volunteer programs, encouraging people to get involved with their communities and providing civic leaders with new community service ideas to bring back to their neighborhoods. He added that the logistics of the convention have not been worked out yet, but it will likely be held at the Convention Center and Independence Hall. Though organizers don't know whether the convention will be open to the public, Feeley urged Penn students to attend if the program is open. "In any case, we'd urge them to catch the fire of this message -- you've got to get involved," he said. Feeley added that the city was a natural choice for a community service summit. "Philadelphia is famous for volunteerism -- the framers of the Constitution, the founding fathers in every sense of the word were citizen volunteers," he said. "That's the spirit that brought this summit in the first place." The convention will provide the city with "great" national exposure as the "eyes of the country" look towards Philadelphia for a weekend, Feeley said. He added that he hopes the nation will follow the city's example and make community service endeavors a civic priority. Businesses and corporations such as Packard Bell and the Pew Charitable Trust will fund the conference. In announcing the event last week, Clinton referred to Bush's "Thousand Points of Light" initiative and his own AmeriCorps program as impetuses for the volunteer and community service-oriented summit. "We share [Bush's] hope that by holding up examples of ordinary Americans engaged in extraordinary service, by holding up those 1,000 Points of Light, they will grow by power of their example into millions of points of light," Clinton said. And Bush said the challenge volunteer organizations face across the country is "getting more people to take that next step. "[The summit is] about citizens pulling together and leading by example and lifting lives," he added. The University's associate director for public service, Amy Cohen, lauded students for their current efforts in the community and said the conference would be an "exciting" way for students to seek out more volunteer opportunities. She added that the event could spur new ideas for programs and activities in West Philadelphia, and she emphasized the significance of the conference taking place in "the birthplace of democracy" -- especially given Philadelphia's long history of community service.
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