…one of the reasons why I’m here is that we’re here to kick off what we’re calling United We Serve…..As you may know and as Maria said, community and national service is something that’s near and dear to my heart….
And as we think about what we’re trying to do through United We Serve, I just think — imagine the changes that happen with the creation of this park. Kids who were never able to play on a swing set get the opportunity to play. And that just doesn’t happen here on this site. Think about the libraries that will be changed because each of us donates a book or two. Or think about the smiles that are on some homeless person’s face because you took the time to spend a couple of hours to feed somebody a healthy meal. That’s what United We Serve is all about. It’s a nationwide effort to call Americans to make service a daily part of their lives — like all of you here; it’s not something that you do in your spare time.
As history has shown again and again, when we come together as a nation, we can really get things done. We saw that in this past election. We’ve seen it time and time again. Service is how we get where we need to be.
And United We Serve is going to focus on a couple of key strategies: one is education, health, energy and the environment, and community renewal. (Applause.) And the project that we’re working on here today has a clear focus on health and community renewal.