PROCLAMATION 6987—APR. 11, 1997 111 STAT. 2887 Corporation for National Service; the Points of Light Foundation; Learn and Serve America; the National Senior Service Corps; and thousands of other voluntary, civic, religious, and neighborhood groups. Later this month, at Independence Hall in Philadelphia, we will convene an historic Presidents' Summit on Service. I will be joined there by every living former president, or his representative, and other prominent Americans as we take specific steps to serve our children and to rebuild our communities. Our mission is nothing less than to spark a renewed national sense of obligation, a new sense of duty, a new season of service. I hope that the many related activities in the days leading up to this important event will make all Americans think about our shared responsibility for one another. Citizen service can take many shapes—it can mean joining AmeriCorps as a high school student, volunteering nights or on weekends in a religious group or neighborhood association, or devoting years of one's life to service in the Peace Corps or in the Jesuit Volunteer Corps. NOW, THEREFORE, I, WILLIAM J. CLINTON, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim the week of April 13 through April 19, 1997, as National Service and Volunteer Week. I call upon all Americans to observe this week with appropriate programs, ceremonies, and activities to express appreciation for all those who serve and to encourage others to continue the American legacy of service. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this eleventh day of April, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and ninety- seven, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and twenty-first. WILLIAM J. CLINTON Proclamation 6987 of April 11, 1997 Pan American Day and Pan American Week, 1997 By the President of the United States of America A Proclamation Each year, we pause to reflect on how the 34 free countries of the Western Hemisphere are inextricably linked to a shared vision through the common thread of democracy, free trade, and mutual respect. This vision can be achieved by continuing our efforts to create a hemispheric free trade area and by working together to uphold democracy, defend human rights, and defeat the scourge of narcotics trafficking. The citizens of the Americas have made remarkable progress toward the advancement of democratic values and institutions, as well as the creation of integrated markets within which goods may be exchanged freely in a common market of ideas and innovation. Today, every country in our hemisphere—with one exception—has made the promise of democracy a reality. These countries have recognized that representative democracy is essential for guaranteeing the basic human
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