Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 108 Part 6.djvu/1073

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PROCLAMATION 6734—OCT. 7, 1994 108 STAT. 5641 and collective action to prevent crime. It teaches us that working together, we can make a difference. The Congress, by House Joint Resolution 363, has designated October 1994 as "Crime Prevention Month" and has authorized and requested the President to issue a proclamation in observance of this month. NOW, THEREFORE, I, WILLIAM J. CLINTON, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim October 1994 as Crime Prevention Month. I encourage residents in communities throughout the Nation to observe this month with appropriate programs, ceremonies, and activities. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this fifth day of October, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and ninety-four, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and nineteenth. WILLIAM J. CLINTON Proclamation 6734 of October 7, 1994 National Children's Day, 1994 By the President of the United States of America A Proclamation With every baby born in America, our Nation reaffirms its hope for the future. As parents and care givers, our responsibility is clear. Our most solemn obligation to our children cannot be merely that we hold a torch to guide their way around every dark and treacherous comer. Rather, we must strive to kindle a spark within each child—a spark that will become the flame of knowledge and imagination, the fire of justice and compassion. This is a task for which humanity has great experience and for which humans have little preparation. But in this task our Nation must succeed. So that when our children look to a future that seems, for many, clouded and uncertain, they have the power within themselves to light the way for all of us. One of the most important steps in meeting that crucial challenge is providing for the health and safety of our children as they grow. That homicide and suicide are the leading causes of death among our youth is a national tragedy. We have enacted legislation that expands and improves the Head Start program, providing health, education, and social services for children of low-income families. America's new Childhood Immunization Initiative will help to vaccinate at least 90 percent of our Nation's infants—the most sweeping effort of its kind in American history. Our new crime bill supports programs that encourage youth to escape the destructive confines of gangs, and it goes a long way toward keeping guns out of the hands of juveniles. But no government program will be truly effective without the caring involvement of every one of our citizens. Parents and siblings, teachers and neighbors—all of us must work to instill a sense of self and a sense of purpose in the lives of our youth. Children are our hope and our inspiration. For every finger painting that graces our kitchen walls.