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Skriven 2006-04-03 23:39:46 av Whitehouse Press (1:3634/12.0)
Ärende: Press Release (0604033) for Mon, 2006 Apr 3
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Mrs. Bush's Remarks at Father Flanagan's Girls and Boys Town
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For Immediate Release
Office of the First Lady
April 3, 2006

Mrs. Bush's Remarks at Father Flanagan's Girls and Boys Town
Father Flanagan's Girls and Boys Town
Boys Town, Nebraska



4:03 P.M. CST

MRS. BUSH: Thank you all. Thanks so much, Mayor. Thank you very much. Thank
you everybody. Vince, thank you very, very much. Mr. Mayor, thank you for
your introduction. Father Boes, thank you so much for hosting me here today
at Boys Town. I want to thank everyone, all the adults in the room for all
that you do to help children and teenagers at Girls and Boys Town. Your
work is vital to helping young people set strong goals for themselves, and
then develop the confidence to achieve those goals.

And I want to thank all the young people in the room for pledging and
practicing to respect yourself and others and for working so hard to build
a successful life.

I also want to acknowledge the Governor. Dave, thank you very much for
joining us; and Sally. Congressman Jeff Fortenberry; Congressman Lee Terry;
and Congressman Tom Osborne, thank you so much for joining me here today.
Attorney General John Bruning is here, and Mayor Jo Dee Adelung, the Mayor
of Nebraska City. Thank you very much also for joining us.

I think their presence here shows that they also really care about what
happens to children in Nebraska and all across our country.

In his 2005 State of the Union address, President Bush announced the
Helping America's Youth initiative, and he asked me to lead it. So over the
last year I've traveled to many parts of our country, visiting with young
people and with the adults who are important to their lives.

I've been to schools and to after-school programs. I've met with mentors
and Big Brothers and Big Sisters. I visited with gang intervention
programs, where I met young people who are leaving gangs and finding jobs.
I visited a school debate program in Atlanta where students learned to use
their voices, and not their fists, to resolve conflict. I recently heard
from directors of a program in Los Angeles that I visited last year, which
uses the performing arts, performing Shakespeare, to teach youth employable
skills. They wrote about Jesus, a young man I met when I was there, who was
verging on homelessness. Since then with his experiences building sets with
Willpower to Youth, Jesus is now working at Home Depot and was just named
the Home Depot Employee of the Month.

Last October, the White House convened a Conference on Helping America's
Youth. Scholars, researchers and other adults who work directly with young
people shared their research, shared the statistics, the results of
programs that many of them had started, anecdotal evidence, and their own
experiences. And then we introduced the Community Guide to Helping
America's Youth, which I'll talk about in a little bit.

Today I'm on the road still, meeting more people and seeing programs that
are making a difference in young people's lives -- places like Girls and
Boys Town. There's no doubt about it: Father Flanagan knew what he was
doing when he created this model of success nearly 90 years ago.

And speaking of success, congratulations to the Boys Town Cowboys for
bringing home the basketball state championship. (Applause.) There's just
one way to become a champion: You have to work hard, honor the team, and
believe in yourself. And that's exactly what you did, and it paid off.

The Cowboys' victory reminds us that life is a series of ups and downs.
That's true for all of us, no matter who we are or where we live. We all
have moments of utter happiness. We also have moments of sorrow and fear
and loneliness. But without fail, the hard times will pass -- I can assure
you of this.

When I look at you students, I see immense promise and possibility in each
of you. The adults in this room want you to achieve anything you set your
mind to, and they'll follow your success with great pride long after you've
left Boys and Girls Town.

When I was growing up in Midland, Texas, it was common for most children to
have two parents to rely on. Other caring adults had an equally important
place in our lives. I could count on just about every adult in town knowing
who I was and what I was doing. And they'd report it to my mother if they
saw me doing something they thought I shouldn't.

Of course, young people today face much more difficult challenges. Drugs
and gangs, Internet predators, violence in real life and on television are
just some of the negative influences in children's lives.

And as today's children face greater dangers, they often have fewer people
to rely on. More children are raised in single-parent families, most often
without a father. Millions of children have one or both parents in prison.
Boys and girls spend more time by themselves or with a group of their peers
than with family members, and that often leads to poor choices about
alcohol and drugs.

Young people need positive influences in their lives. We want every child
to be surrounded by caring adults who provide love, advice, and
encouragement, and who can serve as good role models. Through the Helping
America's Youth initiative, we're taking action in the most important parts
of a child's life -- family, school and community.

Families are the foundation of every child's life. And we must do all we
can to help families stay together. We are here today with one very big
family -- the parents and the children of Girls and Boys Town. Here, and in
many sites around the country, children are nurtured in a safe, family-like
environment, where they can learn how to develop healthy relationships,
where they can build their moral and spiritual foundations; where boys and
girls can acquire social skills and cognitive skills, and practice making
wise decisions that will serve them well throughout their lives.

Next, schools are at the heart of helping America's youth, because every
child must have a good education to have a bright future. Today our schools
are improving, thanks to accountability, to higher standards, and to the
hard work of teachers and principals who bring out the very best in their
students.

Earlier today I visited a school in Albuquerque, new Mexico, that's
incorporating into their curriculum a program started by Mothers Against
Drunk Drivers, that helps children avoid risky behaviors like alcohol use.
Research shows that the risk for alcohol and drug use dramatically
increases in the 6th grade, so it's important to reach children with
meaningful, age-appropriate messages before they reach that decision point
in life.

"Protecting You/Protecting Me" teaches elementary school-age children about
the dangers of using alcohol and drugs before children encounter situations
that lead to those dangerous activities. And later, when they do face those
decisions, they'll be confident and prepared to make wise choices.

A child's community is the third major part of life. Strong communities
support families, so that parents will know the values they teach their
children at home will be reinforced when children are outside the home.
Strong communities bolster the work of schools by providing educational and
safe after-school activities for students. And strong communities nurture
healthy children by surrounding them with a network of loving people who
keep them safe and who can guide them toward a successful life.

Forming what we call "community coalitions" is an important step in
reaching children who need help. Community coalitions bring together
everyone in a community, from teachers, to mentors, to pastors, to parents,
to police officers, to substance abuse experts, social service providers,
and business leaders. Anyone who can have a positive influence on a child's
life should be part of a community coalition.

You've got that great coalition right here in Boys Town, Nebraska. Girls
and Boys Town and the surrounding community work together to draft one
success story after another, and America needs more coalitions like this
one.

At the Helping America's Youth Conference last fall, a web-based site, the
Community Guide to Helping America's Youth, was introduced. The Community
Guide helps communities assess their unique local needs and find programs
and resources to meet them. The Guide was developed by several federal
agencies and it's available on-line at www.helpingamericasyouth.gov --
"gov" that is. I urge you to try the Community Guide to Helping America's
Youth.

I'm fortunate to have the chance to be able to visit places like Boys Town,
Nebraska, and meet the adults who are helping children develop a strong
character, a love of education, and the self-respect and the self-control
to stay away from dangerous behaviors. And I'm fortunate to meet the young
people who are facing the challenges before them with courage and hope for
their future.

Across our country are adults who are devoted to helping young people
succeed. And across our country are young people who want to make a
positive impact on the life of their community.

This summer, we'll begin regional conferences of Helping America's Youth.
State and local partners will host the first regional conference in
Indiana. The regional conferences will raise public awareness of programs
that are working in all of our communities. And there's a practical side,
as well. Local leaders will get intensive, hands-on training with the
Community Guide to Helping America's Youth, and will take this important
message directly to the grassroots level in each one of their communities.

Children want us in their lives, and children need us in their lives. And
as I've learned from the remarkable men and women I've met across our
country, each of us has the power to bring hope and opportunity to
children.

Thank you all very, very much. Thank you for your wonderful work. And thank
you for inviting me here today. (Applause.)

(Mrs. Bush is presented with Father Flanagan Award for Service to Youth.)
(Applause.)

MRS. BUSH: Thank you all very much. This will have a very special place in
my office, and I will never forget having the chance to be with you and
with the girls I got to visit with before this. Thank you all very, very
much.

END 4:17 P.M. CST
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