President Bush Participates in One Warm Coat Holiday Service Project

President Bush Participates in One Warm Coat Holiday Service Project
Pathways to Housing, D.C.

THE PRESIDENT: Listen, Laura and I are here with the Mayor, and other volunteers who are just trying to make a difference in one person's life. And today we're honoring a project called One Warm Coat. And it's an effort -- a nationwide effort to convince our fellow citizens to contribute a used, but not overly used, coat, to help a soul who may need to be warm this winter.

I think there's 2,000 chapters nationwide. The program was started by this lady right here -- the ultimate social entrepreneur -- and until 1992, it was operated out of San Francisco. And today it's -- as I said, there's 2,000 coat drives. If you want to help, you can get on the web page and call onewarmcoat.org -- call it up on your computer.

A couple of examples, or a couple of reasons why we come -- and one such example is the great example of how a single citizen, and eventually a group of citizens, can make a difference, positive difference; that our communities are enriched by programs such as these.

We're also here, by the way, at the headquarters for Pathway to Housing, which is a program of -- all aimed at helping the homeless find a place to live.

And I want to thank, Mr. Mayor, your leadership -- and all of you all for being involved in this vital program.

If you want to serve your nation, you can find a lot of ways to serve. And I hope you do. I hope you realize the great blessings that come when you put your heart and soul into making somebody else's life better.

And so, Mr. Mayor, Laura and I wish you and the citizens of this fine city a happy holiday, and thank you for joining us today.

MAYOR FENTY: Thank you. Thank you for the donations from the White House staff, and yourself personally.

THE PRESIDENT: One hundred and fifty coats. I'm so pleased that those good souls who Laura and I work with agreed to contribute.

Anyway, thank you all.

MRS. BUSH: Happy holidays. Thank you.

THE PRESIDENT: All get a team picture -- come on. Come on, Laura. Soldiers in the army of compassion.

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