A SPECIAL MESSAGE FROM

GENERAL COLIN L. POWELL, USA (RET)
November 1997

Greetings to all of you gathered together for the Gift of Time Foundation's "Stars for Life" event. Although my schedule prevents me from being with you in St. Louis, I am heartened by the Foundation's dedicated efforts and I salute each of you for your hard work on behalf of our young people.

Recently, at the President's Summit in Philadelphia, we launched a long-range, national campaign on behalf of our Nation's youth. The goal of the campaign, known as AMERICA'S PROMISE — THE ALLIANCE FOR YOUTH, is to provide two million youngsters with the five basic resources they need to "make it" in today's world: an ongoing relationship with a caring adult; safe places to learn and grow; a healthy start; a marketable skill through effective education; and an opportunity to "give back" through community service.

You should know that the Gift of Time Foundation's efforts to reach out to those youngsters are part of a very exciting, quickly expanding, list of initiatives from all across our great Nation. Your work to provide children with the resources and assistance they need is very much in the spirit of what we are trying to do at "America's Promise" and I look forward to even greater successes as you enlist others in the cause.

I am very gratified by your dedicated efforts and I thank you for investing your collective energy, expertise and bounty back into the next generation of young Americans. With kind regards,

Sincerely,