As an eight-year old at the time of President George H. W. Bush’s inaugural address, I honestly do not remember hearing about “a thousand points of light.”  When I speak to people a bit older than me, most people immediately recognize the phrase as part of President Bush’s speech.

It’s pretty amazing that more than 20 years after President Bush said these words our country remembers them and continues to focus on serving others in the way he hoped.  In the address, President Bush said, “We must bring in the generations, harnessing the unused talent of the elderly and the unfocused energy of the young.”

Twenty years later…

• Over 23 million more volunteers participating annually today in service than in 1989.
• More than twice as many youth are volunteering as volunteered in 1989.
• Baby boomers and older Americans are both over 40% more likely to volunteer than the same age groups in 1989.

Check out more statistics on the state of American volunteerism here.

This got me thinking – what other leaders have legacies that people recognize just by a simple phrase like “points of light”, and how many of these legacies continue to improve communities across our nation and the world?