Statement by the President Opening the United Community Campaigns of America.

[ Recorded on tape ]

My fellow Americans:

There are many things about our Nation which excite a sense of pride: the skyline of our cities, the productivity of our farms, the standard of our life together. All these are good, but one quality of America stands out in a somewhat different fashion. This is the quick response of our citizens to their neighbors in need. A little boy falls down a well; a group of miners is trapped by an explosion; a town is devastated by a tornado. And instantly, from all sections of the country, money, clothing and offers of help pour in to relieve the afflicted.

The child's accident, the trapped miners, the suffering in a tornado-these are examples of the emergencies of life. We read and hear about them and we are moved to sympathy and help. But most of the human crises which occur each day never make the headlines. We can't possibly know about all our neighbors in need. Somebody must keep an eye on them and show us the way to help them. This is the purpose of the United Community Campaigns of America.

Right now these United Campaigns are getting underway in some 2,000 communities across the land. They provide us with a splendid opportunity to express the traditional neighborly concern of America.

The campaign in your area may be called the United fund--or the Community Chest--or the Torch Drive. Whatever their names, they represent the largest, the most inclusive annual appeal to which any of us will be asked to give this year. Joined in their united ranks are the familiar voluntary agencies that care for our children, give counseling to troubled families, heal the sick of mind and body. The United funds also help to provide centers of juvenile recreation and good citizenship: the Boy Scouts, the "Y" clubs for young men and women, neighborhood houses for our senior citizens, and many other community organizations. In addition, most united campaigns now include one or more of the great national causes. This year, many Red Cross chapters will participate in these united campaigns to raise funds needed by the Red Cross for disaster relief and for its regular services at home and overseas. These united funds also keep the doors of the USO open to thousands of our service men and women. Indeed, I don't know of any one gift we can make which will mean so much to so many people.

Now, we Americans may be probing for the moon, but we must remember that we still live on this good earth. And here we will always share its pain, its trouble, and its rich blessings with each other.

One of the finest ways to do this is by giving generously to the United Campaign in your home town. I am confident that our hands and hearts will be ready to welcome the volunteer worker who will soon call on us seeking our pledge of support. It is a privilege to serve as an advance herald to this call of the United Community Campaign.