| Inaugural concert honors young volunteers
WASHINGTON - Nearly 10,000 people came to see pop artists Hillary Duff and Ruben Studdard at an inauguration week event celebrating young volunteers, but the famous musicians were upstaged by a bigger name: President Bush.
At one of the earliest inaugural events, "America's Future Rocks Today: A Call to Service," President Bush concluded the concert Tuesday evening by praising young people who volunteer. He and first lady Laura Bush also waved to their daughters, Jenna and Barbara, who were in the audience at the D.C. Armory.
The two-hour concert was geared toward the youngest Americans, featuring rock and R&B acts including Studdard, 3 Doors Down, Jason Cabrera and JoJo.
Between performances, children and teens were featured in videos in which they explained their community service. Their projects ranged from refurbishing bicycles for underprivileged kids to building playgrounds in parks.
Alexandra Amend, now 11, overcame stage fright to gave her first impromptu violin concert shortly after Sept. 11, 2001, to a crowd of 500 people. Her mother collected donations for the American Red Cross as she played. Since then, Alexandra dedicated playing the national anthem at a professional baseball game to a missing soldier from her hometown, Cincinnati. In four years, she has raised $7,000 for charity.
The most enthusiastic applause of the evening came at the very end of the concert, when all the performers stood among the children and teens who were honored for their service and Bush joined them to thanked the volunteers for helping "one heart, one soul and one conscience at a time."
Some community service organizations, such as Habitat for Humanity, gave out information in a tent next to the armory. The tent held a DJ, arcade games and extra heating to fight frigid temperatures.
"No matter what you think about the rest of the policies, I think it's great that they are bringing students here to get exposed to all the different ways that they can get involved in helping their communities," said Erin McHugh, handing out pamphlets and temporary tattoos for Take Pride in America, a government environmental program.
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