It's great to be here with you.

First let me acknowledge the great Zoe Lofgren, your representative in Congress. She is also the head of the California Democratic delegation, the largest delegation in the country.

Zoe serves on the Judiciary Committee in the House, and I serve on the Judiciary Committee in the Senate.

We've been able to work together on a problem which I'd just like to tell you about.

At any given time, there about 5,000 children who through no fault of their own have come to this country without a parent or guardian. What often happens to these children is that they very often they end up in jail - at age three, four, five, fifteen, sixteen, and seventeen. They have no representation, and they can't speak the language.

We have put together a bill, which has passed the Senate, and Zoe has sponsored in the House, and it's called the Unaccompanied Alien Children's Act. This bill would ensure that these children are sent back where they came, if they can be. If there isn't, that there's suitable housing for them here, and that they have a guardian and pro bono legal council.

I'll never forget when I first learned about this problem: I was watching television, and I saw a young Chinese girl in shackles--hands to her feet-in front of a judge. She was crying, unable to speak the language, trying to lift her hands to wipe her nose and eyes, and she couldn't do it because of the shackles.

She happened to have been in a container coming from China, and her parents died in that container, and she survived. She had been at that point more than a year in jail, didn't know where she was. So we're trying to put an end to that kind of thing. Zoe, thank you so much.

I also what to thank Carl Guardino, the Chairman of the Board of City Year and the Chairman and CEO of the Silicon Valley Manufacturing Group.

I think under Carl's leadership, I have really seen something that's unprecedented for a California city: the closeness between the government and the business community, and the people of a community and the leadership of the business community.

Ladies and gentlemen, this doesn't happen in many places, and it really takes, enlightened CEO leadership and organization. Carl Guardino has provided that leadership, and this city is so much better for it. Thank you very much.

Lifetime of Idealism Award

Now, you've just given me the Lifetime of Idealism Award. Most people think you're idealistic when you're young, and as you become battered by the problems and vicissitudes of life, that idealism diminishes.

For me, it's exactly the opposite. The older I get, and the more I see, I really come to the conclusion how lucky we are to be Americans. There is no country that gives its citizens, young and old, rich and poor, more opportunities than this great country does.

Now everybody starts out at the starting line in a different position, and that's what makes it more difficult. And so by the time you move past that starting line, it is very important that each individual be looked at as a person.

We strive for this in this country. I think that idealism grows and is nurtured as we grow older. For me, that's become the case. The more opportunities are provided for me, the more I become idealistic.

The more American values are instilled in me, the more I become idealistic. And the more I experience the way of life as your representative, the more I become idealistic. And I think it's very important to do that, particularly as we grow older. 

Mentoring

There are so many things that individuals can do. There are so many needs on this earth. Yesterday, I was in Fresno, and part of the day I had a meeting with law enforcement, the highway patrol, the chiefs of police of Sanger, of Fresno, the U.S. Attorney, and the District Attorney.

We were talking about gangs. I have watched over the last five years as gangs throughout this State and throughout our country grow -- in size and in viciousness.

In Fresno, one third of the murders are committed by gangs. In Los Angeles, one half of all of the murders are committed by gangs.

We were sitting at the table talking, and the police chief, Chief Dyer, said to me, "You know, one of the real problems, that there's so many families that really don't care about their children."

And I said, "What do you think would be the most consequential program that we could put together which would bring youngsters another road, a way of giving them new opportunities, helping them escape the limitations of the lives they presently lead."

And he said, "You know what it is, it's mentoring." And I agree. It's the ability to go one to one with a youngster. It's the ability to meet with that youngster, talk with that youngster, do some studying with that youngster, give that youngster a sense of support that he or she very well may not have at home.

Everyone in this room, in addition to what you do, can be a mentor. These young people, now that they have put their divot back, that they have given so much to this city, I believe will always be good citizens. I hope that each and every one of you will go out and find a youngster, one youngster, who you can help.

It's not always easy. I was a mentor. I'll tell you a story. When I was mayor, I went out to Bayview/Hunter's Point every Monday afternoon, and spent the afternoon with children. Some were three, some were eighteen.

I spent time with maybe 100, 150 children on a given afternoon. And there was young youngster that really attracted me. We became very friendly. I had the occasion to take him to Africa with me on a trip. I helped him with school. I mentored him.

Anthony was doing so well. He had been admitted -- this was nine years later -- to Fresno State University.

One day, he went out and met some of his old friends. They bought a gun on the street. They went into somebody's apartment. They didn't know that there was a bullet in the chamber, and they played Russian roulette.

Anthony got the loaded chamber. We lost him. I'll never forget the experience, though, of seeing the change that mentoring can bring about in someone's life.

This youngster was going to go to college, when no one else in his family had even come close. I hope you'll take that into consideration.

Non-Profit Organizations

There's another way to help and that's through one of the many non-profit organizations in our country. You can join one and help.

Last night, Bill Clinton spoke at a foundation that my husband is involved in. My husband's a mountain climber, trekker, outdoor person, and an adventurer. He loves the mountains, particularly the Himalayas, and he has developed a foundation with Sir Edmund Hillary called the American Himalayan Foundation.

They had a fundraiser last night, and let my give you give an example of one of his programs.

In Nepal, young women of poor families are sold by their families into lives of prostitution. For a very small amount of money, this foundation goes out and pays the money to the family and helps protect the girl in the family, and sends the girl to school where she learns a trade.

And for about $30,000, they have now educated 1,200 13- and 14-year old girls, and not one of them will ever end in prostitution.

So these are some of the things that can be done. 

Combating Poverty

One of the great benefits of the Senate is to be able to look out at the entire world and see what's happening in other countries.

I think, if you do that, you see a deeply troubled world.

You see where two and a half billion people live on less than $2 a day. You see where large numbers of children die at age three, four, and five, and six, from chronic diarrhea, because they have never had a clean glass of water in their lives.

You see where one billion people live their lives in near starvation. And you see poverty on a level that we have never seen in this country.

So I emphasize the importance of putting your divot back, being idealistic, wanting to give to others, wanting to improve the world-particularly now, when we're fighting a war on terror.

Poverty is the swamp that breeds terror. Poverty is the fertile ground for radicals to preach hatred against countries they don't understand, such as our very own. The degree to which we can do those things to alleviate poverty, the degree to which the Peace Corps, AmeriCorps, is able to do that within our own country, is so significant.

In the same way, the volunteers at City Year have learned many of the lessons at a young age that it took most of us a lifetime to learn. These young men and women understand the value of service, they know what it means to work hard, and they are building a vision for the future. You ought to take great pride in the fact.

Conclusion

Now that you have been given the gift to be able to give to others, how many of us are going to be able to bestow that gift upon others? I think that's really the question.

We can applaud away in this difficult, fractious time, in an election year, but still with the faith and confidence that there is so much basic good, not only in every human being, but in every city, in every county, and in every state of this great nation.

We should all be so proud to be Americans. I thank you from the bottom of my heart.