George W. Bush: Charity Work & Causes

George W. Bush was 43rd President of America from 2001 to 2009.

Bush was born into the political elite, his father having been the 41st President of the USA, George H. W. Bush. George Junior is one of only two Presidents ever to be the son of a former ruler. A smart man, George went to both Yale and Harvard, where he majored in business. After a short time in the oil industry, Bush ran for the House of Representatives and thus began his political career. Beating Anne Richards and Keary Ehlers in the Texas gubernational elections, he became the Governor of the State of Texas in 1995. In the 2000 election, he narrowly beat the democratic candidate and former vice-president, Al Gore and became President of America.

Bush remained in office for the maximum two terms and although having to deal with eight terrorist attacks within the first year of his instatement alone, donated considerable time and money to charity.

In what was probably his most memorable act of charity, 2001 saw him stand up in the House chamber and ask for $15 billion to be donated towards helping Africa and the Caribbean ‘turn the tide of aids’. During his term in office, the cost of antiretrovirals, medication for the treatment of HIV, dropped from $4000 to $125 a course. The number of Africans on the medication went from 50,000 to 2.1 million. Not only did Bush push for action from the USA, he persuaded other first world countries to do the same. It is widely recognised that George W. Bush saved around 10 million lives with his work against AIDs.

An ambassador for world change, Bush became the co-founder of the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund, a charity focused on ‘building back better’ after the devastation of the 2010 Haitian earthquake. The short-term goal of rebuilding the communities and lives of residents still continues but now focus has shifted to creating economic opportunities for locals which will help sustain re-growth long term.

Bush also helps charities closer to home. From 1990 – 1994, he was the chairman of Hearts and Hammers; a Dallas based charity, designed to rehabilitate the houses of Dallas’ elderly residents to enable them to live independently for longer. The charity depends on teams of volunteers to enhance security, accessibility and the appearance of homes all over the city.

As charities cannot survive on good-will alone, the former president and his wife have donated huge sums of money. From 1998 to 2007, they donated over $898000 to various charities and churches. George is a reformed Methodist after converting to his wife’s church after their wedding. They regularly donate to religious charities and churches such as The Salvation Army, the Archdiocese of New Orleans Catholic Charities, the Evergreen Chapel at Camp David, Tarrytown United Methodist Church, and St. John’s Church, amongst others.

They have also supported numerous other charities such as the Boy’s and Girl’s Scout organisations (to which he donated the royalties of his book, ‘A Charge To Keep), numerous 9/11 related funds, the American Red Cross, Martha’s Table (a charity dedicated to aiding Malawi), the Crawford Volunteer Fire Department, the Federal Government’s Combined Federal Campaign, Operation Smile, Susan G. Komen for the Cure, and the Yellow Ribbon Support Center, the Malaria No More Fund, the Mississippi Food Network and the M.D. Anderson Clinic, among others.