( CNN ) -- Bill Clinton 's speech accepting the Democratic nomination for president in 1992 went through 22 drafts . But from the first to the last , he insisted on including a call to service . America was mired in a recession . The deficit was high , and confidence was low . But the young governor of Arkansas was determined to try to inspire a new generation of young people the way President John F. Kennedy had inspired him . `` Just think of it , '' he told the nation . `` Think of it . Millions of energetic young men and women serving their country by policing the streets or teaching the children or caring for the sick . Or working with the elderly and people with disabilities . Or helping young people to stay off drugs and out of gangs , giving us all a sense of new hope and limitless possibilities . '' Through persistent , bipartisan effort , that dream became law 20 years ago this week . Nearly a million Americans have spent 1.2 billion hours serving their country , their community , their neighbors in AmeriCorps . They helped mend hearts after September 11 . They helped mend communities after Katrina . Today , they help children from broken homes and veterans with no homes . They have taught countless kids , comforted countless seniors , touched countless lives . Chad Clanton was in the first class of AmeriCorps volunteers . An idealistic kid from Waco , Texas , Clanton had just graduated from the University of Texas . He joined VISTA ( Volunteers in Service to America ) and was soon building houses for -- and with -- the poor in San Antonio . `` It really was one of the greatest experiences I 've ever had , '' he said . `` I just met the most wonderful people . And all kinds of people : hippies , yuppies , cowboys , church people , corporate executives , plumbers , electricians , rich , poor , you name it . Everyone was out there because they wanted to do something -- swing a hammer , hang some Sheetrock , paint a fence -- to chip away at the problem of poverty housing . '' Clanton went on to become a successful international political consultant , advising politicians across the country and around the world , but he says those days sweating in the South Texas sun was the best job he ever had . Ely Flores did not come to AmeriCorps wanting to save the world . He was sent there by a criminal justice system that was trying to save him . `` At 17 years old , I was at a crossroads , '' he said of his youth in Hollywood and South Central Los Angeles . `` I had a choice . Either I was going to continue the lifestyle that had forced me into community service or choose an AmeriCorps program called YouthBuild . My year in AmeriCorps with YouthBuild not only helped put my education back on track , put money in my pocket and ultimately helped me shape the foundation of social justice I stand on , but it completely transformed my view of service. `` Ely helps young people affected by the incarceration of family members . He has rebuilt homes and schools and lives . When asked his occupation , he proudly says , `` community builder . '' He has earned his undergraduate degree , is looking to get a masters and is organizing LEAD , Leadership through Empowerment , Action , and Dialogue , which seeks to breathe new life into Lincoln Heights , Los Angeles ' oldest -- but far from wealthiest -- neighborhood . There are 900,000 Floreses and Clantons . They have created ripples of hope that will continue to radiate out into the lives of millions of people . Surely , that is something to celebrate . When President Obama stands on the South Lawn of the White House on Friday to swear in new volunteers , he will almost certainly look back on two decades of getting things done . But he will also , I hope , focus on all there is yet to do . There is a growing movement to take national service to the next level , to make a year of service a rite of passage for every American who wants to serve . Retired Gen. Stanley McChrystal , who was America 's top commander on the battlefields of Afghanistan , has a new mission : `` All young Americans should have the opportunity and feel the responsibility to serve their country , '' he wrote this summer in Politico . `` We need to create a culture in which at least a year of service is culturally expected , if not quite mandatory by law . '' Just as the members of the Greatest Generation were bound together by their common service in the second World War and just as Vietnam vets have a kinship that crosses partisan lines , so too should today 's young people . So on this 20th anniversary of AmeriCorps , let 's pause a moment to thank the Man From Hope for giving us all a sense of new hope and limitless possibilities .
Paul Begala : Bill Clinton was determined to answer a call to service during his administration . He started 20 years ago with bipartisan support to let young people serve , he says . Nearly a million have joined ; helped in Afghanistan , Katrina , with veterans , the old , poor , children . Begala : As Obama swears in new elections , we should thank Clinton for AmeriCorps .