Any improvement of the lives of the people of this country will require an optimal functioning of organizations in the private and public sector.

Of all the agencies we supply to. Seventy percent of them are faith-based organizations, and 50 percent of them rely totally on volunteer support.

Push America also builds accessible environments at camps and organizations that support people with disabilities across the country. We are an organization that educates over 6,000 young people a year on the disabled community and challenges they face from day to day.

What we're really hoping is we can challenge other organizations to help.

The government has taken less and less of a role in food assistance. Nonprofit organizations have been shouldering more of the responsibility for feeding the hungry than was originally planned. Nonprofit organizations were meant to complement the federal assistance programs already in existence, not to be the sole supporter.

Despite those solid gains, improvement haven't come as far and fast as we would have liked, and the achievement gains remains disturbing.