CAT | The First Lady
First Lady Michelle Obama meets with British students, from schools across the London borough of Islington, in the Old Family Dining Room of the White House. The students, who won an Islington Black History Month essay competition, were rewarded with a trip to the United States sponsored by the U.S. Embassy in London.
On Thursday morning, The First Lady hosted ten students from schools across the London borough of Islington in the Old Family Dining Room. The students were winners of the Islington Black History Month essay competition, and rewarded with a trip to the White House sponsored by the U.S. Embassy in London.
The First Lady congratulated the kids and told them that if they continue to work hard, the opportunities are endless. “President Obama didn’t wake up to become who he is. It was a lot of practice early on, of getting things done. You’re going to slip and fall and trip along the way. He certainly did,” she said. “I did a little less than he did,” she laughed.
She talked about the importance of young people exchanging ideas and influencing other people’s lives. “Think about who you’re going to help along, and never stop doing that.”
The students read excerpts from their winning essays and toured the White House.
America is facing some of the greatest challenges in a generation. At the same time, promising nonprofit organizations across the country are making heroic efforts to meet overwhelming need and, implement effective and innovative ways to meet these challenges. But their impact is often hampered by a lack of resources and support to evaluate and improve their programs, and expand them so they can serve more communities of need.
Yesterday, the Corporation for National and Community Service launched the Social Innovation Fund (SIF) grant competition, which takes a new approach to addressing our nation’s most critical social challenges.
The SIF will direct funding through innovative, hands-on grant makers (or intermediaries) across the country. These grant makers will identify fund and support over a period of years promising nonprofit organizations working in low-income communities.
It’s an approach that has clear benefits.
It leverages private funding from grant makers and others. Each federal dollar will be matched with at least $3 of private funding, for a total of $200 million or greater.
It offers nonprofits critical support with respect to management, staffing, data collection, fundraising and other challenges that they will need to overcome as they grow.
It provides for investments in multiple nonprofits in an issue area or geography, allowing the best innovations to rise to the top.
Critical to this last point, the SIF provides funding and incentives for nonprofits to evaluate their effectiveness. Grant makers will be true partners in these evaluation efforts and be jointly held accountable for results.
The SIF’s focus on evaluation is so critical, especially for government.
Billions of taxpayer dollars are spent each year on programs in the issue areas that the SIF will focus on – economic opportunity, youth development and school support, and healthy futures.
What if that funding could be more accurately focused on the best solutions? And what if the knowledge about what works were shared broadly, so it could be used in any community across the country? The benefits would be enormous. Through evaluation and knowledge-sharing, the SIF has the potential to transform how our nation tackles social challenges.
Discussing the SIF last year, the First Lady said it best when she noted:
“By focusing on high-impact, results-oriented non-profits, we will ensure that government dollars are spent in a way that is effective, accountable and worthy of public trust.”
SIF applications are due by April 8, 2010 and awards will be made by July 2010.
Stephen Goldsmith, Board Chair of the Corporation for National and Community Service
"It’s done, honey," President Obama said to The First Lady earlier today as he signed a Presidential Memorandum establishing a task force on childhood obesity to address the growing health epidemic. "Now we work," she responded.
The new task force is charged with developing an interagency action plan to solve the problem of obesity among our Nation’s children as part of the First Lady’s Let’s Move campaign. The campaign will take a comprehensive approach to engage both public and private sectors to help children become more active and eat healthier within a generation, so that children born today will reach adulthood at a healthy weight.
President Barack Obama signs a memorandum on childhood obesity in the Oval Office. From left are, Education Secretary Arne Duncan, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, First Lady Michelle Obama, and Interior Secretary Ken Salazar
Within 90 days, the task force will develop and submit to the President a comprehensive interagency plan that details a coordinated strategy, identifies key benchmarks, and outlines an action plan. The President applauded all those involved:
I am so proud of the work that the First Lady, along with the Cabinet Secretaries behind me, has done in trying to tackle one of the most urgent health issues that we face in this country, and that is the increase of childhood obesity. And because of the outstanding planning that they’ve done, they are going to be rolling out a terrific plan of action that involves the private sector as well as government agencies coordinating much more effectively a lot of public information out there to help parents make good decisions about allowing their children to be active and eating healthier.
Members of the task force include: the Secretary of the Interior; the Secretary of Agriculture; Secretary of Health and Human Services; Secretary of Education; Director of the Office of Management and Budget; Assistant to the President and Chief of Staff to the First Lady; Assistant to the President for Economic Policy; and heads of other executive departments, agencies, or offices as the Chair may designate.
Speaking at an event later, the First Lady explained what motivated her to take this on: "These words – ‘overweight’ and ‘obese’ – they don’t tell the full story. This isn’t just about inches and pounds or how our kids look. It’s about how our kids feel, and how they feel about themselves. It’s about the impact we’re seeing on every aspect of their lives."
You’ll find lots more information, such as brief the introductory video, at LetsMove.gov.
It’s been a little over a year since First Lady Michelle Obama stepped into her role at the White House, and she sat down today with Matt Lauer from the Today Show and reflected on her time so far and her future goals — click here to watch the video.
She noted that she would like to look back and feel like she affected somebody’s life because she was here, which brings on her new initiative on childhood obesity, an increasing problem in the nation, since statistics show that one in three kids is obese. "The most shocking sort of reality that really hits you is that the young generation is on track for the first time in this nation’s history of being less healthy, having a shorter life span than their parents." The First Lady said the problem is solvable, and they will be striving for attainable goals, but the broad vision is to "change the health status of an entire generation."
On balancing her work with being a mother: "I find a level of comfort in that role." She acknowledged that there are challenges, but that she remains the same person she was before she entered the White House. "What people have seen over the course of the year is really Michelle." She maintained the same for the President, who she says despite challenges that face the nation, "handled the pressure with that same level of grace that he came here with."
This afternoon, First Lady Michelle Obama spoke to the Joint Armed Forces Officers Wives Club, highlighting military families’ remarkable strength and unyielding support. She reflected on the roundtable discussions she and Dr. Jill Biden held with military spouses that provided guidance for developing initiatives for President Obama’s 2011 budget.
First Lady Michelle Obama attends the Joint Armed Forces Officers’ Wives’ Luncheon at Bolling Air Force Base
She discussed new support for military spouses and children to be included in the upcoming budget:
Increasing funds for military family support programs
Reducing shortages in military child care
Increasing funds for youth programs for military children
Increasing funds for spousal career development
New funding for quality Coast Guard housing
The First Lady called for Americans to support military families and thanked the spouses and children for their service to their communities. "You put your own priorities aside. You take care of one another. You take care of America. And as First Lady, I can’t thank you all enough and I promise you that I will use every ounce of my being to make sure that America always takes care of you."
First Lady Michelle Obama attends the Joint Armed Forces Officers’ Wives’ Luncheon at Bolling Air Force Base
This afternoon, First Lady Michelle Obama spoke to the Joint Armed Forces Officers Wives Club, highlighting military families’ remarkable strength and unyielding support. She reflected on the roundtable discussions she and Dr. Jill Biden held with military spouses that provided guidance for developing initiatives for President Obama’s 2011 budget.
First Lady Michelle Obama attends the Joint Armed Forces Officers’ Wives’ Luncheon at Bolling Air Force Base
She discussed new support for military spouses and children to be included in the upcoming budget:
Increasing funds for military family support programs
Reducing shortages in military child care
Increasing funds for youth programs for military children
Increasing funds for spousal career development
New funding for quality Coast Guard housing
The First Lady called for Americans to support military families and thanked the spouses and children for their service to their communities. "You put your own priorities aside. You take care of one another. You take care of America. And as First Lady, I can’t thank you all enough and I promise you that I will use every ounce of my being to make sure that America always takes care of you."
First Lady Michelle Obama attends the Joint Armed Forces Officers’ Wives’ Luncheon at Bolling Air Force Base
January is National Mentoring Month and this afternoon President Obama and the First Lady will welcome mentors and young Americans from around the country. As we gather in the East Room, organizations and community groups dedicated to supporting our nation’s young people will come together to reaffirm the importance of mentorship. The President will also announce the White House Mentorship Program for 20 young men from local high schools. Each student was nominated by his school and will be paired with an Administration staffer for one year. This program will allow the participants to serve our local community and students will be encouraged to pursue excellence in school as well as expand their horizons as they are introduced to numerous opportunities for personal development, including career skills. Mentorship has long been a priority for both the President and Mrs. Obama, as a part of their commitment to their community and personal responsibility. The First Lady launched her initiative for young women this past November and they’re already off to a great start. Check out a video of the First Lady and senior Administration women on a mentoring trip to Denver to see this initiative in action.
All of us are excited to begin this important work and we’re proud that this is the first time the White House has offered such a program. Last June, the President launched a National Conversation on Fatherhood and Personal Responsibility. This is an important corollary to that effort. We know that a responsible, caring adult taking the time to mentor a young person often makes an incredibly positive difference in the lives of both.
Michael Strautmanis is Chief of Staff to the Assistant to the President for Intergovernmental Relations and Public Engagement
One year ago, after President Obama was inaugurated, he and the First Lady decided to surprise visitors who were on White House tours to reinforce the message of the White House being the People’s House. Mrs. Obama is marking the first year by continuing this tradition today – taking some time to do greet visitors of the People’s House.
[UPDATE: This event has now concluded. A video of the event is below.]
This morning the President and the First Lady dedicated the morning to serving the community here in DC.
In honor of Martin Luther King Day, First Lady Michelle Obama serves lunch in the dining room at So Others Might Eat, a soup kitchen in Washington
In honor of Martin Luther King Day, President Barack Obama serves lunch in the dining room at So Others Might Eat, a soup kitchen in Washington