MON, AUGUST 3, 3:46 PM EST
Posted by Katherine Brandon
The First Lady was in Norfolk, Virginia on Friday to celebrate the safe return of the United States Naval Ship Comfort and the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower. In
her remarks, she noted that the brave men and women who were aboard the two ships are American heroes, but they truly had a global impact. The crew of the USNS Comfort provided aid during Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, and most recently, provided medical and dental care to countries in the Caribbean, Latin America, and South America. The sailors aboard the USS Eisenhower helped support the mission in Afghanistan, Iraq, and around the world:
The Comfort embodies our values by changing lives around the world. The Eisenhower defends our values in the world's most dangerous places. To the nearly 6,000 sailors who deployed with the Eisenhower Strike Group to Afghanistan and the Middle East and are returning to their home ports, we thank you for your service. Each of you have courageously served our country and demonstrated your commitment to upholding America's highest ideals. Your service is emblematic of the values we hold most dear.
And to the crew of the Comfort, with the help of the Department of Defense, the State Department, the USAID, the U.S. Public Health Service, and the health ministries of seven different countries you sailed through rough waters and calm seas, you met people from all walks of life, you healed, you helped and gave hope and represented the best of America's humanitarian efforts. There's a saying that "a ship in harbor is safe -- but that is not what ships are built for." Well, the Comfort may have been built as an oil tanker, but as soon as those red crosses were painted on, it realized its full potential, and that is to bring comfort to those in need, to bring hope to the hopeless, to bring healing to the sick, and security to the insecure.
(First Lady Michelle Obama addresses the sailors returning from the USS Eisenhower and USNS Comfort
battle group at the Norfolk Naval Station in Norfolk, Va., Friday, July 31, 2009. Official White House
Photo by Samantha Appleton)
The First Lady also addressed the struggles of military families, a cause she has taken on personally. She urged all Americans to do their part to support the families of those who serve:
So as we welcome home the men and women of the Comfort and the Eisenhower from deployment, and as we celebrate their reunion with their families, let us make a pledge right here today to honor their service by doing more to serve them in our own communities. Let's do simple things, like offer to help with a carpool. Simple things, like bringing over dinner. Simple things, like being a shoulder to cry on or a friend to talk to, be a neighbor, be a friend.
If you own a business or run a company, or help run a business or a company you can help a military spouse get a job or keep a job despite a move across the country, so he or she can continue to build a meaningful career as they sacrifice for our nation. If you have a professional skill such as being a lawyer, a mental health professional, or an accountant, you can provide pro bono services to military families who need your help. If you have the opportunity, just reach out and simply say thank you -- sometimes that goes a long way -- say thank you to the spouses and the children of our military members and thank them for their sacrifice because it is real and it is powerful.
Let's all take the time to be aware of the heroes right in our midst. And by following the examples of the men and women we honor here today, we can all be emissaries of comfort to someone right in our own community.
TUE, JULY 28, 10:31 AM EST
Posted by Katherine Brandon
The First Lady visited Caroline Family Practice Community Health Center yesterday, where she participated in a ribbon-cutting ceremony to honor the opening of the new clinic. The clinic opened last week, after using $1.3 million in Recovery Act funds, part of $2 billion designated to upgrade and expand community health centers, to convert an abandoned grocery store into a medical facility.
(First Lady Michelle Obama participates in a ribbon cutting ceremony at the Bowling Green Community Health
Care Center in Bowling Green, VA, Monday, July 27, 2009. Official White House Photo by Samantha Appleton)
Before giving
her remarks, the First Lady met with two primary care physicians, a dentist, a medical student, a pediatrician, and a patient to listen to their health care experiences, and ask a few questions. The First Lady was particularly interested in the shortage of primary care physicians in this country. Community health centers play a critical role in our health care system, providing primary care to 17 million people -- people who likely would not otherwise receive care. The Caroline Family Practice is located in Bowling Green, a rural area north of Richmond, which has been federally designated as a medically underserved area. As the First Lady explained, this clinic provides patients with access to the primary and preventative care they need, instead of forcing them to resort to expensive emergency room visits:
And one of the main reasons for this is the reason why we're all here today –- and it's because that right now, today here in America, 60 million people in this country don't have adequate access to primary care. They don't have any access at all. Many of them are uninsured and can't afford any kind of health care at all. That's a good chunk of them. Many actually have insurance, but live in underserved areas, like this one –- inner cities or small rural towns where there aren't any primary care providers to speak of. They have to drive hours.
So what happens to folks in America in this situation is that they don't get check-ups. They don't get regular, routine screenings that keep us healthy. When they get sick, their only option is to wait until it gets so bad that they have to visit the emergency room. And then they wind up lurching from illness to illness, and crisis to crisis, getting emergency care instead of health care. And we wind up spending billions of dollars each year to treat diseases that –- for far less money –- we could prevent in the first place.
We will spend thousands of dollars for an emergency room visit and hospital stay for a child, for example, having an acute asthma attack that could have been prevented by a $100 doctor's visit and a $50 inhaler. We'll spend tens of thousands to treat complications from diabetes that could have been prevented by a couple hundred dollars worth of counseling on nutrition and blood sugar monitoring. And today, chronic -– and preventable -- illnesses like diabetes and obesity, heart disease and high blood pressure consume 85 percent of all health care spending in this country. That's what we're spending our money on here.
The First Lady explained that we need more emphasis on providing care, and educating people so that we can prevent disease, instead of just treating it. This is what reform is all about –- providing access to quality, affordable care to all people. She stressed that health insurance reform is critical for all of us, even those who are currently satisfied with their insurance:
But the question becomes, even if you're in that situation, what happens if you lose your job, and then your coverage goes away, and then you can't find a new job right away? Those are some of the stories I've heard. Or if you want to change jobs, but your new employer doesn't offer any insurance at all because more and more employers are finding it difficult to keep up with the cost of health care? Or what if you decide you want to change insurance plans, but your new insurer decides that you have a preexisting condition, or your age or your gender or your health status means that they need to charge you a fortune for that insurance? What if you get sick, and they decide you're too expensive to insure? That happens. And then they drop your coverage completely. See, these are the things that happen to hardworking, responsible people who've done exactly what they thought they should do. It's happening every single day across this country.
And of course, there are plenty of folks who won't experience any of these misfortunes. There really are. They're blessed. And despite rising costs and declining coverage, some of them are convinced that things are just fine right now. But even if that were true, even if the status quo were acceptable to us, then the question becomes, what about 10 years from now?
If we don't pass reform, within a decade we'll actually be spending one out of every five dollars we earn on health insurance. In 30 years, when my kids are ready to come into the world, it will be one in every three dollars spent on health care. So think about that -- one in every three dollars by the time our kids get to be where we are. And without reform, what we spend on Medicaid and Medicare -- government programs -- will eventually be more than what our government spends on anything else -- anything else -- that we spend today.
Right now, premiums are rising three times faster than wages -- right now, today. And if we don't pass reform, they're going to keep on rising in this way. So think about how much we'll be paying 10 years from now without reform. That's what we have to project. Folks who have insurance they like now could find themselves overwhelmed with sky-high premiums and much higher out-of-pocket costs
FRI, JULY 24, 6:01 PM EST
Posted by Katherine Brandon
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The First Lady celebrated the 10th anniversary of the National Design Awards at the White House today. The awards are part of the Smithsonian’s Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum, and recognize design excellence, innovation and public impact. The awards were launched at the White House in 2000 as an official project of the White House Millennium Council. Earlier in the day, the Cooper-Hewitt celebrated the awards with free public programs exploring design. The programs were moderated by White House officials, and were held at museums around the Mall.
Afterwards, the First Lady hosted a ceremony for the winners and finalists of the 2009 awards. In
her remarks, the First Lady praised the recipients for their innovative ideas that will help shape the future. But she noted that education is essential so that our next generations will be able to solve the great challenges of the future:
That's why the President has made such a strong commitment to ensuring access to high-quality education for all children, particularly in math and science.
And today the President and Secretary Duncan are announcing the "Race to the Top," which is a competitive grant to spur education reform across the country and encourage educators and leaders to embrace innovative approaches to teaching and to learning.
As part of the Recovery Act, Congress has allotted more than $4 billion for this competition –- funding that'll be used for competitive grants to states, school districts, and non-profit partners that are most successful at raising standards, improving student learning, and turning around struggling schools. That is very exciting.
But when it comes to innovation, you all know full well that an educational foundation is only part of the equation, right; that in order for creativity to flourish and imagination to take hold we also need to expose our children to the arts from a very young age.
The First Lady thanked participants for serving as inspiration for the next generation, and going out into the community to let kids know that they too can be great designers:
And as First Lady, I have spent a lot of time trying to break down barriers that too often exist between major cultural establishments and the people in their immediate communities.
So we've been sending a lot of role models out there in the far reaches of this city and then inviting kids to come back here to the White House. That's been a big part of the messages of every single event that we've done here at the White House. These kids who are living just inches away from power and prestige and fortune and fame, we want those kids to know that they belong here, too. We want them to know that they belong here in the White House and in the museums, and in libraries, and laboratories all over this country.
And I want to thank you all today for helping carry that mission out by going out today into the community and making sure that kids know that they belong on the cutting edge of design just the same; that they belong in the world of discovery and science, reminding them that they belong in the presence of great art and beauty; that it is theirs just as much as anyone's in this nation.
And earlier today you shared your visions, your ideas, your experiences and expertise by leading workshops at Smithsonian locations across Washington D.C. And I am grateful to all of you for taking the time to make that happen. From type fonts to technology, from silks and satins to sustainability –- you brought science to life at these seminars. And I've heard glowing reviews about them, and I hope you found them fun, as well.
MON, JUNE 22, 12:55 PM EST
Posted by Cammie Croft
Last week, when President Obama announced United We Serve -- he called on all Americans to volunteer this summer and do our part to rebuild our communities.
When he said "all," he meant it.
Today to kick off United We Serve, First Lady Michelle Obama, Cabinet Secretaries, and Senior Administration officials have fanned out across the country to participate in service projects.
The First Lady is rolling up her sleeves alongside the First Lady of California Maria Shriver and Corporation of National and Community Service acting CEO Nicky Goren to help build a public playground at Bret Harte Public Elementary School in San Francisco. Defense Secretary Gates is spending time with our veterans at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and Commerce Secretary Locke is reading to children at La Mesita Homeless Shelter in Mesa, Arizona. Just to name a few.
It's going to take all of us working together to build a new foundation for America and it will happen one community at a time. Watch this special message from the First Lady to learn how you can do your part:
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WED, JUNE 17, 6:34 PM EST
Posted by Katherine Brandon
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The First Lady
hosted a harvest party in the White House kitchen garden today with the students from Bancroft Elementary to celebrate their hard work. As you may remember, the 5th graders helped start the organic kitchen garden
back in March. Today, with help from the First Lady, they got to prepare a healthy meal with produce fresh from the garden. The kids harvested lettuce and sugar snap peas then cooked a delicious lunch consisting of salad, baked chicken and brown rice. And once kids finished their salads, they were rewarded with a cupcake topped with fresh garden berries. This was not only a culmination of their efforts, but it was also the realization of a small dream for the First Lady. She explained that planting an organic garden was one of the first things she wanted to do at the White House because of the severity of health issues facing America’s children:
But I also thought that this would be a fun and interesting way to talk to kids about healthy eating and nutrition. The President and Congress are going to begin to address health care reform, and these issues of nutrition and wellness and preventative care is going to be the focus of a lot of conversation coming up in the weeks and months to come. And these are issues that I care deeply about, especially when they affect America's children.
Obesity, diabetes, heart disease, high-blood pressure are all diet-related health issues that cost this country more than $120 billion each year. That's a lot of money. While the dollar figure is shocking in and of itself, the effect on our children's health is even more profound. Nearly a third of the children in this country are either overweight or obese, and a third will suffer from diabetes at some point in their lifetime. In Hispanic and African American communities, those numbers climb even higher so that nearly half of the children in those communities will suffer the same fate. Those numbers are unacceptable.
(First Lady Michelle Obama hosts the Bancroft Elementary School for the garden harvest of the White House in
Washington, Tuesday, June 16, 2009. Offical White House Photographer Samantha Appleton)
With children not exercising and not eating right, childhood obesity has become an epidemic in America that threatens to cause younger generations to have a shorter life span than their parents. So how do we get our kids to eat healthier? The First Lady stated that if the food tastes good, they’ll eat it:
Well, I've learned that if it's fresh and grown locally, it's probably going to taste better. That's what I learned. And that's how I've been able to get my children to try different things, and in particular fruits and vegetables. By making this small change in our family's diet and adding more fresh produce for my family, Barack, the girls, me, we all started to notice over a very short period of time that we felt much better and we had more energy, right? And so I wanted to share this little piece of experience that I had with the rest of the nation, a wider audience, which is what brings us here today.
This gorgeous and bountiful garden that you saw over there has given us the chance to not just have some fun, which we've had a lot of it, but to shed some light on the important -- on the important food and nutrition issues that we're going to need to address as a nation. We have to deal with these issues.
More than 90 pounds of produce has been harvested so far. Some of it has been used for meals at the White House, but much of it has gone to area soup kitchens. While fresh fruits and vegetables are delicious, unfortunately they are not easily accessible to everyone, especially those in low-income areas. As the First Lady explained, for those Americans who live in areas where healthy food is out of reach, a healthy future is also out of reach. This is why community gardens are so exciting. They provide the opportunity to make healthy, affordable food readily available while bringing communities together. People are learning the benefits of community gardening -- over 1 million community gardens are flourishing right now, many in underserved urban communities. These gardens are bringing neighbors together to create a healthier community and a healthier future for the kids.
(First Lady Michelle Obama hosts the Bancroft Elementary School for the garden harvest of the White House in Washington, Tuesday, June 16, 2009. Offical White House Photographer Samantha Appleton)However, the First Lady explained that the government must also take a role in ensuring our kids have access to healthy and nutritious food. The USDA’s National School Lunch Program serves 30 million meals a year in low-income schools. The school meals serve as a main source of nourishment for these kids, so it is essential that they are healthy. Additionally, the Child Nutrition Act, which regulates federal nutrition programs, is up for reauthorization later this year. By making our children’s nutrition a top priority, we can help assure a healthier future.
WED, JUNE 17, 4:16 PM EST
Posted by Katherine Brandon
The First Lady
addressed the
Greater DC Cares Annual Business and Non-profit Philanthropy Summit yesterday, where she thanked community leaders for their hard work, but let them know that their work is far from over. Earlier today,
the President announced United We Serve, a call to action for all Americans to volunteer this summer, and in these challenging times, help rebuild the foundation of America. The First Lady explained that in facing these challenges, we have an unprecedented opportunity to spark volunteerism as Americans are eager to do their part to rebuild their communities:
As has been the case throughout our history, communities are built and rebuilt by regular people: folks working in businesses, philanthropists, foundations, and volunteers, all of them coming together to find solutions to these types of challenges. And during this time we are going to need everyone, and that -- everyone to rededicate themselves to this type of community-building, and we're going to need people to basically take hold of this kind of ethic of service and make a personal commitment to helping get this country back on the right direction.
And I believe that we're in a unique moment in history. Maybe you're seeing the same thing. I'm feeling it as I'm traveling not just around D.C. but around the country. But people really want to get involved. They really want to. They're looking for a way to turn their frustration, excitement, anxiety into action. And the recent passage of the Serve America Act -- the federal government is tripling its contribution to volunteerism, and people are responding to that investment. Applications, as we're seeing for service opportunities, are up by record numbers, and that's a very good thing.
And with the knowledge that, as Barack said throughout his campaign and throughout his presidency, that ordinary people can do some extraordinary things if they're given the proper tools and support, my husband is asking us to come together to help lay a new foundation for growth.
Greater DC Cares is the largest and leading coordinator of volunteerism and service in the DC area. The First Lady told the crowd of 500 civic leaders that she understands the challenges associated with non-profit work through her own first-hand experience running an organization in Chicago:
When I look over this room, I think about my days when I worked at Public Allies. I headed that program in Chicago before I moved into the university, and that organization allowed me to work with more than 30 Chicago organizations every single year, placing AmeriCorps members with them so that they could expand their services. We placed young people with organizations working on education and youth development groups, environmental groups, neighborhood, economic development groups, all types of groups all throughout the city of Chicago. And I saw first-hand through that work the variety of neighborhood and community needs that exist out there, and how hard it is for these groups to meet that need with the resources that they have. So they were excited to get these young people. However naïve and untrained they were, they ate these Allies up.
And we recruited some of the best kids across the city of Chicago. For every young person that we recruited at a great institution like Northwestern, DePaul or the University of Chicago -- we even recruited kids from Harvard Law School -- we also recruited someone from Cabrini Green or from Little Village or North Lawndale. And through my work with Public Allies I realized that the next generation of leaders was just as likely to come from poor and working-class neighborhoods as they were to come from some of the top colleges around the country.
She explained that Public Allies also taught her that all communities are filled with assets that should be recognized and mobilized by bringing together young people from diverse backgrounds. Working together to realize the needs of communities gives young people the ability to build relationships no matter what community they’re in, an essential life skill. "These are the gifts we can give people through service," the First Lady said.
The First Lady concluded her remarks by telling community leaders to support one another, and to capitalize on Americans’ desire for engagement by providing meaningful volunteer opportunities that can not only change the way the nation views service, but also how the world views us:
We need foundations and philanthropists to provide the integral support for our community organizations. But we also need those community organizations to provide support for all these volunteers we're recruiting now. We need to harness this amazing amount of goodwill that we're generating through this administration in a way that ensures that we serve all Americans to the best of our ability.
So once again, we're going to need you. As tired as you may be, we're going to need you. So that's why I'm here -- (laughter) -- to say thank you, because we're going to be tapping you more and more. (Applause.) Now is the time that we have to connect with one another and share good ideas and hold each other up and give each other that private counsel when the dollars are running short and hope is a little harder to find.
THU, APRIL 23, 7:24 PM EST
Posted by Jesse Lee
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(First Lady Michelle Obama hosts Jordan's Queen Rania in the Yellow Oval Room in the
White House Residence, April 23, 2009. White House Photo/ Samantha Appleton)
SAT, APRIL 4, 12:36 PM EST
Posted by Jesse Lee
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(First Lady Michelle Obama and Hayrunnisa Gul, right, the wife of Turkey's President Abdullah Gul, listen to a french interpretor during a tour at the Notre Dame Cathedral in Strasbourg, Fance, Saturday, April 4, 2009. White House Photo/Lawrence Jackson)
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(First Lady Michelle Obama is joined by fellow spouses of NATO Summit leaders as they conclude a tour Saturday, April 4, 2009, of the Notre Dame Cathedral in Strasbourg, France. White House Photo/Lawrence Jackson)
FRI, MARCH 6, 8:13 PM EST
Posted by Jesse Lee
Yesterday Mrs. Obama served food at Miriam’s Kitchen, a local non-profit organization that provides healthy, nutritious meals to the homeless in Washington, D.C. Mrs. Obama discussed the need to support food banks and soup kitchens around the country given that things will get worse before they get better.
She said Miriam’s Kitchen "is an example of what we can do, as a country and as a community, to help folks when they’re down. We’re all going to need one another in these times. We’re going to need to keep lifting each other up, in prayer and in hope."
