Skip to main content | Skip to footer site map

The White House Blog: Dr. Jill Biden

Military Spouse Appreciation Day

Posted by Kori Schulman on May 5, 2011 at 6:03 PM EDT

May 6th, 2011 is Military Spouse Appreciation Day. Visit JoiningForces.gov to find out how you can get involved and support military families in your community.

President Obama has proclaimed May 6, 2011, Military Spouse Appreciation Day. Earlier this year, the Obama Administration released a report to bring together resources from across Government to support and engage military families. Through the Joining Forces initiative, First Lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden are working to spark action from all sectors of society to address the unique challenges of military families. "On Military Spouse Appreciation Day, we have an opportunity to not only honor the husbands and wives of our service members, but also thank them by actively expressing our gratitude in both word and deed."

Here's the proclamation:

Military spouses serve as steady and supportive partners to the heroes in uniform who protect and defend our great Nation every day. Across America and around the world, military spouses serve our country in their own special way, helping families and friends through the stress of a deployment, caring for our wounded warriors, and supporting each other when a loved one has made the ultimate sacrifice.

Our service members and their families seldom ask for support or recognition. They carry out their duties to family and country with the quiet courage and strength that has always exemplified the American spirit. On Military Spouse Appreciation Day, we have an opportunity to not only honor the husbands and wives of our service members, but also thank them by actively expressing our gratitude in both word and deed.

read the rest
First Lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden Visit Sesame Street

Posted by Kori Schulman on May 2, 2011 at 11:00 AM EDT

First Lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden recently stopped by Sesame Street to tape Joining Forces Public Service Announcements asking all Americans to support our military families. Learn more about Sesame's military families project.

First Lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden visit Sesame Street as part of the "Joining Forces" Initiative and Sesame's military families project, to tape Public Service Announcements asking all Americans to support our military families. © 2011 Sesame Workshop. Photo by Richard Termine.

The Joining Forces initiative aims to educate, challenge and spark action from sectors of society to ensure military families have the support they have earned. To help support our military families with young children, Sesame Street launched Talk, Listen, Connect in 2006. With the help of Elmo and his furry and friendly friends, Sesame Street has provided resources and support to military families with multi-media outreach kits, a social media website, Emmy nominated primetime tv specials, a traveling worldwide tour with the USO, and these newest PSA's.
Joining Forces to Put Military Families First

Posted by Paul Wiley on April 27, 2011 at 11:15 AM EDT

Over the last two weeks, First Lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden have been traveling the country to publicize the launch of their Joining Forces initiative. From North Carolina and Virginia to Colorado and California, the First Lady and Dr. Biden have taken part in events that highlight the amazing work everyday Americans are doing to help America's military families.

This weekend, PARADE magazine interviewed them about Joining Forces. They talked about why they chose to focus on military families, and what their goals are for getting Americans involved:

PARADE: If Americans rally around our military families, what do you think this new connectiveness could do for us as a country?

JILL BIDEN: It would create a lot of patriotism, you know, that feeling I had as a child. We just need to say to America, “Wake up. You need to support these families and we need to lift them up and really value them.”

MICHELLE OBAMA: And the truth is, I think that’s how most Americans feel.

Be sure to read the whole interview and find out more.

As the school year comes closer to an end, and the days get longer and warmer, it can be even easier to find some time to help a military family in your area. It can be as simple as watching the kids for a night, or as big as organizing a cookout for veterans, servicemembers, and their families. Every kindness counts.
Spotlight on Community Colleges Vying for Prize

Posted by Sonal Shah on April 26, 2011 at 8:28 PM EDT

Last October, at the first-ever White House Summit on Community Colleges, President Obama announced the $1 million Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence, a new, privately-funded prize to recognize, reward, and inspire outstanding outcomes in community colleges nationwide.

Yesterday, Dr. Jill Biden and Secretary Arne Duncan congratulated the 120 community colleges that – due to exceptional student outcomes – were selected by the Aspen Institute to compete for the inaugural $1 million purse. In Round Two, the Aspen Institute will invite these 120 eligible institutions to submit applications containing additional detailed data on completion rates, labor market outcomes (employment and earnings), and student learning outcomes. Eight to ten finalists will be named in September and – following campus visits by Aspen in the Fall - prize winners will be announced in December.

Excellence in community colleges is critical to reaching President Obama’s goal that the U.S. lead the world in college graduates by 2020 and to preparing the American workforce to compete in the global economy.

read the rest
Joining Forces: Travels with First Lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden

Posted by Kori Schulman on April 26, 2011 at 5:14 PM EDT

Download Video: mp4 (51MB)

Following the launch of Joining Forces, First Lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden traveled throughout the country, celebrating the service of military families and the communities, businesses and non-profits working to support them every day. The initiative aims to educate, challenge, and spark action from all sectors of our society to ensure military families have the support they have earned. At each stop, the First Lady and Dr. Biden encouraged Americans to get involved in any way they can.

Visit www.joiningforces.gov to find opportunities to support military families in you own community.
Photo Gallery: The Launch of Joining Forces

Posted by Kori Schulman on April 26, 2011 at 12:54 PM EDT

Following the launch of Joining Forces, First Lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden embarked on a national tour to visit extraordinary examples of communities, businesses and non-profit organizations working to support our Nation’s military families.

The Joining Forces tour kicked of in Camp Lejeune, North Carolina with stops in San Antonio, Texas; Denver, Colorado; Colorado Springs, Colorado; closing in Columbus, Ohio. View the photo gallery of Mrs. Obama's and Dr. Biden's trip:
Prev Next
- 1 of 17
- 2 of 17
- 3 of 17
- 4 of 17
- 5 of 17
- 6 of 17
- 7 of 17
- 8 of 17
- 9 of 17
- 10 of 17
- 11 of 17
- 12 of 17
- 13 of 17
- 14 of 17
- 15 of 17
- 16 of 17
- 17 of 17
Share This Gallery
Community Colleges Serving Veterans

Posted by Kirsten White on April 21, 2011 at 2:00 PM EDT

Student veterans attending community colleges in the San Diego area weigh in during a panel. (by San Diego Community College District)

Last Friday, I attended the Department of Education’s fourth and final regional community college summit at San Diego City College in San Diego. These summits were held across the country to follow up on the first-ever White House Summit on Community Colleges hosted by the President and Dr. Biden at the White House last October. As Dr. Biden said then, the White House Summit was only the beginning of our national outreach and efforts to demonstrate how community colleges are critical to educating the best, most competitive workforce in the world.

The San Diego summit focused on the ways community colleges are supporting and educating veterans and members of the military and their families. Summit participants heard from several veterans about how their military service prepared them for college, and about some of the challenges they encountered transitioning from the military into the classroom. Many community college leaders and students discussed how veterans have become leaders on their campuses, strengthening classroom discussions and advocating for other students and veterans. In San Diego and around the country, we have a special obligation to make sure our veterans and military families can move into promising careers and thrive after their years of service and sacrifice to our country.

The summit came on the heels of the First Lady and Dr. Biden’s Joining Forces kickoff tour. Joining Forces is an initiative to raise public awareness about military families and veterans who live in communities throughout the country, and encourage all Americans to do their part to show their appreciation and support. Community colleges are uniquely-suited to meet the Joining Forces challenge, and they set an example for all sectors of society to use their strengths and expertise to expand opportunities for our veterans. Community colleges have always responded to the needs of their communities. They educate and train the people who live and work around them to meet regional and national economic needs. And when their students are veterans, that becomes a very special mission.

Kirsten White is the Policy Director to Dr. Jill Biden
The Department of Education: Our Commitment to Supporting Military Families 

Posted by Arne Duncan  on April 21, 2011 at 11:17 AM EDT

 Our country’s safety and prosperity relies on the everyday commitment and sacrifice of our nation’s military members and their families. That’s why the U.S. Department of Education is proud to join agencies across the government in participating in First Lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden’s Joining Forces initiative, which seeks to mobilize all sectors of society to better support service members and their families.   

Military families face unique challenges. They and their children often deal with high rates of student mobility, as well as emotional and personal stress caused by deployments and other military assignments. Our Department has taken steps to better meet these needs by providing important guidance to states and districts and by working to better direct the flow of federal resources.   

Department of Education Arne Duncan visits with military families at a Naval Shipyard in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, August 31, 2010. Secretary Duncan talked with military families about the difficulties they face in providing their children with a consistently top-notch education as they move around our country and the world in our nation’s service. (Ed.gov)

To provide military members ample time with their families before, during and after deployment, some school districts have developed policies and practices for excused absences while maintaining high educational standards. We want to encourage schools to be flexible in balancing educational needs with family responsibilities, which is why we’ve provided guidance to all school district superintendents and chief state school officers on effective practices related to military-connected children and public school attendance policies.   

read the rest
Will.i.am is Joining Forces, Will.u?

Posted by Kori Schulman on April 20, 2011 at 4:51 PM EDT

Will.i.am is Joining Forces to support America's military families. Joining Forces is a national initiative to mobilize all sectors of society to give our service members and their families the opportunities and support they have earned. First Lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden are asking all Americans to get involved in any way they can.

"No act is too small" Will.i.am said in a video message. Watch the video and join Mrs. Obama, Dr. Biden and Will.i.am to recognize, honor, and support our military families. Visit JoiningForces.gov and learn how you can involved.

Watch Will.i.am Joining Forces with Michelle Obama, here.

Stay connected with Joining Forces on facebook and Twitter, or sign up for email updates.
A Visit with Wounded Warriors in San Antonio, Texas

Posted by Trooper Sanders on April 15, 2011 at 11:23 AM EDT

Joining Forces is a national initiative that mobilizes all sectors of society to give our service members and their families the opportunities and support they have earned. Get involved at JoiningForces.gov.

Continuing the Joining Forces kick off tour this week, the First Lady and Dr. Biden visited several wounded warriors and their families at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas -- one of the nation's premier medical centers serving our troops and their families. "I think we leave here more inspired, because of the resilience and strength we see in our Wounded Warriors and their families," Dr. Biden said after meeting with soldiers and their families.

They personified both the sacrifice of war on those who fight them on our behalf and their families as well as the extraordinary strength of America's military families. Some wounded warriors will return to the front lines and military service. Others may not, but still have a lifetime of skills, strength, and commitment to service to contribute to our country. From ensuring they have the care, support and services they need to expanding opportunities for meaningful careers and active roles in our communities, all segments of our society can work together to express our debt of gratitude to the military families who serve and protect us by supporting and engaging them.

Trooper Sanders is deputy director of policy to the First Lady