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United We Serve: The President, the First Lady, and 15,000 Backpacks

June 25, 2009 at 8:13 PM ET by Katherine Brandon
Summary: 
As part of United We Serve, The President and First Lady went to Fort McNair today to pack backpacks for children of our servicemen and women.
download .mp4 (80.2 MB) | read the transcript
 
As part of United We Serve, The President and First Lady went to Fort McNair today to pack backpacks for children of our servicemen and women. The First Family was joined by several members of Congress and their families, with the goal of packing 15,000 backpacks for the children to bring with them to camp. The backpacks were filled with letters, healthy snacks, Frisbees, and completed with a Bo baseball card!
 
The President thanked the troops, and noted that when one person serves in the Armed Forces, the whole family is serving. That is why the First Lady has taken extraordinary interest in helping military families. The President and First Lady brought their own children to the service event, and the President touched on the importance of getting kids involved in service:
 
On Monday, we launched "United We Serve," our summer service initiative. It's going to run all the way through our National Day of Service on September 11th. We want to ask every American to take some time out this summer to do something for others. Parents, take your kids – they're going to have fun, they're going to be in sports camps, they're going to be watching TV and playing video games. Once a week, take them down – whether it's to a soup kitchen or to volunteer on a community project – teach them what it means to be a real citizen. You'll find that actually the kids love it, and it's going to make a lasting impression on them. And if all of us are doing that this summer, then we're going to make this country stronger. We're working hard, and members of Congress are working really hard right now, to make our government work for people, but government can only do so much. Ultimately the strength of America doesn't come from Capitol Hill, it doesn't come from the White House. It comes from the grassroots, and that's what all of you are about.