This week, the First Lady traveled to Panama City Beach, Florida, to meet with business and community leaders in the area. The past few months have been especially challenging for families and businesses in the Gulf Coast region. The BP Oil Spill is the worst environmental disaster our nation has ever seen, and the effects of the spill are evident not only in the oil washing up on some of the shores, but in the businesses and communities that are suffering.

This Administration will not rest until the well is capped, the oil is cleaned up, the natural beauty of this region is restored, and the people of the Gulf Coast who have been affected by this tragic, ongoing spill are made whole. The President and his tireless advisors like Carol Browner, who joined us on this trip, have been doing everything they can to keep Gulf Coast families and the American people up to date on the Administration-wide response to the Gulf Coast spill, but there was one particular point of great concern that Mrs. Obama wanted to drive home to those families.

“I know that there have been lots of questions lately about how we can best help people here on the Gulf Coast who’ve been affected by the oil spill," Mrs. Obama said, "And to be honest, truly, one of the best ways that fellow Americans can help is to come on down here and spend some money.” What many Americans may not realize is that most of the Gulf Coast is still open for business. Despite what you’ve see on TV or read in the newspapers, many the beaches, like Panama City Beach, where the First Lady visited, are still clean and safe. And one of the best ways Americans can help this region and the hard working people who live in the area is by coming down and enjoying the hospitality. 

For communities like Panama City Beach, summertime is peak tourist season. But this year, many business owners have seen a sharp decline in tourism to the region, despite the fact that their beaches are clean and oil free. If you’re looking for a family vacation this summer, consider visiting one of the many communities in the Gulf Coast region.

Trooper Sanders is Deputy Director of Policy to the First Lady

First Lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden meet with Leadership 18 members in the State Dining Room of the White House, May 25, 2010. (Official White House Photo by Samantha Appleton)

First Lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden met at the White House today with Leadership 18, a coalition of national non-profit chief executive officers, to discuss military family matters.  They were joined by Admiral Mike Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, his wife Deborah Mullen, Dr. Cliff Stanley, Undersecretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, and other White House officials.  The First Lady and Dr. Biden have issued a national call to action to address the unique challenges facing military families, build stronger civilian-military community ties, and engages and highlights the service and sacrifice of military families.  The meeting today provided an opportunity to discuss ways to build a lasting national commitment to support and engage military families.

Leadership 18 is a coalition of the some of the country’s largest and most well respected human development non-profit CEOs. Altogether, the 22 member organization serves more than 87 million people annually and has more than 5.5 million staff and volunteers.  The coalition represents long established charities, faith-based organizations, and nonprofits focusing on social and health issues supporting and promoting the safety, health, well-being, social and economic development of individuals and families. 

Leadership 18 attendees included: Peter Goldberg, Alliance for Children and Families; Gail Mc Govern, American Red Cross; Roxanne Spillett, Boys and Girls Club of America; Father Larry Snyder, Catholic Charities USA; Kathy Cloninger, Girl Scouts of the USA; Judy Vredenburgh, Girls Incorporated; Jim Gibbons, Goodwill Industries International; Jill Schumann, Lutheran Services in America; Dr. David Shern, Mental Health America; Stephen Bennett, United Cerebral Palsy; Brian Gallagher, United Way Worldwide; Charles Gould, Volunteers of America; Neil Nicoll, YMCA of the USA; and Lorraine Cole, YWCA USA.

Earlier this month during a speech at a summit hosted by the National Military Family Association, the First Lady challenged every sector of American society to mobilize and take action to support and engage military families today and for decades to come. During the May 12 speech the First Lady said, “One percent of Americans may be fighting our wars, but we need 100 percent of Americans to support them and their families.  This has to be all hands on deck.”   The hope is that events like this one build a coalition to make this a reality. 

Trooper Sanders is Deputy Director of Policy to the First Lady

The First Lady’s time in Mexico was spent primarily focused on engaging with Mexico’s children and youth. On a visit to Los Pinos, Mrs. Obama and the First Lady of Mexico Margarita Zavala discussed a series of issues important to young people in both the United States and Mexico – issues including drug addiction and treatment, early intervention programs and the importance of the humane treatment of migrant children. At a Mexico City primary and secondary school, The First Lady joined students in the schoolyard for singing, dancing and other activities.

Members of the audience listen as First Lady Michelle Obama delivers a speech at Universidad Iberoamericana in Mexico City, Mexico April 14, 2010. (Official White House Photo by Lawrence Jackson)

 

We’re going to be looking to your generation to seize the promise of clean energy to power our economies and preserve our planet for your children and your grandchildren. We’re going to be looking to your generation to find the courage and the patience to resolve the conflicts and to heal the divides that plague our world.

 

And I’m here today because I believe that all of you, and your peers around the world, are more ready than ever to meet these challenges.

 

More than any generation in history, you all are able to access information and connect with one another in ways that my generation could never have imagined. With the click of a button, you can exchange thoughts on any issue with people just about anywhere in the world. You have an unprecedented ability to organize and to mobilize to challenge old assumptions, and to bridge old divides, and to find new solutions to our toughest problems.

 

And it is because of this immense promise that I intend to focus my international work as First Lady on engaging young people just like you all around the world. My husband and I know all too well that meeting the challenges that we will face will depend on whether we effectively tap into your God-given potential –- whether we fully benefit from the industry and the energy and the perspectives of young people from every background and every nation. Because we know that ambition and ability are found in every corner of the globe.

I want to read you an e-mail that she sent me. This e-mail inspired my trip there. It’s inspired my trip here. She wrote: “We are exhausted, traumatized and heart-broken. But we choose to stay here and work. We choose to stay because we love Haiti and its people. We choose to stay because we believe in our duty to help the people here in their greatest hour of need. We choose to stay because we believe in our mission. We choose to stay because we still hold out hope… for recovery and renewal… and for a Haiti built back better than before.”

 

And I hope that every single one of you, and young people across the globe, will take up that work –- the work of helping others in need, the work of building stronger nations and a better world, because if we’re going to tackle the challenges of our time -– if we’re going to make our world safer and healthier and more prosperous and more free -– we are going to need the passion and the daring and the creativity of every last one of you.

 

We’ll need you to work as hard as you can, and do as much as you can, driven by the belief that has always summed up the spirit of our youth

-- three simple words: Si, se puede –- Yes, we can. Yes, we can.

First Lady Michelle Obama holds a round table with young leaders in the Hacienda de los Morales in Mexico City, Mexico, April 15, 2010. (Official White House Photo by Samantha Appleton)

Trooper Sanders is Deputy Director of Policy to the First Lady

The First Lady's visit to Mexico this week marks her first solo international official visit. Mrs. Obama is visiting Mexico to reaffirm America's strong relationship with Mexico and the historic and close ties between its people. In addition to spending time with President Calderon and Mrs. Zavala at Los Pinos, the First Lady will visit a primary and secondary school, deliver remarks at a Mexico City university and meet with a group of young Mexican leaders. Mrs. Obama's international platform will support the President's global engagement efforts with an emphasis on engaging young people around the world.

Trooper Sanders is Deputy Director of Policy to the First Lady