Joining Forces Blog

  • Joining Forces with Major League Baseball at Game One

    Posted by Kori Schulman on October 18, 2011 at 12:48 PM EDT

    Tomorrow, First Lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden are heading to St. Louis, Missouri for Game One of the World Series. But they aren’t going just to watch a ballgame... 

    First Lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden take to the field at Yankee Stadium

    First Lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden take to the field at Yankee Stadium for game one of the World Series in Bronx, N.Y., Oct. 28, 2009. (Official White House Photo by Samantha Appleton)

    Major League Baseball will dedicate its biggest stage to our service men and women and their families. In concert with Major League Baseball, Mrs. Obama and Dr. Biden will be encouraging Americans to recognize and serve veterans, service members and their families as part of their Joining Forces initiative and MLB’s Welcome Back Veterans program. They'll also join representatives from MLB and the St. Louis Cardinals, including Hall of Famer and Army veteran Red Schoendienst, at the St. Louis VA Medical Center for a military family appreciation event.

    Before the game, Mrs. Obama and Dr. Biden will answer your questions on the Joining Forces initiative and about things you can do in your community to support veterans, active service member and their families.  You can submit a question for the First Lady and Dr. Biden now on facebook or on Twitter using the hashtag #AskMichelle.

    Also, stay tuned during the game for the debut of a new Joining Forces and MLB Public Service Announcement featuring the First Lady along with New York Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira and Tampa Bay Rays outfielder Johnny Damon, both who come from military families.  The PSA will be shown in the ballpark, on MLB.com and the MLB Network.  If you miss it, visit JoiningForces.gov after the game to watch.

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  • Joining Forces to Rebuild 1,000 Homes for Veterans

    Posted by Nikki Sutton on October 17, 2011 at 8:08 PM EDT

    First Lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden at a Joining Forces Service Project

    First Lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden paint a wall in the home of Sgt. Johnny Agbi, Jr., left, at the Joining Forces Initiative Heroes at Home event in Washington, D.C., Oct. 17, 2011. The retrofit on Sgt. Agbi's home to make it wheelchair accessible was the 1,000th home rebuilt by the Rebuilding Together and Sears Heroes at Home programs. (Official White House Photo by Chuck Kennedy)

    First Lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden joined forces with Sears Holding's Heroes at Home program and the Rebuilding Together nonprofit organization today to put the final touches on the 1,000th home that they have rebuilt for veterans since 2007.

    The home belongs to Army Sergent Johnny Agbi who served in the Army’s 10th Mountain Division and deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan. While serving as an Army medic in Afghanistan, his helicopter transport was shot down and he suffered injuries that have required him to use a wheelchair and join a comprehensive rehabilitation program. Along with fifty volunteers, the First Lady, Dr. Biden, Sears and Rebuilding Together completed a retrofit of Army Sergent Johnny Agbi’s home to make it wheelchair accessible.

    The Joining Forces initiative is all about honoring and supporting America’s service members and their families, and the work of the Heroes at Home program and Rebuilding Together is an amazing example of how companies, organizations and individuals can help. They work to improve the lives of American military families by making necessary repairs, improvements or modifications to the homes of veterans and wounded warriors.

    Following the build, Dr. Jill Biden thanked Sergeant Johnny Agbi for welcoming the team to his home:

    Sergeant Agbi, I know I speak for everyone here today when I say, you are a true hero.  You and all of your fellow veterans and service members from across the country show us every day what words like "strength" and "courage" mean.  And, of course, we're also grateful to your family members for their service to our country. 

    Projects like today's build represent some of the incredible ways that communities are coming together to support our veterans and military families all across the United States.  And these projects, and all the partners and volunteers who make them possible, embody the spirit of the Joining Forces Initiative that the First Lady and I launched earlier this year. 

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    Learn more about Defense, Poverty, Service, Veterans, Working Families

  • Justice & Defense Departments Provide $20 Million to Support Military Children and Families

    Posted by Attorney General Eric Holder on October 17, 2011 at 4:52 PM EDT

    Dr. Jill Biden at Dept. of Justice and Dept. of Defense Partnership Event

    Attorney General Eric Holder and Second Lady of the United States Dr. Jill Biden deliver remarks at the Department of Justice’s Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) national conference on October 14, 2011. Photo credit: Lonnie Tague for The Department of Justice

    On Friday, I was honored to join General Raymond Odierno, Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army, and Dr. Jill Biden, the Second Lady of the United States – and a proud Blue Star mom – at the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention’s National Conference, “Children’s Justice & Safety: Unite, Build, Lead.”

    During this three-day conference, more than 2,500 juvenile justice practitioners and experts gathered to reflect upon and redouble current efforts to build a brighter, more secure, and more just future for our nation’s young people. This year’s conference closed with a special focus on supporting those who sacrifice so much in support of their country: our military families, and particularly the children of our service men and women.

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    Learn more about Defense, Service, Working Families

  • Building Better Relationships: Community Circles Strength At Home

    Posted by Darienne Page on October 17, 2011 at 12:18 PM EDT

    Your Stories

    Parrt of what can make Joining Forces a successful initiative is sharing information and experiences. There are great organizations and individuals around the country who have helpful ideas and tips to share.  

    Risa J. Greendlinger is the Director of Veterans Projects at the National Center on Family Homelessness, a leader in preventing and ending veteran homelessness particularly in the female veteran family population. They develop and provide innovative online resources, training, technical assistance, project management and research. Greendlinger shared experience from the National Center on Family Homelessness:

    Community Circles Strength At Home seeks to build stronger relationships on the home front for returning veterans and their families by pairing veterans with a romantic partner, parent, sibling or a friend to support a stable transition into civilian life.  The intervention provides practical tools to help veterans or returning service members and their families (and friends) adjust after the unique stresses associated with deployment or separation from service. 

    The program is structured around free two-hour sessions that meet weekly for 10 weeks.  Each two-hour session includes brief instructional materials; group activities to discuss, learn and practice new behaviors; and flexible time to solve ongoing problems, explore charge efforts and build group cohesion.

    Sessions focus on PTSD and relationship issues, conflict management, improving communication skills, and maintaining progress.  Group members complete practice exercises to reinforce skills and are given “homework” to consolidate information learned in their groups.  Assignments also involve intimacy enhancing exercises such as self-monitoring of positive relationship behaviors.

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  • Joining Forces Partner Expands Program for Students from Military Families

    Posted by Brad Cooper on October 17, 2011 at 10:05 AM EDT

    White House Fellow Rodney D. Lewis, represented Joining Forces, Office of the First Lady, at a major event recently in Virginia to celebrate the increase in education outreach to students in military families by the National Math and Science Initiative (NMSI). 

    Lewis was on hand as NMSI, the Office of Naval Research and the Army Education Outreach Program announced the major expansion of the Initiative for Military Families (IMF), which provides college-level courses in math, science and English for students from military families. NMSI is partnering with the White House Joining Forces campaign to support increased education opportunities for America’s military families.
     
    At a special ceremony at Green Run High School in Virginia Beach, VA., NMSI announced that the Initiative for Military Families is being expanded from the four initial sites launched last year (two near Fort Campbell in Kentucky and two near Fort Hood in Texas) to a total of 28 schools in 10 states that are serving high concentrations of students from military families. Eleven of the new locations will be in Virginia, including seven in the Hampton Roads area.  The IMF will directly support training for teachers and provide advanced educational opportunities specifically targeted for military children to help prepare them for college level curriculum.

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    Learn more about Defense, Veterans, Working Families

  • Spielberg, Hanks and Winfrey Join Forces to Support Our Troops

    Posted by Colleen Curtis on October 12, 2011 at 5:46 PM EDT

    Watch a Joining Forces PSA featuring Tom Hanks, here.

    Three of the biggest stars in America are lending their voices to Joining Forces, the initiative started by First Lady Michelle Obama and Dr.Jill Biden to bring attention to the unique needs and strength of America’s military families. Tom Hanks, Oprah Winfrey and Steven Spielberg have each created public service announcements (PSAs) that tell real stories about America's military families and call on all Americans to give back to ensure service members and military families have the support they have earned.

    "The entertainment community answered the Joining Forces call and has done what they do best -- bring to life stories that move us," said Mrs. Obama. "Through this PSA campaign, Americans will learn more about the unique challenges and needs of our military families, see their strength, resilience and service, and find out how they can give back to these extraordinary troops and families who have given us so much."

    The project was conceived by Academy Award-winning producer Bruce Cohen, who leads the Inter-Guild Joining Forces Task Force, an entertainment industry coalition that provides creative and production support for Joining Forces. Each of the PSAs tells the story of a military family  as they endure the hardship of a deployment overseas. The PSAs will be airing on A + E, CBS, NBC,  ABC, FOX, and WB networks.

    Dr Biden, whose son served in Iraq, said, "As a military mom, I know just how much it means when people reach out to show their support for our service members and their families. The first lady and I hope that this campaign will inspire more Americans to take action and reach out to military families in their own communities around the country."

    Watch a Joining Forces PSA featuring Oprah Winfrey, here. 

    Watch a Joining Forces PSA featuring Steven Spielberg, here. 

    Learn more about Veterans, Working Families