On Saturday, May 8th, 2010, a group of veterans and other volunteers arrived at 21 acres to prepare a Veteran Pea Patch for planting. 21 acres is a non-profit, dedicated to assisting the Woodinville, Washington community and surrounding areas in providing pea patches for local citizens and larger sites for groups that have a constituency.

A Vet Corps member, Jonathan Phillips, organized the event and with the help of other Vet Corps members and Veterans Conservation Corps staff. In total, 18 people (3 Vet Corps members, 2 VCC staff, 4 other veterans, 8 baby boomers in the mix, and several other civilians) worked all day on clearing brush, moving manure around the ½ acre site, and constructing a wire fence around the pea patch. The land will be used to grow vegetables, etc. 1/3 for the veteran’s personal use, 1/3 for the food bank, and 1/3 for 21 acres to sell or use. At the front of the Veteran pea patch there will eventually be raised beds, as funds can be raised, for disabled veterans and veterans in wheelchairs to move around on wood chip paths.

It was a sunny day, enjoyed by all, with only a few minor scratches.

Girls on the Run of Northern Virginia is a part of an international organization dedicated to educating and preparing girls for a lifetime of self-respect and healthy living through running. Girls on the Run offers a curriculum-based youth development program for girls in grades 3-8. The curriculum is delivered in 10-week sessions by trained volunteer coaches and culminates in a celebratory 5K running event.
 

This summer, the President and First Lady launched United We Serve: Let’s Read, Let’s Move – a national call to use service as a tool to promote physical activity, healthy eating and to prevent the loss of academic learning during the summer months. This call to service encourages Americans to help fight something called the “summer reading gap” - where kids who don’t read during the summer can lose months of educational progress. And in her remarks, the First Lady emphasized the need for collaboration to make this summer a success:
 

Mrs. Marian Robinson, mother of First Lady Michelle Obama, and over 100 local students from Columbia Heights Youth Club’s Reading is Fundamental (RIF) program, the Alexandria Happy Home Child Learning Center and the D.C. Bilingual Public Charter School joined Secretary Arne Duncan at the Department of Education for the fourth installment of the Department’s “Let’s Read. Let’s Move.” summer enrichment series.
 

On Friday, U.S. Congressman Joe Courtney (2nd District – Connecticut) stopped by to visit a program that is carrying out the mission and goals of United We Serve Let’s Read. Let’s Move. Camp Rotary is a five-week summer program for middle school students in New London, Connecticut. The camp is made possible by a unique partnership between the Connecticut College Office of Volunteers for Community Service, New London Public Schools, the Rotary Club of New London, and the Corporation for National and Community Service.
 

United We Serve: Let’s Read. Let’s Move, is happy to be working with Meals on Wheels in an effort to ensure access to healthy and affordable food for all Americans, young and old.
 

The Obama Administration is committed to taking care of our troops, military families and veterans and this week the White House honored the military and their families for all their hard work in service to our nation. Vice President Joe Biden and his wife Jill spent the Fourth of July in Iraq with American soldiers. While there, they participated in a naturalization ceremony for more than 150 servicemen and servicewomen who became U.S. citizens while stationed in the Middle East. Dr. Jill Biden later shared lunch with U.S. servicewomen at Camp Victory and listened to soldiers there, saluting them for "managing all the challenges of parenting -- securing health care, child care and education -- while one or both parents are away."
 

Every day, nonprofit organizations are banding together to strengthen their communities through innovative ideas – and they are producing remarkable results. We need to support and grow these efforts. Today, the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) is excited to announce its first-ever Social Innovation Fund (SIF) awards designed to support community-driven efforts to improve the economic, health and education prospects of low-income families.
 

For parents looking to ensure that their children don’t start the school year behind the rest of the class, heading to the pediatrician may not be the obvious solution that comes to mind. But Reach Out and Read hopes to change that.
 

Childhood obesity is a serious and growing epidemic. It cuts across all categories of race, ethnicity, family income and locale. For the first time in our history, American children may face a shorter expected lifespan than their parents. That is why the Corporation for National and Community Service has joined forces with the Department of Health and Human Services, the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and the First Lady’s Let’s Move. initiative to address this important issue facing America’s future as part of United We Serve’s summer initiative, Let’s Read. Let’s Move.
 

What are you up to this summer? Are you movin’ and shakin’? It’s easy to let the summer heat keep you from playing outside – maybe one of the reasons I took up figure skating was to stay cool in the summer. OK, that might not be 100% true, but having dedicated such a large part of my life to my sport, I know how important physical activity is for your body, mind, and spirit.
 

Summer time is the best time to stay active and get fit - turn lazy summer days into playtime adventures by taking the Let's Read. Let's Move. Summer Fitness Challenge!
 

Work it out, Girl Scouts! Taking a lead from United We Serve: Let’s Read. Let’s Move, a Girl Scout troop from Waldorf, Maryland decided to cartwheel their way to better health and literacy. Brownie Troop 6202 joined forces with the Charles County Public Library, holding their first annual “Cartwheel-a-thon for a Cause” last month at White Plains Regional Park in White Plains, Maryland.
 

A key component of the United We Serve:Let's Read. Let's Move initiative is using service to increase access to healthy and affordable food for youth. This summer, farmers, gardeners, market managers, and volunteers can expand their impact by connecting with United We Serve and utilizing the Let's Glean! Toolkit.
 

It is always exciting to see what happens when a community comes together to develop solutions to its most pressing issues. Led by Rev. Kenneth S. Robinson, M.D., Pastor and CEO of St. Andrew AME Church Enterprise, more than 22 South Memphis organizations, business and religious institutions worked together over 18 months to plan how to revitalize their neighborhood - and today, we see the first fruits of that labor (literally) with the opening of the South Memphis Farmers Market.
 

Washington Redskin and education activist Chris Draft and 100 local students from Wheaton Woods Elementary School and Columbia Heights Youth Club joined Secretary Arne Duncan at the Department of Education (ED) for the third installment of ED’s “Let’s Read. Let’s Move.” summer enrichment series.
 

The new Let's Move! website is live and has some great tools to help you get healthier and more active this summer. Yesterday, First Lady Michelle Obama sent an email that announces some of the new features for the LetsMove.gov website.
 

United We Serve: Let’s Read. Let’s Move. is thrilled to partner with Catholic Charities. Catholic Charities USA is an organization that provides assistance to more than 8.5 million people annually who are in need - they explore all avenues to secure resources and supports to assist families in meeting their basic needs and moving beyond poverty.
 

In between parades and fireworks, carve out some time this weekend to give back to your community - take some time out to support those that are serving by volunteering in their honor. Read more to find out how to volunteer this holiday weekend.
 

This week New York City hosted the 2010 National Conference on Volunteering and Service: It’s Up to YOU! Over 5,000 service leaders convened to discuss how to create greater impact and effectiveness in meeting social needs through service and volunteering. The National Conference on Volunteering and Service is the world’s largest gathering of service and civic engagement leaders. This conference is hosted by the Corporation for National and Community Service, our federal agency home for service, and the Points of Light Institute.
 

Earlier this month, the United We Serve team launched its Let’s Read. Let’s Move. initiative. Let’s Read. Let’s Move. has three simple goals: increase opportunities for Americans to use service to promote physical activity; expand access to healthy and affordable food; and prevent summer learning loss in Ameria’s kids.
 

Two years ago two residents of Shelton, Washington donated a large parcel of their property to the city. They wanted it to be called Catalyst Park in hopes that it would someday provide a place for the neighborhood to gather, play, and grow together. This year our local Food Bank Garden, which was housed at the County Fair Grounds, was eliminated due to the county’s budget issues. Our Shelton 4-Hers, together with Washington State University Master Gardeners, have partnered with our local Rotary Club, Kiwanis Club, Optimists, and the Food Bank to re-create the Food Bank Garden into the Catalyst Garden.
 

One year ago, First Lady Michelle Obama volunteered at one of our KaBOOM!-led builds at Bret Harte Elementary School in San Francisco. For six hours, she joined California First Lady Maria Shriver and 329 members of Shriver’s CaliforniaVolunteers, as well as volunteers from the Points of Light Institute and the Corporation for National and Community Service National Conference on Volunteering & Service. Together, they transformed the school’s vacant play lot into an intergenerational playground and garden.
 

Today kicks of the National Conference on Volunteering and Service – more than 5,000 (!) service leaders are pouring into New York City to create greater impact and effectiveness in meeting social needs through service and volunteering.
 

With the President announcing today nominees for the Board of Directors for the Corporation for National and Community Service, I am reminded just how important a role service plays in communities here at home and across the globe. The addition of these outstanding members will help continue the proud history of CNCS and continue to promote service as a way that Americans join together in communities large and small to solve the problems all of us face.
 

United We Serve: Let’s Read. Let’s Move is working with Reach Out and Read to alleviate this problem. Reach Out and Read, the nationwide school readiness program, today launched a bold new campaign to give brand-new, age-appropriate books to one million children in need before Labor Day.
 

United We Serve: Let’s Read. Let’s Move. is collaborating with the National Summer Learning Association to encourage communities and their children to get involved in summer reading programs.
 

Summer is a great opportunity for communities to address two of the challenges facing kids nationwide when school lets out: unhealthy eating habits and the summer reading gap. That’s why First Lady Michelle Obama has launched the Administration-wide Let’s Read. Let’s Move. initiative to combat childhood obesity and summer reading loss by encouraging youth to read and participate in physical activity, as well as providing access to healthy food. As part of that initiative, I joined a group of students today in upper Manhattan who are leading the charge against childhood obesity. They are the Mighty Milers of PS 128 and they have collectively run over 42,000 miles this year!
 

All across America children are excitedly counting down the days to summer vacation; summer is a time each year when children and families can relax, play, and explore their creative interests together. We are, however, keenly aware that summer is also the time when the healthy habits and knowledge that our children developed during the school year are most likely to stall.
 

The U. S. Department of Education - Reading five books over the summer prevents learning loss. Working with DOE, Let's Read. Let's Move. will increase awareness about the critical importance of summer learning and encourage Americans to read to children. Additionally, DOE’s 2010 Summer Enrichment Series will invite Cabinet members, Administration officials, and other public figures to read children’s books, promote healthy lifestyles, and participate in games and fitness activities with children in pre-kindergarten through third grade.