Michelle Obama's Volunteer Force: Local Kids

By Paul Bedard, Washington Whispers

Running the social side of the White House is hard work, especially because staff and space are so limited. But first lady Michelle Obama has found a willing volunteer force: local kids in after- school programs. First, she brought some in to help her tend her new garden, and now she's recruiting them in the kitchen for major events like the recent staff and congressional picnics. When a request for help was made to Brainfood, a Washington program that uses cooking to teach life lessons, "it was the world's shortest deliberation," says Executive Director Paul Dahm. Shucking corn and dicing potatoes reinforced his Brainfood message. "When I tell these students to work hard and have high expectations for yourself, and then they go to the White House, it makes my job easier."

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