2:22 p.m.
First lady Michelle Obama and second lady Dr. Jill Biden will appear at GW next Wednesday, Nov. 11 to launch a network of service opportunities to help U.S. troops around the globe.
The event, which will kick off ‘Mission to Serve: Forging a Continuum of Service’ will be part of GW’s Veterans Day celebrations and feature remarks from both women, a short performance, and an opportunity to assemble care packages for soldiers, according to a news release from ServiceNation, a national campaign to increase community service across the U.S.
Mission to Serve will be “a network of 36 initiatives partnering civilian and military service organizations to meet the critical needs of our nation, troops, military families, and veterans,” the release states.
MTV News Correspondent Sway Calloway and Acting CEO for the Corporation for National and Community Service Nicola Goren will also be in attendance.
The event will start at 12 p.m., beginning with the assembly of care packages in the Marvin Center. ServiceNation Spokeswoman Elizabeth Wilner said the White House confirmed with ServiceNation that Obama’s schedule would not permit her to attend the care package service event, but Wilner said students should look out for the events other speakers. Wilner did not confirm or deny if Biden would be in attendance.
Remarks from Obama will start at 2 p.m. in Lisner Auditorium where she will speak on “the importance of both civilian and military service in strengthening our communities and advancing our nation,” according to the release. Biden will speak about offering thanks and service to veterans and their families.
Prior to those events, student veterans from GW will participate in a wreath laying ceremony and participate in “military-style physical training activities including an obstacle course and a pull-up and push-up contest,” according to a University news release.
Brian Hawthorne, president of GW Vets, said he is excited that Obama and Biden will be on site to support the vets and that while his organization is not sponsoring the event, veterans at GW will be participating.
In conjunction with the event, the first-ever ServiceNation Award for Excellence in Civilian and Military Service to be presented to Alma J. Powell, chair of America’s Promise Alliance. The event will also mark the release of “All Volunteer Force: From Military to Civilian Service”, which is the first-ever nationally representative survey of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom veterans, according to the report.
Tickets were available at http://missionserve.eventbrite.com. but sold out within about ten minutes of the event’s announcement, Wilner said. Unregistered guests can wait in a standby line on Wednesday at Lisner and if ticketed guest or members of the media do not fill their seats, those in the wait-listed line will be given access to the event.
Wilner suggested both the ticketed and the standby audience members arrive early as the Secret Service will be closing the doors before 2 p.m., when Obama is scheduled to begin her remarks.
