Know Someone Who Made a Difference? Make it Known. First Lady and Dr. Biden Issue Commun

In a few weeks, we will have been a Nation at War for ten years. Our wounded warriors and the military families that support them have borne an especially heavy burden. Yet just as America Joined Forces after September 11^th, an entire community of resources has coalesced to provide benefits and services to military families – let’s take the time to recognize them. The First Lady and Dr. Biden want to find those organizations and individuals who have been there for military families and recognize their contributions by issuing the Joining Force Community Challenge. “We are really excited about this program and hope you will go to our website to learn how you can nominate a group or an individual who has come up with a creative or innovative way to make life a little easier for our military families. The idea can be large or small, new or old, as long as it demonstrates in some way the tremendous gratitude all of us feel for our military families.” The Joining Forces Community Challenge will recognize citizens, communities, schools, non-profits, faith-based institutions, philanthropic organizations, and local governments for their efforts in supporting military families. Citizens and organizations providing programs, services, or support designed to ease the burden and alleviate the emotional and mental stress on service members and their families are encouraged to apply for the Joining Forces Community Challenge. The Joining Forces Community Challenge will be conducted in two stages. During the first stage, a panel of judges will review applications and nominations and select and announce 20 finalists on November 30. In the second stage, finalists will be profiled on Challenge.gov where the public will have the opportunity to vote for their favorite--the People's Choice winner. Public voting and additional judging will take place after finalists are announced and continue to January. Winners selected by judges and the People's Choice winner will be announced in January 2012. Winners' profiles will be featured at Champions of Change, the Administration's website where extraordinary community efforts in the areas of innovation and education are celebrated. All finalists will be profiled as part of the People's Choice voting process on Challenge.gov. Prize winners will be recognized at an event in Washington, D.C. in February 2012 and profiled and celebrated on the Champions of Change website. More details about the prize and the winners will be announced in the coming months The Joining Forces Community Challenge submission period begins July 22, 2011 at 12:01 AM (ET) and runs through September 30, 2011 at 11:59 PM (ET). Applications and nominations will be accepted during this period.

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Know Someone Who Made a Difference? Make it Known. First Lady and Dr. Biden Issue Community Challenge