First Lady’s Efforts To Aid US Military Families Gains Ground

First Lady Michelle Obama, year old campaign to support service families, got a further boost, with White House officials announcing that customer service firms had committed to provide jobs to 15,000 military spouses over the coming months.

Most of these jobs will be work-at-home jobs with flexible work timings. Mrs. Obama said that this would be of specific help to the spouses and the veterans, since they are required to move across state lines more often than other Americans. She noted that, ‘service family’s move about ten times more often than the typical US family.’

The jobs would come mainly from web chat services, hospitality, health care and call centers. Brad Cooper, executive director of Joining Forces, said that the jobs are “a mix of entry-level and mid-career positions. The majority are designed to be portable and allow the spouses to build seniority within the companies, and in some cases employees will be able to continue their careers even if they are transferred overseas.”

The first lady said, that by pledging support, the companies not only comprehend the importance and worth of hiring military spouses, but also the ‘challenges they face in their careers.’

 “We’re trying to meet those spouses where they are,” the First Lady said. “When the next set of orders come in, and they have to move across the country, they’ll be able to move these jobs with them.”

White House Officials say that in a year since its formation, the Joining Forces campaign assisted 50,000 veterans and military spouses to find jobs.

To mark the first anniversary of the Joining Forces campaign, the First lady announced plans of a four-state swing next week. This will “include stops in election battleground states Pennsylvania and Florida and a chat with comedian Stephen Colbert on his show The Colbert Report.”

Mrs. Obama told reporters that the response she has received for the campaign has belied expectations. “The country is stepping up in ways both large and small,” she added.

Mrs. Obama was paying a visit to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center to distribute Easter treats from the White House pastry shop to military families living there.