Saturday, October 23, 2010 -- This morning dawned a beautiful, crisp, autumn day here in the District of Columbia. As the sun climbed above the horizon, over 500 volunteers gathered to build a playground at the Hyde Leadership Charter School in northeast DC. Among the volunteers were Secretary and Mrs. Vilsack along with Education Secretary Arne Duncan and his wife, Karen. Mrs. Duncan works with a non-profit group called KaBoom which advocates development of play areas for children and openspace for communities. Both Mrs. Vilsack and Mrs. Duncan are teachers and have gained an excellent rapport over the past year advocating healthy, nutritious meals in the National School Lunch Program and also promoting the First Lady’s Let’s Move! initiative.
The first community garden in the newest city in the United States, founded in 2008, celebrated its grand opening during National Community Gardening Week.