Subject: News from the Biden Foundation
From: "Biden Foundation" <[email-masked]>
To: "Hunter Biden" <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 20 Dec 2018 22:08:05 +0000

December updates

From the entire team at the Biden Foundation: We wish you a joyful holiday season and a happy new year!

October Updates

Accepted at home for the holidays. At this time of year, when many of us are spending time with our families, reliving joyful memories and creating new ones, there are also many who are struggling. For LGBTQ young people who have been rejected by their families or caregivers, the holidays can be particularly difficult. Since we launched the As You Are family acceptance campaign in August, we’ve received dozens of stories that speak to acceptance, rejection, heartbreak, and resilience—with many stories recalling vivid memories from the holidays. To read some of these stories, visit our new As You Are story map.

Deck the halls. Earlier this month, Dr. Biden joined Yellow Ribbons United at its annual Winter Wonderland, an event designed to kick off the holiday season for the “tiny heroes” of our military families. Military-connected children and parents met Santa Claus, the Grinch, and the characters of Frozen; decorated sugar cookies; and took home candy boxes, toys, and other treats. Dr. Biden expressed her thanks to all who attended, and she spent the evening joining the children at festive stations.

We noticed, now let's comment. Last month, the U.S. Department of Education moved to take us backwards in the response to sexual assault on college campuses and in K-12 schools. The Department released a rule under Title IX that will make it harder for students to report sexual assault and will limit the number of cases that are investigated. As our director for violence against women initiatives wrote on LinkedIn, the proposed rule significantly lowers the standards schools would need to meet to be in compliance with Title IX. Public comments can be made through January 28th — submit yours now.

Three years of College Promise. In November, Dr. Biden announced that more than 300 Promise programs are underway in 44 states — when the College Promise Campaign launched in 2015, about 50 programs existed. Dr. Biden shared this milestone during a webinar hosted by CPC and the National Governors Association, where she and others provided national progress updates to over 100 listeners ranging from state education and workforce officials to business, education, and nonprofit leaders. The webinar helped build continued momentum among supporters and galvanized support for future partners by encouraging more states to implement programs of their own.

Pictures of home. Last April, for Month of the Military Child, we asked children across the country—military and civilian—to send in their unique view of what home means to them. We received heartwarming submissions from as near as Virginia and as far as Japan. We heard from Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force families; National Guard and Reserve families; veteran families; and Gold Star families as well as civilian peers. Picturing Home has shown that while military kids may face some unique challenges, all children want to feel safe and supported in the place they call home. See how kids across the country picture home.

Are you caught up on the Biden Forum? The Forum delivers thought-provoking articles about the future of the middle class every week. Recently, Sue Helper explained how transitioning to green jobs will impact the middle class, Mayor Lovely Ann Warren celebrated the City of Rochester’s Community Wealth Building programs, and Dr. Biden wrote about how her middle-class childhood shaped her values. Earlier this week, Vox’s Matthew Yglesias published a deep dive into the policies and ideas shared in the Biden Forum, including Vice President Biden’s own articles and speeches about the future of the middle class. Read the full piece here.

Inside the Foundation

Five questions for
Dionne Smith Coker-Appiah, Ph.D., MAED, researcher assisting the Youth LEADS project

Q: Your expertise is in adolescent dating violence and adolescent mental and sexual health. How does this translate to your work with the Biden Foundation?

A: As a licensed psychologist and community-based prevention researcher, I have dedicated the past 14 years of my career to studying how to prevent adolescent dating violence (ADV) in rural communities of color. My research program utilizes a community-based participatory research approach to ensure that community voices are integrated throughout the entire research process. The Youth LEADS project provided a unique opportunity to engage in an initiative that is aligned with both my professional expertise and interests.

Q: What is something you feel people need to know about the realities of dating and sexual violence for youth?

A: My professional experience as a researcher and clinician has highlighted multiple important facts regarding ADV: ADV (which includes sexual violence) is a global public health crisis; there are multiple health implications that complicate the problem; intersectionality issues must be adequately explored; early intervention is critical; and effective community engagement is a key component for prevention efforts.

Q: What made you want to work with the Biden Foundation on the Youth LEADS project?

A: When Lynn Rosenthal invited me to join the Youth LEADS team as a consultant, I was excited about the opportunity to work with her and her wonderful team on a project that aligns with my professional interests and expertise. The Youth LEADS team is passionate, intentional, and has a true desire to make a difference in the lives of all youth. Joining this team was a perfect fit for me.

Q: What has been the most surprising part of the Youth LEADS project thus far?

A: I am not surprised by anything, per se, however, I have developed an admiration for the fact that the team has designed a project that is truly community-based, intersectional with regard to design, and youth-focused. I believe that these components will serve as the foundation for the success of the current project, as well as future projects.

Q: What do you envision for the next phase of the Youth LEADS?

A: We are in the process of analyzing the data from the listening sessions. The findings will inform the development of a final report, which will be released in early 2019, as well as additional innovative products that can be consumed by partner organizations and the field at large. I believe that the next phase of Youth LEADS will involve an integration of youth voices in a manner that will enable them to emerge as leaders, and make a meaningful difference in their own lives.

Coming Up

Stay tuned on Instagram as we highlight some of the brave young leaders we met in our listening sessions.

We have even more #AsYouAre stories to share — follow us on Twitter so you don’t miss them.

Subscribe to the Biden Forum on Medium to catch more middle-class commentary.

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