2018 has been a great year for the Biden Foundation
During the last year, we’ve met hundreds of courageous and inspiring Americans — people like Seth Owen.
Seth is a kid any parent would be proud to call their own — student leader, valedictorian of his class—but when he came out as gay to his family, they asked him to leave home. They cut off all support, including financial support he needed to attend his dream college.
After his story became public, thousands of strangers donated money to support him and today, he’s a student at Georgetown University. Despite his parents’ rejection, love and community won in the end. Seth’s story isn’t just about LGBTQ acceptance — it’s about equality, opportunity, and dignity.
These three notions define the work we do at the Biden Foundation. We all have an obligation to ensure that everyone is valued, and that everyone gets a fair shot at the American Dream. We are proud of the work the Biden Foundation has done to move that mission forward.
There is nothing more important to us than changing the culture for people across the country who are trying to pull themselves up. Everyone deserves dignity, respect, and a fair shot — we won’t stop fighting until they get it.
We are indebted to our partners, our supporters, and everyone who has helped us advance our mission this year. We feel honored to get to be a small part of this critical work, and we look forward to another year of hope, purpose, and progress.
— Vice President Joe Biden & Dr. Jill Biden
January 3, 2018
Authoring the first Biden Forum post of the year, New America CEO Anne-Marie Slaughter wrote about the unseen cost of unpaid work for middle-class women.
The College Promise Campaign celebrated its third year. Founded by Dr. Jill Biden and President Obama in 2015, College Promise has changed students’ lives in 42 states across the country.
January 22, 2018
The Biden Foundation announced the formation of advisory councils for ending violence against women and for LGBTQ equality. Coming from diverse backgrounds and areas of expertise, advisory council members serve as ambassadors for the Biden Foundation, guiding strategic partnerships to create societal change.
February 14, 2018
The Biden Foundation and the Military Child Education Coalition co-hosted a roundtable to discuss the needs of children in National Guard and Reserve families. Dr. Biden engaged with participants during the roundtable.
February 28, 2018
The Biden Foundation served as faculty for the Mayors’ Institute for the National League of Cities’ Building Equitable Pathways to Postsecondary and Workforce Success Initiative.
March 9, 2018
Vice President Biden addressed Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management in a speech geared toward America’s fast-growing economic inequity.
March 21, 2018
The Biden Foundation co-hosted a financial sustainability experts roundtable with the College Promise Campaign (CPC) to stress the importance of making college more affordable so that more Americans can have the opportunity to begin and complete a college education.
April 1, 2018
The Biden Foundation launched “Picturing Home” to encourage kids from military and civilian families to share artwork on what the word “home” means to them.
April 9, 2018
Dr. Biden was featured in the College Promise Campaign video “This is College,” which seeks to give students an understanding of what community college can offer.
April 12, 2018
Dr. Biden spoke at the Reagan Institute Summit on Education, sharing her perspective on our nation’s higher education system after more than thirty years experience teaching at the high school and college level.
April 18, 2018
The Biden Foundation and It’s On Us hosted the annual Biden Courage Awards, an event to recognize the bravery of select students from across the country who went above and beyond to combat sexual assault on their campuses.
May–November, 2018
The Biden Foundation co-hosted 15 listening sessions in 14 cities for Youth LEADS (Leverage, Energize, and Define Solutions), an initiative to combat gender-based violence by providing young leaders with the platforms, network, and organizational support they need to create change.
May 2, 2018
Dr. Biden delivered remarks at the Dallas County Promise launch pep rally.
May 6, 2018
Policy Associate for Violence Against Women Kassamira Carter-Howard spoke at the Jewish Women’s International Mother’s Day Flower Project High Tea, an annual event that raises money to send flowers and financial literacy resources to women in domestic violence shelters on Mother’s Day.
May 7, 2018
Dr. Biden spoke at the National League of Cities (NLC) National Briefing on Building Equitable Pathways to Postsecondary and Workforce Success about the crucial role that community colleges can play in aligning degree and certificate programs with local industry needs.
May 8, 2018
Vice President Biden delivered the keynote address at a Brookings Institution event marking the launch of their new Future of the Middle Class Initiative, discussing his five ideas for helping America’s middle class.
May 10, 2018
Dr. Biden delivered the 2018 commencement address at Bishop State Community College in Mobile, Alabama, where she spoke to the transformative power of community colleges and how they serve, strengthen, and lift up local communities.
May 14, 2018
Dr. Biden spoke at the Girl Scouts G.I.R.L. Agenda Conference, discussing the importance of building a civically engaged generation of girls.
May 17, 2018
The Biden Foundation participated in a Twitter chat hosted by the National League of Cities (NLC) on postsecondary and workforce success.
May 21, 2018
The Biden Foundation and YMCA of the USA announce joint effort to foster LGBTQ inclusion and equity nationwide.
Read Vice President Biden and Y-USA CEO Kevin Washington’s joint op-ed.
May 22, 2018
Dr. Biden engaged with experts to shape upcoming Sesame Street for Military Families resources during the Sesame Workshop Military Caregiving Executive Steering Committee.
May 30, 2018
Dr. Biden released a special video introduction for “Bandstand: The Broadway Musical on Screen,” praising the production’s depictions of veterans and military families. The video was played at the production’s nationwide cinema event.
June 7, 2018
The Biden Foundation convened a roundtable discussion with practitioners in the Bay Area who interact with at-risk LGBTQ youth to explore ways to lift up successful models and best practices and to identify where more work needs to be done.
June 11, 2018
The Biden Foundation co-hosted a roundtable discussion, in partnership with Hiring Our Heroes and LinkedIn, on how America’s corporate leaders can meaningfully invest in the 21st-century military family, particularly on military spouse employment.
June 28, 2018
Dr. Biden encouraged employers to recognize the talent of military spouses at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Hiring 100K Military Spouses event.
June 28, 2018
Director for Military Families Mala Adiga joined a listening session about military spouse employment challenges and potential solutions, and attended a briefing on military spouse employment at the White House.
July 5 – September 6, 2018
Dr. Biden served as the U.S. Patron for Walking with the Wounded’s Walk of America, and along with Vice President Biden, supported the walk’s participants throughout their journey. The walk raised awareness of mental health issues in the military community and stressed the importance of supporting those who may be struggling. Learn more.
July 24, 2018
The Biden Foundation joined the Military Child Education Coalition (MCEC) to meet with a group of Student 2 Student ambassadors who are supporting their fellow students across the country to discuss the needs of military-connected children.
August 7, 2018
The Biden Foundation launched “As You Are: A Family and Community Acceptance Campaign,” asking Americans to share an experience with family and community acceptance and/or rejection in order to inspire acceptance in our culture.
August 8–9, 2018
It’s On Us and the Biden Foundation co-hosted the first-ever Regional Advisor Summit in Washington, D.C. The inaugural class of regional advisors gathered to discuss strategies for organizing and action during the 2018-19 school year. Learn more.
August 9-11, 2018
Director for LGBTQ Equality Emily Hecht-McGowan presented at Gender Odyssey, where she discussed the critical role storytelling plays in shaping national conversations and policy agendas. Participants gained valuable skills to craft their stories into compelling narratives for social awareness and acceptance, and had the opportunity to practice storytelling in a group setting.
August 27, 2018
In a blog post, Biden Fellow for Military Families Maggie Phillips reflected on her childhood growing up all over the world as the daughter of a service member, sharing insights with military kids who are soon to start school this month in a new place. Read more.
August 29, 2018
As part of a monthly series with the YMCA, the Biden Foundation co-presented a webinar about LGBTQ workplace protections with Lambda Legal.
September 4, 2018
Biden Fellow Maggie Phillips and Advisor for Military Families Rory Brosius appeared as guests on the Military Child Education Coalition’s podcast to share lessons learned and best practices for supporting military-connected students.
September 6, 2018
Vice President Biden and Dr. Biden joined the Walk of America team in New York City for the grand finale of the 1,000-mile trek. Together with the team, the Bidens toured the 9/11 Memorial & Museum and delivered remarks at the Queen Elizabeth II Gardens.
September 12, 2018
Dr. Biden attended a roundtable at Arrupe College with students and faculty in Chicago.
September 13, 2018
Vice President Biden addressed The Century Foundation at an event entitled “Building a High Wage America: Lessons from the Heartland”, where he underscored the urgent need to raise wages, strengthen the middle class, and rebuild American manufacturing communities.
September 15, 2018
Vice President Biden and Dr. Biden spoke at the 2018 Human Rights Campaign National Dinner. Vice President Biden called for greater acceptance and affirmation for LGBTQ youth from friends, family, and community members.
September 23, 2018
Dr. Biden honored the sacrifices of families of the fallen at the Aberdeen Proving Ground’s Gold Star Mother’s and Family’s Day Brunch in Maryland.
September 25, 2018
Director for Violence Against Women Lynn Rosenthal gave a keynote address at the National Coalition for Domestic Violence 18th National Conference in Rhode Island.
September 27, 2018
The Biden Foundation and Family Equality Council co-presented a webinar entitled “LGBTQ Family Inclusion and Cultural Competency” as part of a monthly series with the YMCA.
October 5, 2018
Rory Brosius, Advisor for Military Families, wrote about her personal experience grappling with unemployment as a military spouse, and what the Biden Foundation is doing in partnership with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation’s Hiring Our Heroes initiative to tackle this issue.
Read more.
October 10, 2018
Promoting mental health and wellness for military families, Vice President Biden delivered remarks at the Global Summit on Mental Health Culture Change in London.
October 15, 2018
Dr. Biden was the featured speaker at the Institute of International Education’s (IIE) gala where she spoke about the power and reach of education, including how community colleges create opportunities for students to build a better life for themselves and their families.
October 18, 2018
Dr. Biden was the keynote speaker at the Bob Woodruff Foundation’s Generous Persson Awards, an event to celebrate people who have gone above and beyond to support and advocate for veterans, service members, and military families.
October 19, 2018
Dr. Biden participated in the christening ceremony of the USS DELAWARE, a new Virginia-class submarine, and spoke about the tremendous commitment of the crew, their families, and the workers who built the submarine.
October 22–23
Lynn Rosenthal, Director for Violence Against Women, spoke at the Safe Ireland Safe World Summit in Dublin about her journey from the grassroots to the White House.
October 25, 2018
As part of a monthly webinar series for the YMCA, the Biden Foundation facilitated a program presented by GLSEN on creating safer spaces for LGBTQ youth.
October 31, 2018
The Biden Foundation convened military advocacy and research organizations to discuss the “I Serve 2: A Pocket Card for Healthcare Providers Caring for Military Children.” The pocket card aims to equip providers with the information they need to better identify physical, psychological, and behavioral health risk factors in military-connected children as it relates to their parent’s military service.
November 11, 2018
The Biden Foundation released a video on Veterans Day honoring all those who have served, including the six wounded veterans of the Walk of America, and the 1,000 miles they walked this summer to raise awareness aroun mental health needs of veterans and their families.
November 14, 2018
Lauren Ford, Biden Fellow for Higher Education, wrote a blog post about the opportunities community colleges offer for students to study abroad, explore, and learn about other cultures. Read the article.
November 13, 2018
The Biden Foundation attended Purdue University’s Military Family Research Institute’s “Building Your Battle Plan to Support Military and Veteran Families” event, co-hosted by the Association of the United States Army.
November 27, 2018
Dr. Biden participated in a webinar hosted by the College Promise Campaign and the National Governors Association to expand access to community college across the United States.
November 28, 2018
The Biden Foundation and the National Center for Transgender Equality co-presented a webinar for YMCA staff about transgender inclusion at the Y.
December 3, 2018
Dr. Biden attended Yellow Ribbons United’s fifth annual Winter Wonderland for military kids and their families.
December 4, 2018
The Biden Foundation announced it has collected almost 500 stories of family and community acceptance and rejection as part of its “As You Are” campaign, many of which can now be read on a new online story map.
December 20, 2018
In the final Biden Forum post of the year, Dr. Biden wrote about how her parents’ unlikely love story and her middle-class upbringing shaped her values as a leader and educator. Read the story.
December 20, 2018
Following the Department of Education’s proposal to change key Title IX guidelines, Biden Fellow for Violence Against Women Kendall LaVine wrote a blog post demystifying campus sexual assault data and calling for greater commitment to addressing gender-based violence in schools. Read more.
