Getting Ready to Roll the Harlem Children's Zone in 20 American "Project Neighborhoods"

There are many things that President Obama would love for his birthday. Peace in the Middle East and a great education are only two items on his wish list. Yes, let's put an economic recovery at the top of the list.

Sunday's Washington Post did an in-depth feature on the Geoffrey Canada's nonprofit Harlem Children's Zone, previously featured on MIchelle-Style. Prince Harry also visited the neighborhood family mentoring project on his recent visit to New York.

Harlem Children's Zone kidsPresident Obama sees the Harlem Children's Zone as a model for other American cities -- 20 to be exact. The initiative is called "Project Neighborhoods".

We learn in the WaPo article, that Harlem Children's Zone is far more than a school. Writer Robin Shulman decribes it as a 'conveyor belt' concept.

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Fruits, Veggies & Microfinance Bring Healthy Food to Low Income Street Corners in NYC Green Carts

New York City is addressing Team Obama's 'eat your fruits and veggies' challenge by launching Green Carts, a fleet of 1,000 mobile food carts for lower-income New York neighborhoods. The NYTimes writes that across the city's boroughs, Green Carts will deliver fresh produce at reasonable prices.

Michael Bracho, left, and Edwin Feliciano selling produce at the the corner of East Fordham Road and Decatur Avenue in the Bronx. via NYTimesIt's not clear whether the city can sustain all 1000 carts. About 200 are rolling now. The government-financed Green Cart program will soon deliver $1,000 all-weather terminals to 15 vendors, to pilot food-stamp debit cards. Currently, the program doesn't accept food stamps.

'Microloans' are a cornerstone of the Green Cart program, which is another reason why this story caught my eye.

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Prince Harry Will Visit Harlem Children's Zone Before Joining the Veuve Clicquot Manhattan Polo Classic, to Raise Money for Sentebale

British royalty has arrived in Manhattan. Actually, Prince Harry has been up for hours and his two-day schedule is in full swing.

This is the prince's first official trip to New York, where he's playing in tomorrow's Veuve Clicquot polo match at New York's Governors Island.

For details, see Prince Harry Arrives for Veuve Clicquot's Manhattan Polo Classic and the Reopening of Governor's Island on Anne of Carversville.

Harlem Children's Zone

I'm thrilled to read that Prince Harry will be visiting the Harlem Children's Zone tomorrow, an initiative that I shared with you a few weeks ago: The Harlem Children's Zone Eliminates Racial Achievement Gap.

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JUST IN Video: Michelle Obama's Entire UC-Merced Commencement Address

Anne here. It just occurred to me that we can't write about the designer of Michelle's dress tomorrow morning. For the first time since she became First Lady, only her words and the emotional resonance in her voice, her empathy (that suddenly tricky word), her encouragement but also her demands of the students can be the focus of our writing. Not only is the speech worth listening to once, but twice. She is wonderful!

First Lady Michelle Obama's UC-Merced Commencement Address, Part 1

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The Harlem Children's Zone Eliminates Racial Achievement Gap

The results are in! We have stupendous statistics on black educational achievement coming out of the Harlem Children's Zone charter schools, and I want to share them with you.

Michelle-Style is devoted to tracking the Obama influence on fashion, style, and everyday living. That last term "everyday living" covers a lot of ground, and Michelle-Style tries to cover the issues that matter most in our lives -- and that's not fashion, with all due respect to my own career.

I will write later today on Sexy Futures about the "Models as Muse" exhibit that I saw yesterday at the Metropolitan Museum. Besides the fact that it was a poorly executed, uninspiring presentation -- to my humble eye -- the "Models as Muse" show couldn't thrill me as much as the David Brooks column in today's New York Times: The Harlem Miracle.

Michelle-Style features a Yes We Can channel for a reason!

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Michelle and Jill Join Neiman Marcus in This Week's Support of Feeding America

Michelle Obama and Jill Biden spent their 100th day in Washington bagging food for hungry children at the Capital Area Food Bank.Smart Sensuality FLOTUS joined SS Dr. Jill Biden and more than 100 congressional spouses (women and men?) at the Capital Area Food Bank on Wednesday, to bag meals for low-income kids in Washington. The event was sponsored by Feeding America, the largest organization committed to feeding the hungry in America.

As the nation's leading domestic hunger-relief charity, our network members supply food to more than 25 million Americans each year, including 9 million children and 3 million seniors.

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