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Melania Trump Unveils 'Be Best' Campaign Against Bullying, Addiction

May 7, 2018

First Lady Melania Trump on Monday unveiled her "Be Best" campaign in the White House Rose Garden, where she said that adults should be educating their children about the importance of living a healthy and balanced life.

"As a mother and as first lady, it concerns me that in today's fast-paced and ever-connected world, children can be less prepared to express or manage their emotions and oftentimes turn to forms of destructive or addictive behavior such as bullying, drug addiction, or even suicide," she said.

"I feel strongly that as adults we can and should be best at educating our children about the importance of a healthy and balanced life," she added.

Later in the speech, the first lady gave credit to Christian Bucks, a Pennsylvania student who came up with the concept of the "buddy bench" to help lonely kids find friends on the playground. There is at least one buddy bench in all 50 states

"When he was in second grade, Christian introduced the buddy bench to address loneliness and help other kids build new friendships. The buddy bench allows classmates to connect during recess and helps ensure that no student feels lonely. If a child sits on the bench, it signals other students to come over and ask them to play," the first lady said.

She also brought up the opioid crisis and how it has had a deadly impact on young children and infants, reflecting on her past experiences participating in drug addiction roundtables and visiting local treatment facilities.

"In my time as first lady of the United States, I will make every effort to be best at championing the many successful well-being programs in existence today and teach the tools and skills for emotional, social, and physical well-being," she said. "I will also work to shine the spotlight on the people organizations and programs across the country that are helping children overcome the many issues they are facing as they grow up."