Joe Biden joined by his wife Jill, daughter Ashley, granddaughter Finnegan to volunteer at food bank
Two days before his inauguration, President-Elect Joe Biden and his family celebrated MLK National Day of Service by working at a food bank.
On Monday morning, Biden, 78, his wife Dr. Jill Biden, 69, his daughter Ashley, 39, and his granddaughter Finnegan, 21 visited the Philabundance food bank in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
The foursome dressed in winter coats and face masks to help fill food donation boxes in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
Volunteer time! Two days before his inauguration, President-Elect Joe Biden and his family celebrated MLK National Day of Service by working at a Pennsylvania food bank
Here to help! Biden, his wife Dr. Jill Biden, his daughter Ashley, and his granddaughter Finnegan visited the Philabundance food bank in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Cozy: Jill was warmly-dressed for the outing in a moto jacket, a colorful scarf, and a simple blue cloth mask
Hey there! She waved as she made her way over to the assembly line
The group was photographed volunteering outside at the food bank, standing in a row down an assembly line where they packed up boxes of supplies.
The boxes of food that the Bidens packed today will be distributed in Philadelphia and Delaware Counties.
The President-elect was dressed all in black, topping off his outfit with a green hat baring the food bank’s logo and a pair of blue and yellow gloves.
Though the family mostly appeared to have their own section to box up food, Biden wore a cloth face mask to protect himself and set an example in the midst of the global pandemic.
Meanwhile, his wife Jill was warmly-dressed for the outing in a moto jacket, a colorful scarf, and a simple blue cloth mask.
The outing was truly a family affair, spanning three generations and including Joe and Jill’s daughter, Ashley.
With mom and dad: The outing was truly a family affair, spanning three generations and including Joe and Jill’s daughter, Ashley, 39
Shoe game: Ashley, in heeled boots, stood next to her niece Finnegan, 21, in sneakers
Finnegan added a bright spot of color to the assembly line, dressed in distressed light-wash jeans, a pink sweatshirt, a jacket baring the Nascar logo, and a pink floral face mask
Next gen: Finnegan is the daughter of Joe’s son Hunter and his ex-wife Kathleen
Ashley, who is married to plastic surgeon Howard Krein, donned a black hoodie with the word ‘democracy’ written across the front in red, white, and blue.
She further bundled up with a black coat, knee-high black heeled boots, and a black face mask.
Meanwhile, her niece Finnegan — the 21-year-old daughter of Joe’s son Hunter and his ex-wife Kathleen — added a bright spot of color to the assembly line, dressed in distressed light-wash jeans, a pink sweatshirt, a jacket baring the Nascar logo, and a pink and black floral face mask.
The group picked the third Monday in January, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, to give back in honor of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service.
Americans are encouraged to use the federal holiday — a day many people have off from work — not as a ‘day off’ but a ‘day on,’ during which they can volunteer their time and serve their communities.
‘Service is a fitting way to start to heal, unite, and rebuild this country we love,’ Biden wrote on Twitter on Sunday night. ‘I hope you’ll join us in honoring the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. by participating in the National Day of Service.’
Ready to go: The boxes of food that the Bidens packed today will be distributed in Philadelphia and Delaware Counties
Charitable: The group picked the third Monday in January, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, to give back in honor of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service
Helping hands: Americans are encouraged to use the federal holiday not as a ‘day off’ but a ‘day on,’ during which they can volunteer their time and serve their communities
In a video accompanying the tweet, Biden quoted Dr. King.
‘Dr. King once said, “Everyone can be great because everyone can serve.” It’s one of his many lessons that endures today, and that we’ve seen throughout this pandemic,’ he said.
‘From sewing masks to dropping off groceries to their elderly neighbors, Americans across the country know that service, looking out for one another, is part of who we are as a nation.
‘And it’s why, during the inaugural week, my family will be joining in the National Day of Service on Dr. Martin Luther King Day.’
He urged Americans to consider what their communities need and reach out to friends to get them involved.
Ashley and Finnegan’s appearance alongside the President-elect seems to confirm long-standing speculation that the two women will play prominent roles during his time in the White House.
The future First Daughter – who is Joe’s only child with Jill – has previously shied away from the spotlight, however she has taken on a more prominent role during her father’s campaign over the past year.
Like her older half-brother Hunter, whose mother is Joe’s late wife Neilia Hunter, Ashley has had several public brushes with the law. She was reportedly arrested in 1999 for possession of marijuana, and again in 2002 for obstructing a police officer.
In recent years however, she has turned her life around, focusing on building a career in social work and social justice – and now appears poised to take on a more public-facing role when her father officially becomes President on January 20.
Finnegan – the daughter of Joe’s troubled son Hunter – has played a more public role in her grandfather’s presidential campaign, appearing in a campaign video for the Democrats alongside Biden’s other grandchildren, and supporting him at a November rally in Philadelphia, as well as at an event in Iowa in February last year.
The University of Pennsylvania student has weathered a great deal of public scrutiny over her father’s colorful personal life, including his drug addiction, which saw him admitted to rehab when Finnegan was just three years old.
In 2018, her dad hit the headlines again when it was revealed that he had fathered a child with Arkansas-based stripper Lunden Roberts.
Then, in December of last year, Hunter confirmed that the US Attorney’s Office in Delaware was investigating his tax affairs.
Still, the youngster remains incredibly leveled headed despite the drama, and it seems likely that she will become a regular fixture alongside her grandfather during his presidency.
Who is Ashley Biden?
Born in 1981 in Wilmington, Delaware, Ashley, now 39, is the daughter and only child of Joe Biden, 77, and English professor Jill, 69. Her father was first elected as Senator almost a decade earlier, so Ashley was born into the world of politics.
She is the younger sister of brothers Hunter and Beau, the latter of whom died from brain cancer in 2015. The boys were the product of Joe’s first marriage to Neilia, who died in a 1972 car crash alongside their infant daughter Naomi.
Ashley has had public brushes with the law – she was reportedly arrested in 1999 for possession of marijuana and in 2002 for obstructing a police officer – and faced questions over her husband’s role in Biden’s campaign, but has otherwise stayed largely under the radar.
Instead, she has focused on building a career in social work and social justice, and has also launched a charity clothing label.
Making a difference: Ashley, pictured with her father at a 2016 cocktail party, has built a career as a social worker and a social justice advocate before leaving her role last year
Ashley has described how her passion for public service was ‘in her DNA’, thanks not only to her father’s political career, but also her mother’s work as an English professor.
Ashley pursued a career as a social justice activist and social worker. For 15 years, she worked as a social worker in the Delaware Department of Services for Children, Youth, and Their Families, during which time she created programs that focused on juvenile justice, foster care, and mental health.
In 2012 she joined the Delaware Center for Justice as an associate director, focusing on criminal justice reform in the state. She helped establish and run programs and services at the center focused on public education, adult victim services, gun violence, incarcerated women, and community reentry. In 2014 she was promoted to Executive Director of the center, and served in that capacity until 2019.
Three years ago, Ashley announced she was launching a passion project, a line of sweatshirts that benefited local charitable causes in Delaware, inspired by the death of her brother Beau. Its logo, an ‘LH’ with an arrow shot through it, pays tribute to him.
Ashley flexed her fashion designer muscles again last year when she created new uniforms for the Hamilton Hotel in Washington, D.C., as an offshoot of Livelihood.
In 2010, she met Dr. Howard Krein, an Assistant Professor of Otolaryngology: Head & Neck Surgery at Thomas Jefferson University and a founding partner and co-director of Jefferson’s Facial Aesthetic and Reconstructive Center.
The couple married in the summer of 2012 at Brandywine Roman Catholic Church in Greenville, Delaware, where Ashley was baptized. A rabbi officiated the inter-faith service, which reflected both her Catholic traditions and his Jewish beliefs.
Run-through: Meanwhile, in Washington, D.C., stand-ins for the President-elect and the soon-to-be First Lady ran through Wednesday’s inauguration ceremony
Practice makes perfect: The stand-ins walked through the through the Capitol Crypt for the rehearsal, coming out the podium
Getting ready: The man mimed being sworn in, while the woman mimed holding up a bible
Meanwhile, in Washington, D.C., stand-ins for the President-Elect and the next First Lady ran through Wednesday’s inauguration ceremony.
The stand-ins walked through the through the Capitol Crypt for the rehearsal, coming out the podium where the man mimed being sworn in, while the woman mimed holding up a bible.
However, the rehearsal had to be cut short — and everyone in attendance evacuated — due to an ‘external security threat’ that turned out to be a fire started by a homeless woman under a nearby bridge.
Military personnel and staffers ran from the temporary seating on the Capitol Building’s West Front while an evacuation warning played in the background, shortly after an ‘explosion’ was heard at around 10:30 a.m.
Plumes of smoke rose above the Capitol Building, where thousands of armed protesters staged an attempted coup on January 6.
Journalists at the scene reported being told of an ‘external security threat’ and people working in the Capitol Complex were told to stay away from windows and doors.
Emergency: The rehearsal had to be cut short — and everyone in attendance evacuated — due to an ‘external security threat’, which turned out to be a fire started by a homeless woman
Concern: The scare comes amid fears of an attack on the Biden inauguration while the nation still reels from the Capitol Building riot on January 6 (pictured: the Capitol this morning)
Less than an hour later, the fire department revealed that the ruckus had been caused by a homeless woman who unwittingly caused an explosion by using propane gas in her tent.
It caused a huge fire beneath a freeway on H Street South East, which is a stone’s throw from the Capitol, and was the source of the black smoke that had terrified people on the hill.
The scare comes amid growing fears of an insider attack on the Biden inauguration while the nation still reels from the Capitol Building riot on January 6. Pentagon officials are concerned that an insider attack may be in the works.
All 25,000 of the National Guardsmen who will be there to protect the event are being vetted by the FBI.
