Authored by Bryan Hyde via American Greatness,
Former president Barack Obama’s foundation has announced that it will be launching its lavish $850 million presidential center in Chicago in June and is seeking unpaid volunteers to help staff the facility.
That may seem on brand for a former president who has made volunteerism a central tenet of his civic career since his beginnings as a community organizer in Chicago.
At the same time, the staggering costs and jaw-dropping salaries being paid to Obama’s cronies who will run the presidential center are not as easy to pass off as part of his legacy of civic engagement.
Valerie Jarrett, a longtime advisor who will head up the center, is being paid $740,000 salary according to Breitbart.
In a press release from the Obama Foundation, Jarrett described the intended role of the unpaid volunteers, saying, “As Ambassadors, they will create a welcoming and inclusive experience for visitors while representing the strength, resilience, and leadership of this community. Together, we are building something that inspires service, connection, and action far beyond our walls.”
Foundation officials told Fox News Digital that the volunteers will complement the roughly 300 full- and part-time employees and that the volunteer program represents the foundation’s values both onsite and in the community.
Jarrett is one of several former Obama White House officials collecting six-figure paychecks as foundation executives.
According to Fox News Digital, tax filings show “Total salaries and benefits at the foundation climbed from $18.5 million in 2018 to $43.7 million in 2024 as staffing expanded to 337 employees and annual revenue reached nearly $210 million.”
Unpaid volunteers are commonly employed by presidential libraries, nonprofit cultural institutions, and museums.
In the case of the Obama Presidential Center, the foundation reports that “volunteer ‘Ambassadors’ will greet visitors, provide directional assistance, share information on exhibitions and events, and ensure every guest feels personally welcomed from the moment they arrive.”
The center is scheduled to open on Juneteenth, the holiday commemorating the end of slavery in Texas.
Using unpaid labor to carry out the day-to-day work of running an opulent institution run by a well-connected, wealthy elite?
If that isn’t irony, it’s certainly missing a great opportunity.
Tyler Durden
Mon, 03/16/2026 – 20:10
