First lady Michelle Obama attended a Beverly Hills fundraising reception Tuesday to add steam to her husband’s re-election campaign.

She praised President Barack Obama’s efforts to improve the economy while speaking at the home of former United States Ambassador to The Bahamas Nicole Avant and her husband Ted Sarandos, chief content officer for the Netflix Corp. 

“Over the last few years, your president has worked very hard to dig us out of this mess and we have made some magnificent progress,” Obama said. “But we know that there are still a lot of people struggling and we have a long way to go.” 

Attendees at the fundraiser included music industry figures Berry Gordy, Quincy Jones and Jerry Moss, and movie executives Jeffrey Katzenberg and Harvey Weinstein. Tickets for the reception benefiting the Obama Victory Fund began at $5,000. About 135 people were at the event. 

Obama said the president “needs your help.” 

“He needs you to make those phone calls, write those checks, register those voters,” she said. “Convince people what’s at stake and ask them to give just a little part of their lives each week to this campaign.” 

Obama came to the fundraiser from NBC’s Burbank studios where she appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. 

The first lady will conclude her two-day visit to Southern California Wednesday when she tapes an appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, which will air Thursday.

This report was compiled with information from City News Service.

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