Amazing: “DC Service Establishments Donate Over $80,000 of Sales From Inauguration Weekend”

Photo by PoPville flickr user Jim Havard

From a press release:

“After mobilizing over 130 local service establishments to donate a portion of their inauguration profits to organizations supporting the DC community, All In Service DC reports that participating venues donated over $80,000.

“DC’s service community made All In Service DC a huge success,” says service industry veteran and All In Service DC co-founder Alaina Dyne. “This affirms what we have always understood about our local service community. DC service establishments have a stake in the health and vitality of our city, and we are surrounded by capable partners in this effort.”

The fundraising event was the brainchild of Amanda Carpenter, a DMV native who has worked in DC’s service industry for a decade. “All In Service DC was a natural response to a unique moment in Washington. It was clear that our industry needed a positive outlet for the tension mounting in anticipation of inauguration weekend. We wanted to create an event that would raise our community consciousness and still allow us to act in accordance with the values of hospitality–to welcome all,” says Carpenter.

Together Carpenter and Dyne were able to grow a small coalition of just over a dozen venues into a city-wide event. “It was easy to engage people. The service industry network has always been tight in this city. When venues saw the opportunity to come together in the name of giving back, they wanted to be part of our message. DC values diversity and civic mindedness. This has always been a part of our city. It’s what makes this community so dynamic,” says Carpenter.

Working with an all female team of organizers, including Sarah Massey, Elsie Dwyer, and Farrah Skeiky, the project took flight. With local venues selecting their beneficiary of choice, organizations as diverse as Mary’s Center, N Street Village, and Ayuda all benefited from the boom of business surrounding the inauguration weekend.

“We’ve seen proof yet again that DC’s ever expanding service industry can leverage its place in the local economy to support those that are foundational to our community’s well-being. With many local businesses expressing their interest in staying engaged now even as the hum of inauguration business has settled, we are confident in saying that this is just the beginning,” says Dyne.”