volunteers

Remember to Send “Holiday Mail for Heroes” by December 10

By Prince Of Petworth


Photo by PoPville flickr user Mr. T in DC

From an email:

“There are currently 1.4 million active duty service members, and tens of thousands of will find themselves away from home during this holiday season,” said Sherri Brown, senior vice president of Service to the Armed Forces at the American Red Cross. “Through Holiday Mail for Heroes, Americans can help send a touch of home to our men and women in uniform, their families and many of our nation’s 24 million veterans.”

To participate in the campaign, the public can send holiday cards with personal messages to:

Holiday Mail for Heroes
P.O. Box 5456
Capitol Heights, MD 20791-5456

Cards must be postmarked no later than December 10. Please be sure to affix adequate postage. For reasons of processing and safety, participants are asked to refrain from sending “care packages” or monetary gifts; using glitter; or including any inserts with the cards.

The public can also support military members, veterans and their families this year by making an online donation at www.redcross.org. Donors can add a personal message to one of four holiday cards designed by Amy Grant, Jane Seymour, Miley Cyrus and Dr. Phil McGraw, members of the American Red Cross National Celebrity Cabinet. The Red Cross will then send the printed holiday card to a military member, veteran or family.

The 5pm Post – Lincoln Temple Congregational UCC is dedicating Sunday Nov 28th’s service to World AIDS Day

By Prince Of Petworth

From a press release:

Lincoln Congregational Temple UCC
1701 11th Street NW,

www.lincolntemple.org

Lincoln Congregational Temple UCC, a historic 141 year old church in the Shaw
neighborhood of Washington DC will hold a World AIDS Day service on Sunday,
November 28, 2010 starting at 10:30 AM. This special service will feature guest
preacher Rev. Dyan Abena McCray, pastor of Unity Fellowship Church in
Washington DC. We will commemorate the losses to our society from AIDS and lift
up the courageous men and women affected by and living with HIV/AIDS. The
service will include special musical performances and a candle lighting ceremony. A
collection of nonperishable food is being taken to support Damien Ministries.

Volunteers for the annual Thanksgiving dinner for Homeless at Rosemary’s Thyme

By Prince Of Petworth

“Dear PoP,

Every Thanksgiving for over 30 years the residents of the 17th and 18th blocks on Swann Street have fed the homeless, shut-ins and others who are without plans for Thanksgiving. For the last five years a clothing drive has been added. It will take place this year in front of Rosemary’s Thyme at the corner of 18th and S Streets, NW.

Volunteers willing to make a dish for the meal are needed. Rosemary’s Thyme graciously donates the turkeys and Swann Street provide the hams and paper goods. They also make dressing, green beans, gravy and soup. Wagshal’s Delicatessen supplies pies.

The group anticipates feeding up to 250 people this year. Caroline Mindel says they always run out of beans, sweet and mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, apple sauce and macaroni and cheese. They would welcome any item people would like to make.

The food can be delivered to 1760 Swann Street, NW until 11 am and to Rosemary’s Thyme after 11 am. They serve from 11:30 am until 1 pm. Please contact Caroline Mindel at 202-232-4653 if you know of someone who is in need of a meal. They can make arrangements to deliver it if necessary.

The Thanksgiving meal was begun by Ruth Long, veteran Dupont Circle activist and ANC member, and is continued in her memory by her husband Isaac Long and Caroline, both DCV members.

Winter clothing is collected between 10-12 and distributed at RT.”

More Questions from Good People – “Purchasing Thanksgiving Meals for Others?”

By Prince Of Petworth

“Dear PoP,

My husband and I were wondering if there is a program in the area where you could purchase Thanksgiving Meals for local families (rather than the traditional canned good donation boxes)?”

I’m guessing this means purchasing the turkey and fixings and delivering it to the family’s home? Anyone familiar with a program like this?

We spoke about some other Thanksgiving volunteer opportunities here.

And we looked at some recommendations for where to get delicious turkeys here.

The 5pm Post – Support City Gate

By Prince Of Petworth


Photo courtesy of City Gate

“Dear PoP,

Caught in red tape, a local nonprofit is in financial trouble through no fault of its own. What’s at stake? A safe place to go after school for some of D.C.’s neediest children.

City Gate, a nonprofit, faith-based organization, recently celebrated its 10th anniversary of bringing aid to some of the District’s neediest citizens. But what they’re not celebrating is that they’ve never been paid for the day camp they ran this summer that gave Ward 8 kids a safe place to go during summer vacation. They’d been promised a $60,000 grant from city money, but now they’re being told that the grant won’t come through due to a bureaucratic issue that doesn’t involve City Gate.

Now they’re struggling to pay staff salaries, and may have to cut their programs for children in Ward 7 and 8. Read more at Change.org. You can sign a petition to Marion Barry and Vince Gray, asking them to take care of this issue.”

Questions From Good People – Donations and Volunteering

By Prince Of Petworth


Photo by PoPville flickr user AWard Tour

“Dear PoP,

I recently upgraded my kitchen pots and pans, and want to get rid of my old ones. They’re a decent brand (Calphalon) and are about 4 years old. They have some normal wear and tear, but are still very functional.

I was hoping to donate them to charity, but I don’t have previous experience donating this kind of household item. Would a charity accept this kind of donation, or are there sanitary concerns with used cookware? I would, of course, make sure they were thoroughly cleaned first.

Assuming they’d be accepted, does anyone have a recommendation of a good charity? I currently live near the U-street corridor, and while I’d prefer to donate to an organization that serves my immediate community, I’m not opposed to other suggestions.”

Any good suggestions here? Perhaps Martha’s Table located at 2114 14th St, NW.

“Dear PoP,

I’m looking for ways to find out about all the volunteer opportunities (or at least some/many of them) in DC. I’m wondering if anyone in PoPville has ideas of where to find this information. I volunteer as a beer drinker at the Red Derby most days, but this is not so much fulfilling as it is filling to my belly and emptying to my wallet.”

How about the newly opened 826DC in Columbia Heights. Any other suggestions?

Congrats to Young Playwrights’ Theater (YPT) Recipient of the National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Award

By Prince Of Petworth


Photo courtesy of Young Playwrights’ Theater

Appreciating more great programs in the city. Learn more about YPT here.

From a press release:

Accepting the award from Mrs. Obama on behalf of Young Playwrights’ Theater was Mariana Pavon Sanchez, who was accompanied to the White House by David Andrew Snider, Producing Artistic Director and CEO of YPT. Mariana Pavón Sánchez, a YPT student, spoke about YPT’s effect on her life and the lives of her fellow students. As a tenth grader at Wakefield High School in Arlington, Mariana participated in YPT’s In-School Playwriting Program. Mariana offers the following advice to other young people who are interested in playwriting: “Don’t be afraid to express yourself through writing, even if it is something small.”

826DC Open House to the Community This Saturday

By Prince Of Petworth


The Museum of Unnatural History

When we first heard the scuttlebutt that an an organization called 826DC would be opening up in the old Score space in the Columbia Heights Plaza, I thought it sounded cool but after visiting them yesterday afternoon – I am blown away.

I chatted briefly with Joe Callahan, Deputy Director 826 DC, Mike Scalke, Program Manager and Erin Archuleta Development and Site Director from 826 National. The DC open house is this Saturday:

“On Saturday, October 23 from 12 to 4 PM, 826DC will be throwing open our doors for our community open house. We’re located at 3233 14th St. NW.

Come explore our fantastic storefront, The Museum of Unnatural History, and hear about our workshops, field trips, in-school, and after-school tutoring programs for kids. The event is open to the public, so please: stop by. Say hi.”

Their Mission Statement explains what they do:

“826DC is a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting students ages 6-18 with their creative and expository writing skills, and to helping teachers inspire their students to write. Our services are structured around our understanding that great leaps in learning can happen with one-on-one attention and that strong writing skills are fundamental to future success.

With this in mind we provide drop-in tutoring, field trips, after-school workshops, in-schools tutoring, help for English language learners, and assistance with student publications. All of our programs are challenging and enjoyable, and ultimately strengthen each student’s power to express ideas effectively, creatively, confidently, and in his or her individual voice.”

If you are interested in volunteering you can sign up at the open house or on their Web site (you can also donate here.)

All I’ll say is that the space is amazing (see tons of photos after the jump) and the people I met are filled with a contagious enthusiasm. And at the very least the store itself is worth checking out (from a press release):

“The newest chapter of the nationally renowned 826 writing centers – founded in San Francisco by bestselling author Dave Eggers and award-winning educator Nínive Calegari, and with eight centers across the country – officially opens its doors in Columbia Heights on Saturday. 826DC has operated workshops and provided assistance to teachers in DC Public Schools since fall 2008, reaching more than 1,000 students and publishing two books compiled from students’ writing. The opening of its own dedicated space will expand the nonprofit’s reach to thousands more District students.

To raise funds, inspire creativity, and advertise their programs to the local community, 826 centers also include a street-front retail store filled with unusual products, entertaining signage, and, of course, their books for sale. San Francisco’s Pirate Supply Store sells glass eyes and one-of-a-kind peg legs, 826NYC’s Brooklyn Superhero Supply Company offers custom-fit capes. Located on the heavily trafficked 14th Street in the hub of this vibrant neighborhood, 826DC will also house its own storefront, The Museum of Unnatural History, an homage to fictional scientists that will spark creativity and create a fun and safe atmosphere for field trips, after-school tutoring, and weekend workshops.”

Lots more photos after the jump. (more…)

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