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Local Nonprofit Bulletin (4.15.22)

Local Nonprofit Bulletin
4.15.22

Philanthropic resources, news from small nonprofits in the DMV, upcoming events, and now a brand-new volunteer roundup! Have questions or an opportunity you want featured? Reach out to Amanda, our Communications and Marketing Coordinator, for shoutouts and collaborations!

DC Emancipation Day

Tomorrow is the 160th DC Emancipation Day. Every April 16th, the District commemorates the DC Compensated Emancipation Act of 1862, which ended slavery in Washington, DC, freed 3,100 individuals, reimbursed those who had legally owned them, and offered the newly freed women and men money to emigrate.

Tonight at 6:30 PM, gather for a “Remember the Pearl” Walk to the SW Wharf. On this same night in 1848, 77 men, women, and children who were enslaved by prominent families in the District made their way to the river to board a schooner called “The Pearl.”

Tomorrow at 11:00 AM, the African American Civil War Memorial Museum will read the names of the 3,100 persons freed by the DC Compensated Emancipation Act. Afterward, the SW Freedom Fest begins at 1:00 PM and Mayor Bowser’s parade and concert starts at 2:00 PM.

DC Vote is hosting the DC Emancipation Day Activation, starting at 11:00 AM tomorrow at Rock Creek Park and ending at 8:00 PM on 14th and U.

You can also join Black Georgetown at 11:00 AM tomorrow at the Mount Zion and Female Union Band Society cemeteries in Georgetown, where they will honor the ancestors with a Cameroonian Libation Ceremony and reflections by Rev Yearwood of the Hip Hop Caucus, as well as offer walkabout tours.

Read more about the history of DC Emancipation Day, explore The People’s Archive at the DC Public Library, and browse resources from the DC History Center’s Context for Today collection.

Shoutouts

Black Flute questions outright how, or if, opera can do anything to contribute to the fight for the rights of Black people,” Shantay Robinson wrote in the Washington City Paper. Produced by the IN Series, Black Flute tells the story of Queen of the Night and her daughter, and was filmed throughout DC. You can catch it online via their streaming platform through June.

Through the Opportunities Neighborhood (ON) – Crossroads program, led by Second Story, Fairfax County residents have access to resources for more help, such as getting food, COVID-19 vaccines, and financial literacy training. “The community truly came together,” Ebony Belt, Strategy Director for ON at Second Story, told Annandale Today.

We’re excited to hear Avodah and its recently formed employee union’s joint announcement of its staff’s affiliation with the Washington-Baltimore News Guild, and that the union received full voluntary recognition from senior leadership!

Along with groups like Cities United and March for Our Lives, the DC Justice Lab has developed a new tool to help ensure solutions to gun violence are centered in equity. “You still see a situation where Black people are experiencing the brunt of harsh law enforcement tactics with a goal purportedly of reducing gun violence,” Dr. Bethany Young, Deputy Director of the DC Justice Lab, told the Washington Informer. “But if they narrowly tailored it as we noted in the report, they can address the problem of gun violence in communities feeling the impact.”

Unhoused and formerly unhoused people, most of them associated with Street Sense Media, voice their perspectives to DCist on the shootings of unhoused people last month. Donte Turner, who has written extensively about the intersections of violence and public policy, shared that “This is what we go through. The police, the government, they don’t give a damn about us. They look at us as if we’re the problem.” Robert Warren, Street Sense Media discussion leader, adds that “You can look at it like if we were actually housing people… they wouldn’t have been killed.”

Join the DC SAFE Bookshelf, a new virtual book club, and participate in discussions about systems advocacy and domestic violence! This month’s book club pick, Perversion of Justice: The Jeffrey Epstein Story by Julie K. Brown, was recommended by the Network for Victim Recovery DC.

“Educators have the most important job in the world: creating ways for every child to thrive in learning,” Rashaida Melvin, Satellite Program Director at BUILD, co-wrote in one of Educational Leadership‘s most popular articles of 2021. “Building teacher efficacy directly impacts student growth, but to do this we must break down some of the myths surrounding teacher coaching and effectiveness.”

From bodies and accessibility to caring for yourself in a crisis, explore the broad landscape of healthcare through an interdisciplinary lens with Healwell‘s podcast.

Story Tapestries was recently featured in Philanthropy News Digest! Founded in 2010, Story Tapestries helps partners build self-sufficient, sustainable arts-based programs; increases access to arts integration programs for high-need communities; and is a resource for arts integration in education and community development.

Learn about Ward 7′s past, present, and future with a sharp focus on the climate emergency and its intersectionality with systemic racism through Down to Earth, a creative project partnership with Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens, Caandor Labs, and Capital Fringe.

Know a young playwright aged 14-24? Encourage them to apply for Young Playwright’s Theater’s new script development program, Young Playwrights in Progress! Applications are open on a rolling basis.

Events

April 14 – June 11 | McLean Project for the Arts Spring Solos Exhibition
April 18 – June 20, Mondays from 4:00 – 6:00 PM | Youth Speaks Poetry! After School Opportunity
April 19 | NAKASEC x UndocuGW presents a conversation on Asian Americans & Undocu Organizing
April 21, 12:00 – 1:00 PM | The ACT Initiative presents “A Deeper Look at Second Chances”
April 22 – April 30 | IN Series x DPR Spirit Moves Workshops
April 23 | National Cannabis Festival’s Policy Pavilion
April 23 | Sitar Arts Center’s Salon Dialogue: “Createwell”
April 23, 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM | Dreaming Out Loud’s 4th Annual Spring Fest
April 23, 7:00 PM | Joe’s Movement Emporium NextLOOK Cohort Work-in-Progress Showing
April 23-24 | GenOUT Youth Invasion Concert
April 24, 1:00 PM | Peace Festival with Nobel Laureate Kailash Satyarthi
April 24, 1:00 – 3:30 PM | F.E.A.S.T. 2022: Mutual Aid at VisArts
April 27 | Spring2ACTion, Alexandria’s Giving Day
April 29, 7:30 – 8:45 PM | Main Street’s Got Talent
April 30, 9:30 AM | Friendship Place’s Friendship Walk to End Homelessness
May 1, 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM | Earth Sangha’s Restoration Walk and Talk with Matt and Lisa!
May 2, 8:00 PM | The 2022 PEN/Faulkner Award Celebration
May 3, 5:30 – 7:30 PM | One World Challenge
May 5, 5:30 – 7:30 PM | 10 Years of Impact with NVRDC
May 7-8, 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM | VisArts’ 10th Annual Rockville Arts Festival

Volunteer

Casa Chirilagua is looking for Spanish Literacy Tutors, Kids Club volunteers, and Middle and High School Bible Study volunteers.

Join C&O Canal Trust for their upcoming Canal Community Days on April 23 in Great Falls, May 7 in Frederick County, and May 14 in Williamsport.

Help Earth Sangha remove invasives at their Wild Plant Nursery!

DC SCORES is looking for Game Day Referees or Field Marshalls, Assistant Coaches, and volunteers for their Junior Jamboree on May 18, Middle School Jamboree on June 3, and Elementary School Jamboree on June 4.

In partnership with Volunteers of America, So What Else is hosting their first ever health fair at their food pantry at Lake Forrest Mall on April 28 and 29. They’re looking for a nutritionist and yoga instructor for the health fair.

Get hands-on experience with the work of the Georgetown Ministry Center by volunteering at their drop-in center or pop-up location!

Girls Rock! DC is recruiting volunteers to support their 2022 Summer Camps. Roles include camp counselor, workshop facilitator, instrument instructor, performer, band coach, or floating counselor.

Resources

#AskHer: Caring for Nonprofit Leaders of Color, April 20 at 12:00 PM | Crimsonbridge Foundation

Explore the intersection of wellness and nonprofit leadership with C. Marie Taylor, President & Principal Consultant of Equity Through Action, and Diana Ortiz, President & CEO of Doorways. They will provide some actionable strategies for nonprofit leaders to address burnout, staffing, fatigue, and other challenges, and create a space for open dialogue with nonprofit leaders of color.

Cause Camp, May 2-3 | Nonprofit Hub x Do More Good

Happening both online and in-person in Grand Rapids, Michigan, the Cause Camp Nonprofit Conference features top of the industry speakers, breakout sessions, and one-on-one networking, and includes sessions about inspiring connection in a hybrid workplace, growing future support for your organization, the myth of successful diversity programs, and more.

Answering the Call: One Foundation’s Approach to Shifting Power and Funding Racial Justice | Inside Philanthropy

In this article, Hanna Mahon and Luke Newton dive into how the Pink House Foundation, a small family foundation based here in Washington, DC, shifted towards making large, multi-year grants to grassroots alliances and movement-accountable public foundations as part of an effort to release both money and control.

Resource Mobilizer Drop-In Practice Group | Wealth Reclamation Academy of Practitioners

What becomes possible when we stop ‘asking’ for money as ‘fundraisers’ and start organizing relational wealth as Resource Mobilizers? Join WRAP’s Drop-In Practice Group, a biweekly, nine-session cycle, to learn about and practice using Resource Mobilizer Tool No. 4: Ancestral Healing Loose Incense Blend, a tool that helps identify strained or severed relationships, damaged by wealth extraction, to begin a journey of repair towards reconnectedness.

Language Memo | Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement (PACE)

PACE worked with social impact insights company Citizen Data to conduct a survey on terms and phrases commonly used in democracy and civic engagement work to identify potential disconnects between how the “professional field” working on these issues talks about its work and how members of the American public perceive the words and phrases the professionals use.

Local Nonprofit Bulletin (4.1.22)

Local Nonprofit Bulletin

4.1.22

Philanthropic resources, news from small nonprofits in the DMV, upcoming events, and more! Have questions or something you want featured? Reach out to Amanda, our Communications and Marketing Coordinator, for shoutouts and collaborations!

Quick Word from the Catalogue

For small nonprofit professionals, our upcoming National Small Nonprofit Summit will cover actionable and effective ideas for fundraising, communications, and more — all rooted in Values-Based Growth! Register now to join us on April 7-8. Tickets are $25 or free for Catalogue nonprofit partners.

As the world begins to reopen, hear from our nonprofit partners on May 19 about what has sustained them and what gives them hope for the future. RSVP now for our Give Local Gala: Hope Springs!

Shoutouts

“The best investment in science is an investment in teachers,” Jeanne McCarty, CEO of Out Teach, wrote in District Administration. Her article outlines three key steps to elevate science instruction district-wide for the long term.

Congratulations to the Prince William County Community Foundation for receiving the 2021 Nonprofit of the Year award from Mayor Derrick Wood, Town of Dumfries! From distributing meals and buddy boxes to awarding scholarships and micro-grants, we’re excited to recognize their impact!

So What Else’s Food Pantry in Montgomery Village, Maryland, recently hit record-breaking days of service to the community, providing approximately 51,000 meals to over 2,000 families during two recent Fridays! Their walk-up pantry is open every Tuesday through Friday from 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM and they host tours every Friday morning for community members to get involved and see their pantry services in action.

“HIV should be part of a self-care conversation, a conversation that speaks about the importance of caring for oneself,” Elenilson Ayala, HIV Testing Coordinator at the Latin American Youth Center, spoke with WUSA in a segment on raising awareness about HIV testing among youth.

“When we put Black women’s interest at the forefront of maternal health issues we’ll be able to solve a series of issues,” Raven Freeborn, Senior and Advocacy Policy Manager at Mamatoto Village, explained in Devon Haynes’s 730DC article.

Get farm fresh produce grown for you by black farmers delivered to your door! Dreaming Out Loud is changing the food system through Black Farm CSA. They source the freshest produce available from a network of small to mid-sized socially disadvantaged producers and you can get freshly harvested produce from their trusted community of farmers.

Photos of farming and fresh produce. Text reads: Bringing Black Farmers to the Table with Black Farm CSA, est. 2010. Get farm fresh produce grown for you by black farmers delivered to your door. Brought to you by Dreaming Out Loud. Visit their website at csa.dreamingoutloud.org to learn more, or follow them at @blackfarmcsa.

Events

March 25-April 24 | Visibility Art Lab’s 2022 Exhibition

April 1-14 | Down To Earth: The Exhibit at Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens

April 3 | Young Artists of America’s Spring production of AIDA and 10th Anniversary Celebrations

April 6, 12:00 – 1:00 PM | Bridges to Independence Listen & Learn

April 28, 9:30 AM – 12:45 PM | The Barker Adoption Foundation Annual Conference: Trauma-Informed Parenting

April 28, 7:00 – 9:00 PM | Bikes & Bow Ties: Celebrating 15 with Phoenix Bikes

May 1 | The DC Center’s annual Gay Day at the Zoo

July 11-15 and August 1-5 | Girls Rock! DC’s Summer Camp

Resources

Everything You Ever Wanted to Know Series | YNPNdc

Have you ever wanted to know more about how nonprofit leaders got to where they are? Join YNPNdc’s new virtual speaker series to hear the stories of nonprofit leaders in our nation’s capital! The series kicks off with an event on April 13 about Mentorship and the Value of Relationships with Lisa Rice, President and CEO of the National Fair Housing Alliance.

How Funders of Collective Impact Initiatives Can Build Trust | Stanford Social Innovation Review

This article by Victor Tavarez, John Harper, and Fay Hanleybrown explores four ways funders of collective impact efforts can help foster trust to strengthen collaboration and achieve greater impact.

Understanding the Fundamentals of Nonprofit Organizations: An 8-Part Business Law Course for Nonprofit Leaders | DC Bar Pro Bono Center

Beginning April 6, this business law course is designed for non-attorney nonprofit leaders with significant management responsibilities and other staff that seek to develop their management capabilities. Taught by expert lawyers and accountants with experience dealing with nonprofit organizations, the course will give you an overview of critical legal issues that apply to nonprofit organizations.

Taking Action | Empower DC

Every Tuesday at 1:00 PM, join Empower DC for an hour-long podcast about critical issues facing DC’s low-income communities of color. Hosted on WPFW 89.3, the show brings in DC residents — the real experts — to talk about the challenges our communities face and solutions designed to uplift our people.

Multiple Resources | CORE

The Council Office of Racial Equity creates training, tools, and processes for local officials, staff, and the community to intentionally identify and disrupt implicit biases and systemic inequities in policymaking. From developing a racial equity assessment tool to collecting open data sets to designing Racial Equity Impact Assessments, CORE has created and linked to multiple resources on their website.

Local Nonprofit Bulletin (3.18.22)

Local Nonprofit Bulletin

3.18.22

Introducing the Catalogue for Philanthropy’s biweekly Local Nonprofit Bulletin! Every two weeks, watch this space for philanthropic resources, news from small nonprofits in the DMV, upcoming events, and more. Have questions or something you want featured? Reach out to Amanda, our Communications and Marketing Coordinator, for shoutouts and collaborations!

Celebrating Women’s History Month

This Women’s History Month, support the many nonprofits serving women and girls across the DMV! Some quick highlights from these 120+ Catalogue nonprofit partners include:

  • FAIR Girls offering 18-28-year-old female-identifying survivors of human trafficking a safe, empowering, and transitional home.
  • Amara Legal Center providing survivors with legal protection and assistance.
  • New Endeavors by Women giving women and children housing, drug recovery assistance, and more.

Browse our website to find opportunities to donate to, volunteer with, and advocate for these incredible organizations and the other 100+ serving women and girls locally!

Shoutouts

Congratulations to After-School All-Stars for winning the Anthem Awards! Thanks to support from TikTok, they served over half a million meals to individuals and families during the pandemic, in addition to connecting students with mentors and executing wellness checks.

“To finally see our impact in person with our kids has just been phenomenal,” Charity Blackwell, Senior Advisor of Arts & Culture at DC SCORES, spoke with NBC Washington in a feature exploring how they used a Project Innovation grant to serve schoolkids in the District.

Street Reporter recently streamed at this year’s Community Stories Film Festival. A collaborative documentary project by Laura Waters Hinson in partnership with American University’s Community Voice Lab, the film captures the journeys of Reginald Black and Sheila White, members of the nation’s first homeless filmmaking cooperative at Street Sense Media.

“It was really nice to be able to finally make a book that identified with me,” 19-year-old Joy Ugwu told DCist in an article highlighting Shout Mouse Press’s Beyond Borders series, which collaborates with immigrant youth authors to publish illustrated children’s books.

Events

March 16-27 | Poetry for the People: The June Jordan Experience

March 17-27 | Environmental Film Festival in the Nation’s Capital (30th Anniversary)

March 19, 7:00 – 10:00 PM | Joe’s Movement Emporium presents Take Back the Night: Flashback Prom

Multiple | Jews United for Justice’s What’s at Stake in the Local Primary Elections?

Resources

Collaborate to Co-Liberate: Structures and Practices for Democratic Organizations | Nonprofit Democracy Network

This 12 month-long journey, divided into four seasons, will explore best practices and living models of liberatory organizational culture, structure, and practice. Individuals and organizations interested in implementing transformational change can apply by March 21 to participate in this virtual learning journey.

A Charitable-Giving Tax Credit Could Shift the Balance of Philanthropic Power Away from the Wealthy | The Chronicle of Philanthropy

This article by Andrew Hayashi and Justin Hopkins delves into their proposal for a refundable tax credit that could be paid for by eliminating the charitable deduction, subsidizing the giving of low- and middle-income taxpayers who do not itemize.

PEAK2022, March 21-25 | PEAK Grantmaking

This virtual conference will imagine how grantmaking can truly embody what PEAK stands for: Principles, Equity, Advocacy, and Knowledge. Core programming includes thought-provoking keynotes, interactive peer dialogues, skill-building breakouts, and community gatherings.

2022 National Arts Action Summit, March 28-30 | Americans for the Arts

Advocates will learn from policy experts and field leaders about the latest in arts policy and how to effectively engage decision-makers to support the arts, arts education, and more.

Network Strategy Session, March 28-30 | Neighborhood Funders Group’s Funders for a Just Economy

Philanthropy needs to be more organized than ever to bring the resources to bear to support the success of our movement partners. Register to join the FJE Network Strategy Session to come together as funders and align your funding with the visions and aspirations of movement partners.

Community Forklift: Keeping Our Community Cool

Did you know that heat-related illness, while preventable, kills on average 702 people in the United States annually? Every year, Community Forklift’s Home Essentials Program (HELP) provides dozens of free air conditioners to neighbors who need one but can’t afford it. Many seniors and people with medical conditions risk serious health problems as the temperatures rise. For an elderly neighbor, someone suffering from heart or lung problems, or a child with asthma growing up in a neighborhood with heavily-polluted air, an air conditioner can make a world of difference.

IMG_4842

This year we already have 18 households waiting for A/C units, and summer hasn’t even begun!

Community Forklift’s HELP program provides home repair supplies and household essentials free of cost to families and individuals who qualify for need-based assistance. The program has a very simple application process, and staff are constantly screening new applicants. The program has provided thousands of air conditioners, appliances, doors, windows, and other necessary home improvement items for those in need in the Port Towns area of Prince George’s County, DC, and the surrounding area. We also partner with dozens of other organizations and agencies to facilitate greater access to our services. Since 2011, over 4,300 individuals have been served through the HELP program, receiving over $320,000 worth of materials.

IWDI6025

During the COVID-19 pandemic, we began providing free delivery for customers to minimize the risk of COVID exposure and to ensure that those who are unable to come in person to the Reuse Center are still able to receive their home essentials.

In June 2020, we received a call from Ms. B, a 59-year-old woman who is homebound and suffers from asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Her apartment would get very hot in the summer and she needed her home to be well ventilated. Ms. B was able to receive two window A/C units through the HELP program, which Community Forklift delivered directly to her home. Ms. B said, “Thank you so much! I didn’t know how I was going to make it this summer. I really appreciated it and I appreciate you.”

The Joy of Accompaniment: Reflecting on 15 years of serving moms and babies in Washington, DC

This year I mark my 15th anniversary working at The Northwest Center (NWC). As I reflect on these years, I am reminded of the foundational value of a good volunteer experience and how it can influence future career paths.

As a freshman at Georgetown University, I chose to receive a fourth credit for my Introduction to Psychology course by taking on weekly volunteer work. I value volunteering and also supporting pregnant women, so my search led me to NWC and its Pregnancy Center Program. I volunteered for a semester and subsequently chose to volunteer on my own my sophomore year. I remember helping sort donations and sitting with women and listening to their personal stories. It left a lasting impression.

To this experience, I later added a post-college year of service in the Jesuit Volunteer Corps working with teen mothers and felt called to pursue a career in social work. Fast forward 10 years and, after several years of working in child welfare for Montgomery County, I was thinking it was time for a job change. A friend who had been volunteering at NWC told me there was an opening for Director of the Maternity Home, a second program offered at NWC. Before I knew it, I was working at the agency where I had gained my very first work experience related to my eventual social work profession. Subsequently, I also became Executive Director, overseeing both NWC programs.

Susan

During these ensuing 15 years at NWC, I have grown in so many ways. When I left Montgomery County for the maternity home position, my supervisor gave me a small novelty hammer and screwdriver. To my great surprise, those farewell gifts turned out to foretell how much I would need to learn about maintenance issues for the upkeep of the 100-year-old DC townhouse that houses NWC’s programs.

But the main growth has been in understanding the need in the community and how best to meet that need. I have learned the importance of creating a safe space for women to share their hopes, dreams, and struggles and to respond by listening, not judging, and providing encouragement.

My experience at NWC often brings to mind the words of Father Greg Boyle in his book, Tattoos on the Heart: The Power of Boundless Compassion. Father Boyle talks about “standin awe at what people have to carry rather than stand in judgment at how they carry it.”

I am truly awed by the resilience of the women we serve in the face of what they have to carry: from domestic violence to poverty and lack of resources (housing, food, adequate medical care), to the racism they face. In spite of this, each and every mother makes countless sacrifices for her baby and her family. My lens of viewing the world has widened as I have seen the daily struggles and joys of so many different families who have allowed me a glimpse into their lives.

“Accompaniment” is my greatest joy in being a social worker and working at NWC. Walking alongside women – providing support, encouragement, guidance – has allowed me to watch the moms grow in every area of their lives as they become new parents and build long-term stability for their families. Being a part of a child’s life – from before they are born, and watching them grow, achieve developmental milestones, and become a member of the village which supports their family – is truly a gift.

The story of one determined mom is an example of the difficult path women have walked as they progress through NWC programs. This mother was pregnant with her second child and did not have stable, safe housing nor health insurance. She was eager in working towards her goals: deliver a healthy baby, find daycare for her children, obtain U.S. citizenship, and find a better paying job to support her family. She obtained health insurance, gave birth to a full-term baby, and found a good daycare. The mother and I deciphered our way through the citizenship application. I drove her to the immigration office for her interview, reviewed study questions for the test with her, and eventually attended her naturalization ceremony. She obtained a better paying job, now lives in affordable housing, and I continue to provide resources and support to her family.

And then there is the joy of reading to a young infant and watching that become a part of his daily routine. I was reading a board book to a 4-month-old who blurted out gleeful sounds every time he saw the hippo in the book. His mom was impressed that a baby that young enjoyed reading and began reading to him daily. Some of the babies liked the animal noises so much that every time they wanted to read a book, they walked around making animal noises and handed their mothers a book.

Many we serve become extended family, keeping in touch after they have moved to independence, and often visiting NWC to support new women entering the programs. This is a real way that I see The Northwest Center living out its mission to support all women through pregnancy as well as beyond to long-term well-being for themselves and their families.

I have been blessed with dedicated, supportive, and creative coworkers who truly define what it means to be a team. I am grateful for the wide range of volunteers who pick up and sort donations, meet with families, and offer their expertise, energy and passion. It is these volunteers that keep me going when the work is challenging. I am amazed at the generous community donations that help provide resources in support of the needs and hopes of new mothers and their infants.

My 15-year tenure also has been enriched by the generosity of our donors, by the strong commitment of the board, staff and volunteers, and by the embrace of our local community. I am humbled to work at an agency that exists and thrives because of these caring efforts in support of pregnant women and families.

This reflection was written by Susan Gallucci, LICSW, the current Executive Director of The Northwest Center (Photo by Renata Grzan Wieczorek/FortheLoveofBeauty.com).

Street Sense Goes Weekly, by Eric Falquero, Editorial Director

Street Sense Media is realizing a long-time goal of doubling how often we publish the street paper of our nation’s capital! Starting April 14, our community can look forward to a new publication every Wednesday! At the heart of this expansion is one simple thing: vendor income. We project that the women and men selling our newspaper will earn an average of 40% more money based on observations from our sister street papers in Chicago, Seattle, and Portland that have already transitioned to weekly distribution.

This increase will help vendors meet their daily, basic needs​ and make the program more attractive to new vendors. The more consistent income will make saving and budgeting funds from working with Street Sense Media easier. And we will also be able to pay the artists who contribute to Street Sense – writers, photographers, illustrators, and more – twice as often.

SSM J McNeil

A 2015 analysis of our past sales data found that sales were, on average, 74% higher in the first week of a paper’s circulation. And in a readership survey the following year, a whopping 78% of readers said they would purchase the paper every week if we made this change.

Writing, editing, designing, and printing twice as much is a big lift and it has taken a long time to successfully connect with the generous funders who have made this happen. Last year, we hired a second full-time editor, Deputy Editor Jake Maher, doubling the size of our editorial department. And we are – continuing to recruit – volunteer editors, reporters, and page designers.

SSM Q Featherstone

More frequent publication also strengthens our product to better serve our community. The range and depth of our journalism has continued to grow from year to year. Publishing more frequently will mean bringing our print readers more timely news by featuring articles that would usually run online only. It also allows space to spotlight more relevant news from our partner newsrooms: DCist, The DC Line, Greater Greater Washington, and other street papers from around the world. Our community calendar and job listings will be more frequent. The voices and talents shared in our pages through poetry, prose, and visual art will diversify and be amplified all the more. And the opinion section, which is – open to all members – of our community, will be able to provide a platform for more timely commentary and debate.

This is our entire community’s paper, and we’re so excited to grow it with the community’s support.

A lot has changed over the past year. The pandemic decimated paper sales; street vendors cannot work from home. Our community rallied around us, helping to establish a vendor assistance fund for our case management department and increasingly using – our mobile payments app – to pay vendors for what people are reading at home, or just to provide them extra support. But none of this has measured up to the same level of income Street Sense Media vendors earned previously. As our community works through the vaccine rollout and continues to rebuild and recover, we want to be there to meet our readers? information needs every week and provide a stronger no-barrier work opportunity than ever before for our unhoused neighbors.

Changing the Conversation on Teen Pregnancy in DC

I was honored last week to accept the Changing the Conversation Award from DC Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy. DC Campaign has been very successful at reducing the rate which, just in the last six years, has decreased dramatically in teens ages 15-19 from 54.5 to 28.2 per 1000. Or to look at it another way, in hard numbers over a longer period, we?re talking about 999 births in 2006 and 458 in 2016 — the most recent year for which we have stats. That’s more than a 50% decrease and this is a very good thing, and well worth applauding. But as the DC Campaign will tell you, it isn’t yet good enough. And this is true for a number of reasons: first, though the rate is lower here than in demographically comparable cities like Philadelphia and Baltimore, it is still higher than the national average, and second, because the numbers in some wards of the city are still just unacceptably high.In Wards 7 and 8 in 2015, there were 278 births while in Ward 3… one. Chevy Chase, Cleveland Park, AU Park, Cathedral Heights, Friendship Heights. One. And lest we think this is strictly a matter of race, the difference between the rates for black teens outside Ward 8 and inside Ward 8 is significant. The combination of poverty, unemployment, high female-headed households, crime, and low rates of school completion — what Child Trends calls “community disadvantage” — is at the heart of the problem.

Barbara Harman giving her speech at DC Campaign's 20th Anniversary Change the Conversation Luncheon

Barbara Harman giving her speech at DC Campaign’s 20th Anniversary Change the Conversation Luncheon

And what is striking, if less apparent, about the numbers, is the overall impact that they have on the well-being of multiple generations. Teen moms and their children — without other kinds of interventions — generally do not fare well: pregnancy often means dropping out of high school, or not attending college, or both, and this is linked to a similar pattern in the next generation. Of course there are interventions — at the Catalogue for Philanthropy: Greater Washington, which I founded in 2003 and where DC Campaign has been featured since 2004 as one of the best community-based nonprofits in the Washington region, we see a wide range of efforts that help prevent teen pregnancy both before and after it has occurred: in programs that keep teens off the streets and deeply engaged in after-school arts, or sports, or educational enrichment; in programs like Generation Hope, which works with teens who DO parent — to complete their education, and to focus on the child as well for a two-generation approach to ending poverty; or in schools like Columbia Heights Education Campus whose MCIP program helps fund an on-site day care center and program for teen parents that is very successful at keeping parenting teens in school and thus short-circuiting the intergenerational repetition of the problem.

But at least in these latter two examples, it’s a case of closing the barn door after the horse is stolen. Until we solve the problem of “community disadvantage” and bring the teen pregnancy rate to zero we need these programs, but to address the problem now we need the DC Campaign to help parents talk to their kids about sexual issues, to invest in the after school programs that are effective at engaging them productively, to talk to boys as well as girls, and to their parents about sexual health, to advocate on behalf of teens, and to make contraception widely available. DC Campaign’s simple assertion “there are only two ways to prevent teen pregnancy: don’t have sex or, if you do, use contraception” — may sound simple, but simple it is not. We need to keep at it, to work with teens (and their communities and families) on delaying sex, preventing pregnancy, and ensuring more promising lives for them and for the children they will bear in their 20s and 30s when they have finished school, have decent jobs, and are ready for the demands of parenthood and of life.

Barbara and Amira El-Gawly, one of Catalogue for Philanthropy board members, at DC Campaign's May 2nd Change the Conversation Luncheon

Barbara and Amira El-Gawly, one of the Catalogue for Philanthropy’s board members, at DC Campaign’s May 2nd Change the Conversation Luncheon

Because one thing I think we can all agree on is that we want a better life for all of the children who live here — not just for our own. I have a very young granddaughter who lives with her parents in Ward 3. One of my many wishes for her is that she will do what her mother did and have a child intentionally in her late 20s when she is fully and happily ready to be a parent — economically secure, parenting with a spouse (or partner – because parenthood is a joy, but at the same time it is not easy to do alone), diplomas in hand, ready and eager to take on the world and to take on …another life. I think we all want to see community disadvantage become community advantage — but that is a long haul and, in the meantime, this right here, this work — this is something we can do now. We are already doing it, and we must continue the work. Our lives — and the lives of all of our” children — depend on it.

 

Written by Barbara Harman, Founder of Catalogue for Philanthropy: Greater Washington

 

A Day in the Volunteer Life: Anacostia Watershed Society

An innovative, environmentally-friendly workout idea: cleaning up a garbage-bag-worth of cigarette butts. A single butt only weighs about 1 gram, but once you pick up hundreds of them, they start to add up to some serious bicep strengthening. That’s how I celebrated Earth Day 2019 with the Anacostia Watershed Society on April 13th.

As a fellow with Catalogue for Philanthropy, I have the honor of working with and learning about over 400 locally-based nonprofits in the Greater Washington Region. So when my school’s community service committee asked me to arrange a volunteer opportunity for myself and other American University students for Earth Day, I knew where to look. Time to join the #Trashtag Challenge!

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Anacostia Watershed Society’s annual event engages nearly 2000 volunteers for 44 sites around the Anacostia River. My site’s neighborhood in Anacostia was not directly next to the river but in the river’s wider watershed area; whenever it rains, all of the trash in the residential area flows into the river, hurting wildlife and the ecosystem.

Fellow volunteers and I met at We Act Radio Station, a hip local institution and de facto community center. I sat among piles of books from their ongoing book drive. We were welcomed by Stacy and Aroni, two friendly and enthusiastic Anacostia Watershed Society staff members and our team leaders for the day. They gave us gloves to protect our hands, picker-uppers to prevent back strain, and matching t-shirts to look cool and groovy.

It was a beautiful Saturday morning to go for a stroll and pick up garbage. We made a circle around several blocks, carrying a blue bag for recyclables and a white bag for general trash. About 70% of what I picked up were cigarette butts. In public discourse, we acknowledge how cigarettes choke our bodies, but not enough about how they choke the environment too. What made me saddest were butts littered on the ground not 3 feet away from public trash cans.
It was rewarding work. Quite a few residents stopped to thank us and a few even added some trash to my bag. I was pleased too by how social it was; the steady and relaxing pace of our walk through the neighborhood easily facilitated conversations with new and interesting people. Our crew even had a beauty queen! If you want to meet new people, explore a new neighborhood, and make a difference in the environment, I strongly recommend signing up for clean up events. There’s no better way to celebrate the new springtime weather with friends than going and picking up a bag of butts.

 

Written by Nancy Erickson, Nonprofit Programs Fellow at the Catalogue for Philanthropy

The After-School All-Stars at Deloitte

Earlier this month, middle school students from John Hayden Johnson and Charles Hart took a field trip to the Deloitte office in Arlington, VA. This excursion was just one of many unique opportunities made possible by the After-School All-Stars Washington DC, a local charity that provides free after-school programs for low-income middle school students. The trip to Deloitte was part of the Career Exploration Opportunities Initiative, a program focused on exposing students to attainable and attractive career paths that they may not have been aware of, otherwise.

As the middle schoolers arrived at the Arlington office, they weren’t sure what to expect. They wanted to know, “What does it mean to be a consultant?” Because many of the students were (like most Americans) unfamiliar with Deloitte, they were eager to hear more about the company from the perspective of dedicated staff members. They were greeted by Maddie Devine, a Deloitte Business Technology Analyst who also graciously serves as the Event Lead for the After-School All-Stars. After a dinner provided by the company, students were given a full tour of the facility that included a breakdown of every department. Deloitte staff members spoke about their current projects, and the students were introduced to the newly renovated Deloitte Digital Studio.

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The tour culminated in a group activity where students were split into teams and presented with a mock case study, in which they had the opportunity to play the role of ‘Deloitte consultant’ for a notable client: Coca-Cola. The student groups had impassioned dialogues, and then submitted proposals on how Coke might expand its reach in global markets. Then, the groups had the opportunity to pitch their ideas to a few Deloitte staffers. Ranging from athlete endorsements, door-to-door product delivery services, new flavors, and even Coke-sponsored disaster-relief shelters in the developing world, the students’ ideas were amazingly creative and comprehensive. This exercise was impactful: it encouraged the students to be resourceful, to think outside the box, and it served as a wonderful conceptualization of what it means to work for an organization like Deloitte. All at once, the group understood what it means to be a consultant!

After-School All-Stars DC is privileged to have Jared Townshend, a Deloitte staff member, as an advisory board member. Jared acts as the official sponsor for ASAS DC within Deloitte, and is the Managing Director for the company within the Government and Public Services team. Together with Maddie, Jared sent the All Stars off in style with parting gifts, courtesy of Deloitte. Staffers posed for a photo with the group, and passed out hot cocoa as students left. The ASAS DC partnership with Deloitte has been characterized by the warmth and hospitality the students experienced on their field trip, and it is greatly appreciated.

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This trip to Deloitte exposed the All Star students to a career path worth aspiring to. The students left the office full of excitement, expressing admiration for the dynamic work that the consultants take on to meet client-needs. The students all saw themselves serving in similar roles in future careers, and said they’d be proud to work for the organization.

As always, ASAS DC will continue to provide these events to the students we serve. In this way, we will work to expand their worldview, increase their self-esteem, and help them understand the kind of success they are capable of achieving.

 

Lucky Dog Animal Rescue: My Story

People often ask me how I got involved in dog rescue. The story is surprising, even to me. Dog rescue was not something I had planned on doing, and was not something I grew up wanting to do. I fell into it while living in DC because I was lonely – I wanted a friend, even if that friend had four legs instead of two.

I found Sparky after a lot of googling. His photo showed him trotting along with a pink ball in his mouth. His bio said he loved playing fetch and soccer with his family. It was love at first sight (at least, for me).

Sparky - Formatted 2Sparky was living in Richmond, and it wasn’t important to me that there were rescues to be found in my own backyard. Sparky was it – my dog. But after coordinating a time to pick Sparky up, I began to have second thoughts: was I really up for caring for a living being? I couldn’t even keep plants alive.

Sparky was clearly overwhelmed when I first picked him up. His tail was tucked, and he was shaking with nerves. If I had known then what I know now, I may have not moved forward with the rescue. Nervous Sparky deserved better than a first-time dog owner: he needed someone who knew what they were doing, or maybe someone who had other dogs to give him confidence. But he got me.

I loaded Sparky, along with his pink ball, dog food, and crate, into my car and drove back to DC. Despite Sparky’s nervousness and my own hesitations, I was getting excited. Sparky and I would have a great time together. We could go on hikes and walks. We’d play fetch. It would be perfect.

Nothing is ever perfect.

For the first 24 hours, we went on multiple long walks, but he didn’t pee. Not once. I called the Rescue frantically, asking if something was wrong with him. They told me to “Just wait. He’ll pee when he’s ready.” Well, he did. On my carpet. Standing next to me.

Later, I decided to take Sparky to a dog park. We were playing fetch and bonding a little, until a car nearby backfired and Sparky bolted. He ran all the way home-crossing two streets with traffic–with me crying the whole way behind him.

After some time had passed, I was ready to give up. My relationship with Sparky was characterized by things I had not anticipated: I was sneezing at home, I had to get up earlier and stay up later, and I was running home at lunch and running back to the office. Everything was different.

Different was scaring me.

Not long after I brought Sparky home, I sat on the floor and called my mom. Trying desperately to hold it together, I told her that I had failed: I wasn’t able to care for the dog, I just couldn’t do it. My mom listened to my litany of troubles. Then, she asked: “Where is Sparky?”

I told her, “He is lying down across from me. He is staring at me. I think he knows I failed.”

“No,” she said, “he is telling you he needs you.”

When I looked back at Sparky, I saw an animal who needed me as much as I needed him. Who, like me, was afraid of “different”, but who, with me, could learn to love it. After some time together, I began to feel Sparky’s unconditional love for me, too.

And that started my journey into rescue.

- Mirah Horowitz
Founder and Executive Director – Lucky Dog Animal Rescue

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