The scientist is not a person who gives the right answers, he is one who asks the right questions.
– anthropologist Claude Levi-Strauss, born today in 1908
As the true method of knowledge is experiment, the true faculty of knowing must be the faculty which experiences.
– poet William Blake, born today in 1757
Happy Thanksgiving, Greater Washington! If you’re looking to support or volunteer with an organization in your neighborhood on this coming holiday weekend, we have the list for you. Check out what’s needed and what you can do at some of Catalogue’s human service nonprofits. (And we’ll be back to our regular GoodWorks programming on Monday)
Carpenter’s Shelter: Alexandria, VA
Each family, more than 100 in total, in the Aftercare program receives a basket full of essential ingredients for Thanksgiving dinner. Items needed range from boxes of stuffing to mashed potatoes to ziploc bags. Full list right here:
Doorways for Women and Families: Arlington, VA
Doorways, which strives to end domestic violence and homelessness, offers 6 ways to help out throughout this holiday season, including sponsoring a family and purchasing cards drawn by a child in the housing program.
FACETS Cares: Fairfax, VA
Seeking cooks for Turkeys and side dishes (ingredients provided) on November 22-24, volunteers to assemble and deliver food on Thanksgiving, AND food drive assistants that weekend! All info is right here.
Food for Others: Fairfax, VA
A full calendar of volunteer opportunities from 9 AM to 5 PM today and tomorrow includes directing truck traffic, sorting food, and distributing it to clients. Interested? Read the full schedule here or email nclifford@foodforothers.org.
Lorton Community Action Center: Lorton, VA
In serving clients of diverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds, LCAC is not seeking the traditional American Thanksgiving provisions. A complete list is right here. The drop-off date was last Sunday, but give LCAC a call (contact info below) to see if they have everything that they need.
Manna Food Center: Gaithersburg, MD
Check out Channel 9′s report on Manna’s “need for turkeys” (and other protein items) from earlier this month. You can drop off food donations from 8 AM to 4 PM today and tomorrow, but locations are closed on Thursday.
Miriam’s Kitchen: Washington, DC
All volunteer spots are booked for Thanksgiving, but do check out the coverage of Miriam’s Kitchen on USA Today. This holiday, Miriam’s will be serving 150 homeless people its first all-organic or local Thanksgiving dinner (turkey included).
Our Daily Bread: Fairfax, VA
Every Saturday, November 5 through December 10, Our Daily Bread and Combined Properties host a fall food drive; full list of locations here. You also can sponsor a family through the holiday season.
Friendships begin with liking or gratitude — roots that can be pulled up.
– English novelist George Eliot
As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.
– 35th US President John Fitzgerald Kennedy
This Thanksgiving week, we’re giving thanks for the incredible nonprofit community of Greater Washington — for cleaner rivers and parklands, innovative schools and enrichment programs, diverse theater and dance performances, and aid for our region’s neediest residents.
Are you a Catalogue nonprofit with particular volunteer or support needs this week? Let us know so that we can feature you right here!
Have a good weekend, Greater Washington! We have a bundle of events coming right up …
Help the Homeless Walkathon (National Mall between 9th and 12th Street)
On Saturday morning, join in the nation’s largest walk and benefit a Catalogue nonprofit: Samaritan Inns, The Dwelling Place, Miriam’s Kitchen, and Bright Beginnings are all taking part. Register here — it’s a great way to give back just before Thanksgiving.
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From “With Hispanic students on the rise, Hispanic teachers in short supply” in yesterday’s Post:
The surge in Hispanic students across the nation is forcing schools to reckon with a deep shortage of teachers who share their cultural heritage.
More than 21 percent of schoolchildren are Hispanic, experts report, compared with 7 percent of teachers. No other racial or ethnic minority group has such a wide disparity. In the struggle to close this gap, the stakes are high: Research suggests that a more diverse faculty might lead to better attendance, fewer suspensions and higher test scores. [...] Of 126,000 students in Maryland’s second-largest system [Prince George's], 21 percent are Hispanic. But among teachers, the share is 2 percent.
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DC Poverty Rates Could Increase With New Measurement (DCentric): “A new government method of measuring poverty takes into account many factors the old rate didn’t: geography, taxes, government benefits, housing costs and other expenses. For DC, this means many more people would qualify as poor due to the city’s high cost of living.” DC Fiscal Policy Institute analyst Jenny Reed points out that median rent has risen by 35%, while incomes have increased by less than half of that. DC, along with Detroit, is one of only two US cities to have experienced a rise in housing in the past year. “A state-by-state breakdown of the new measure isn’t yet available, but regional data show western states have the highest rate, followed by the southern region.”
I found I could say things with colors that I couldn’t say in any other way — things that I had no words for.
Fill a space in a beautiful way.
To create one’s own world, in any of the arts, takes courage.
– American painter Georgia Totto O’Keeffe, born today in 1887
Welcome to mid-November! Just one week ago today, we introduced you to our new class of Catalogue nonprofits. So now, we’d like to show how you can learn even more about them online.
First, head to the “Our Nonprofits” section of the Catalogue homepage and click on any of the five categories. Let’s go with “Nature.” From there, let’s get to know one of our new organizations: Arlingtonians for a Clean Environment. And if you scroll down on ACE’s page, you will see this menu:
Hey there, Greater Washington! Where would you like to spend the weekend?
The Outdoors
In DC, join volunteers to restore plant beds in Coolidge High School’s rainscape garden on Saturday at 8:30 PM or, in Maryland, help finish the hiker and biker trail re-route at Lake Needwood at 9:00 AM — both with Rock Creek Conservancy. And on Sunday at 10:00 AM, join Potomac Conservancy in cleaning up the land and water surrounding Lock 8, and along miles 8 and 9 of the C&O Canal towpath.
The Theatre and Gallery
An enthralling adaptation of Shakespeare’s classic, The Mistorical Hystery of Henry (I)V, produced by WSC Avant Bard, plays at Artisphere on Saturday at 2:00 and 7:30 PM and Sunday at 2:00 PM; tickets here. Over on Capitol Hill, CHAW presents an all-media juried exhibit entitled “Local Turf,” opening on Saturday at 5:00 PM and running until December 2. At DCAC on Sunday at 5:00 PM, local artist Champneys Taylor discusses his first solo show “The Phono-Graphic Cycle” and its reflection of his interest in color, luminosity, and invented landscape.
New blog feature! Since we’re all about collaborating and teaming up here at Catalogue, we will be highlighting unique partnerships between Catalogue nonprofits and community, educational, and governmental organizations. And to start, we are featuring KEEN Greater DC and its brand new, innovative partnership with Johns Hopkins University.
Committed to serving (at no cost) those so often left out of sports and recreation, KEEN (Kids Enjoy Exercise Now) matches young people on the severe and profound end of the disabilities spectrum with trained volunteers to experience basketball, play tennis, enjoy water activities, play soccer, bowl, and simply enjoy themselves. The volunteer corp has exceeded 10,000 — and now it is now bound to keep on growing.