Around Town: March 24-25

Posted on March 23, 2012 by Julia Cain

An awesome range of events coming up this weekend …

Reading: A Family Affair with Literacy Council of Northern Virginia (James Lee Community Center, 2855 Annandale Road, Falls Church)

A free, five-hour event, this family literacy day brings books alive through a variety of venues: visitors can see, hear, become, read & write, and even click (through computer activities) great books on Saturday from 9:30 AM to 2:30 PM. Learn more right here!

Tree Planting! with Anacostia Watershed Society (Waterfront Park, 4601 Annapolis Road, Bladensburg)

Come roll up your sleeves and help to restore the health and natural beauty of the watershed on Saturday from 11:00 AM to 2:00 PM; simply zip an email to hbailey@anacostiaws.org to sign up.

“All Mozart” at National Philharmonic (The Music Center at Strathmore, 5301 Tuckerman Lane, North Bethesda)

Assistant Conductor Victoria Gau makes her National Philharmonic debut in an all-Mozart concert that opens with the joyful and beloved Eine Kleine Nachtmusik (“A Little Night Music”) on Saturday at 8:00 PM. Tickets right here!

Red Shoe 5K Run & Walk with Ronald McDonald House Charities of Greater Washington, DC (2303 Dulles Station Boulevard, Herndon)

Calling all runners and walkers! The Red Shoes 5K, coming up on Sunday at 9:00 AM, features a scenic fast, flat course and a special kids fun run. Sign up online and help in the fight for children’s health.

“The Art of the Fugue” at Washington Bach Consort (National Presbyterian Church, 4101 Nebraska Avenue NW)

In this rare performance of the complete Die Kunst der Fugue, experienceit in different ensemble groupings including string ensemble, harpsichord, and organ on Sunday at 3:00 PM. Tickets this way!

Scrabble Scramble at Literacy Council of Montgomery County (Manor Country Club, 14901 Carrolton Road, Rockville)

On Sunday at 6:00 PM, four-player teams will compete to achieve the highest total score and raise money for the organization’s adult literacy programs. Dinner is included, along with a cash bar. For more info, call (301) 610-0030 x202.

In The Water

Posted on March 22, 2012 by Julia Cain

Did you catch this story of The Kojo Nnamdi Show yesterday morning?

“College campuses across the country are restricting or banning the sale of bottled water. Instead they’re promoting “hydration stations,” where students can fill up their own reusable bottles with filtered tap water. The groups behind “ban the bottle” campaigns cite environmental concerns over plastic bottle manufacture and waste as their motivation. But critics say students have a right to choose what they drink [...]“

The NPR food blog, The Salt, also reports that “the bottled water war is spreading beyond campuses, though. Several cities have stopped using public funds to purchase bottled water, and Grand Canyon National Park announced Monday it will stop selling water in containers smaller than one gallon.”

And after delving into the bottle battles, you can learn plenty about the water in our own rivers right here:

- Anacostia Watershed Society: protects and restores the Anacostia River and its watershed, working hand-in-hand with local volunteers
- Rock Creek Conservancy: mobilizes over 2,000 volunteers to clean local streams and advocates for the park’s natural resources.
- Potomac Riverkeeper: increases public awareness and promotes community action to protect a great resource; volunteer citizen monitors act as its “eyes and ears”

In The News …

Posted on March 21, 2012 by Julia Cain

Investing in Education, Workforce Development and the Safety Net Will Close the Income Gap (Huffington Post): “In other words, while our region’s economy has led to economic growth and prosperity for many on the middle and higher rungs of the ladder, residents on the bottom of the income scale largely are being left behind,” writes Terri Lee Freeman, president of The Community Foundation for the National Capital Region. “While philanthropy alone cannot address income inequality, it can make a difference. We believe economic security can be achieved by investing in three key areas: education, workforce development and the safety net.” Do you agree that these are the three key areas? What would you add?

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Elsewhere

Posted on March 20, 2012 by Julia Cain

In beginning to write The Giver, I created a world that existed only in my imagination — the world of “only us, only now.” I tried to make Jonas’s world seem familiar, comfortable, and safe, and I tried to seduce the reader. I seduced myself along the way. It did feel good, that world. I got rid of all the things I fear and dislike [...] One child has pointed out, in a letter, that the people in Jonas’s world didn’t even have to do dishes.

It was very, very tempting to leave it at that.

But [...] if I’ve learned anything through that river of memories, it is that we can’t live in a walled world, in an “only us, only now” world where we are all the same and feel safe. We would have to sacrifice too much. The richness of color and diversity would disappear; feelings for other humans would no longer be necessary. Choices would be obsolete.

And besides, I had ridden my bike Elsewhere as a child, and liked it there, but had never been brave enough to tell anyone about it. So it was time.

– author Lois Lowry, born today in 1937
Newbery Medal acceptance speech for The Giver, June 1994

Feature of the Month: Happenings

Posted on March 19, 2012 by Julia Cain

Making plans with friends or looking to meet some new people? Check out the “Happenings” section of the Catalogue homepage:

When one of our nonprofits uploads a news story or press item, you always can find it under the NEWS tab. This month, you can see Women Thrive Worldwide featured in The Hill and on the The Jim Bohannon Show and Heart of America Foundation in the Journal Gazette.

Same deal for the EVENTS tab! This is where you find all events from all our nonprofits, organized by date. We also do a handy events recap for weekend happenings right here on the GoodWorks blog. Coming up this Wednesday, for example, are “Life After Diagnosis” sponsored by the Alzheimer’s Family Day Center and a Dream Booster Tour at Bright Beginnings.

Finally, are you interested in getting involved? Click the VOLUNTEER Opportunities tab, which just pulls up events that are in need of some willing volunteers, also sorted by date. This coming Thursday, as it happens, Anacostia Watershed Society needs some help with wetland meadow site prep in Hyattsville.

Around Town: March 16-18

Posted on March 16, 2012 by Julia Cain

I’m writing this blog post from the (windy yet balmy) outdoors! Enjoy the spring-like weekend with a Catalogue nonprofit …

Blackbird by Adam Rapp at District of Columbia Arts Center (2438 18th Street NW)

On Friday through Sunday at 7:30 PM, Barrelhouse Theatre presents this ferocious modern love-story between two troubled individuals who are caught in a continuing loop of bad luck and bad choices; for reservations, call (202) 462-7833. Tickets are a super-reasonable $16 and $12 for members.

Green Living Expo with Arlingtonians for a Clean Environment (at Washington Lee High School, 1301 N. Stafford Street, Arlington)

Looking for practical ways to green your lifestyle? On Saturday from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM, the expo will feature businesses and organizations with products and services focusing on energy conservation, eco-friendly transportation, healthy homes, and more. Children’s activities are included, plus the event is just three blocks from the Metro.

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Post-Pi Day

Posted on March 15, 2012 by Julia Cain

Hope that you had a good (and potentially tasty) “Pi Day” yesterday!

According to PiDay.org, “With the use of computers, Pi has been calculated to over 1 trillion digits past the decimal. Pi is an irrational and transcendental number meaning it will continue infinitely without repeating.” As many of us learned in middle school, Pi is the ratio between a circle’s diameter and its circumference and thus can be employed to calculate the area of a circle and volume of a rectangular prism. Pi also makes regular appearances in physics, statistics and probability, and calculus.

So if you celebrated with both edible and numerical pie yesterday, consider learning more about our educational nonprofits today — which are improving and supplementing math and technology education for students in our region. Just for some examples:

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In The News …

Posted on March 14, 2012 by Julia Cain

Residents Rally Against Cuts To DC Social Service Spending (WAMU 88.5): “They all turned out to a rally on the Wilson Building’s steps Monday morning, calling for Mayor Vincent Gray to spare funding cuts to social service programs and initiatives that help low-income DC residents. The rally was organized by the advocacy group DC Fair Budget Coalition. Mayor Gray is expected to release his proposed budget March 23 [...] Last year, Mayor Gray proposed $187 million in cuts, 60 percent of which were to social services.” According to Janelle Treibitz, campaign organizer of the coalition, Mayor Gray could propose a change to a current DC law (which mandates that all leftover money from the current fiscal year go into the city’s savings) and use half of this year’s budget surplus to prevent future program cuts. What do you think?

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Success Anywhere

Posted on March 13, 2012 by Julia Cain

From the American Graduate series on WAMU 88.5, “Scaling Up Solutions To The Dropout Problem:”

The cheers are a daily ritual at Browne , a struggling K-8 school hosting a group of City Year volunteers as part of the “Diplomas Now” program. The volunteers also interact with students one-on-one. [...]

Researchers and educators continue to design new ways to help improve the success rates of schools like Browne, which has less than 30% of its students reading and doing math at grade level. But one of the biggest challenges is translating those one-off programs into systems that can be successful in any school.

Continue reading →

Connectings

Posted on March 12, 2012 by Julia Cain

“He saw that all the struggles of life were incessant, laborious, painful, that nothing was done quickly, without labor, that it had to undergo a thousand fondlings, revisings, moldings, addings, removings, graftings, tearings, correctings, smoothings, rebuildings, reconsiderings, nailings, tackings, chippings, hammerings, hoistings, connectings.”
– The Town and the City

“I want to work in revelations, not just spin silly tales for money. I want to fish as deep down as possible into my own subconscious in the belief that once that far down, everyone will understand because they are the same that far down.”
– Letter, 1950

– novelist Jack Kerouac, born today in 1922

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