Skip to main navigation

Catalogue Blog

Category Archives: Human Services

Around Town: November 12-13

Posted on by
Reply

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.

Continue reading →

Team Up: KEEN & Johns Hopkins

Posted on by
Reply

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.

Continue reading →

In The News …

Posted on by
Reply

DCPS needs more than money to attract top teachers (Greater Greater Washington): “DC Council Chairman Kwame Brown plans to draft a bill that focuses on recruiting teachers to teach in high-poverty, low-performing schools. However, the incentives he proposes may not be enough to recruit highly effective teachers to work in these schools […] In addition to monetary incentives to recruit teachers to low performing schools, districts must also motivate effective teachers to stay in these schools through other factors like strong school leadership, access to high-quality professional development, career mobility, and comprehensive induction for new teachers.” Do you agree? Are these intangible benefits in fact more effective in the long-term?

Continue reading →

What Inspires You?

Posted on by
Reply

From yesterday’s “Inspiration to Action 2011” at the Harman Center for the Arts:

Here we are. YEAR NINE. To the 2011-12 charities featured in our new Catalogue and to those of you being re-featured on our website this year, it is truly an honor, and a pleasure, to see you here today. I hope you are already feeling inspired by what we are doing together. […] Here at the Catalogue we believe in the power of telling stories — and in the hard work that makes it possible for donors and volunteers to tap into the in-depth information and guidance that is the foundation of our work. We want people who read the Catalogue and visit us on the web, to explore their own philanthropic interests and find what matters to them — knowing that we have already done the hard work that makes meaningful personal choice possible.

— Barbara Harman, President, Catalogue for Philanthropy

Continue reading →

Around Town: November 4-5

Posted on by
Reply

Welcome to November, Greater Washington! So, what would you like to do this weekend?

Enjoy Great Music …

On Saturday at 8:00 & Sunday at 3:00 PM, National Philharmonic presents an “All Beethoven” evening; tickets over this way. Enjoy an afternoon of exquisite solo virtuosity from the Washington Bach Consort on Sunday at 3:00 PM at the National Presbyterian Church (tickets here) or catch the American Youth Philharmonic‘s “Orchestral Brilliance,” also at 3:00 PM.

Continue reading →

In The News …

Posted on by
Reply

Nation’s report card: Kids showing a bit of improvement in math, but many still not proficient (Washington Post Local): “The nation’s report card on math and reading shows fourth- and eighth-graders scoring their best ever in math and eighth graders making some progress in reading. But the results released Tuesday are a stark reminder of just how far the nation’s school kids are from achieving the No Child Left Behind law’s goal […] Just a little more than one-third of the students were proficient or higher in reading. In math, 40 percent of the fourth-graders and 35 percent of the eighth-graders had reached that level.” According to the article, Maryland students in both grades showed reading improvement; according to WAMU, “Virginia’s scores in reading and mathematics remain higher than nationwide averages.”

Continue reading →

Around Town: October 29-30

Posted on by
Reply

Happy (almost) Halloween, Greater Washington! Before trick-or-treating on Monday, consider spending a weekend day with one of our non-profits. We have great events coming up at …

Earth Sangha (at Rocky Run Stream Valley Park, Awbrey Patent Drive, Centreville, VA)

Enrich this stream-buffer site with a planting of native wildflowers and other herbaceous & small woody plants around Rocky Run on Saturday from 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM. More volunteer info available here.

Glen Echo Park Partnership for Arts and Culture (at Glen Echo Park’s Bumper Car Pavilion, 7300 MacArthur Boulevard, Glen Echo, MD)

“Fall Frolic” is a FREE public Halloween-themed festival on Saturday from 1:00 to 4:00 PM. Activities include hands-on crafts, face painting, pumpkin decorating, costume parade, and studio visits. Full schedule right here.

Continue reading →

In The News …

Posted on by
Reply

DC’s Salvadoran community aiding flood victims (Washington Post Local): “Salvadoran, Guatemalan, and Honduran communities in the Washington area have been collecting cash, new clothes and medicine to help flooding victims in Central America. Ten days of heavy rains this month destroyed crops and towns. According to the Associated Press, 105 people were killed in the deluge, which topped 60 inches. [Comunidades Transnacionales Salvadorenas Americanas] is partnering with the nonprofit CARECEN and other Hispanic organizations to raise money for the victims of the flooding.” Let us know if you’re involved!

Continue reading →

Around Town: October 22-23

Posted on by
Reply

Good morning, Washington! Plenty for you to do this weekend at our non-profits …

Volunteer Fest @ Volunteer Fairfax (10530 Page Ave, Fairfax, VA)

A region-wide day of community service held in conjunction with National Make a Difference Day, Volunteer Fest mobilizes hundreds of volunteers to help nonprofits accomplish tasks that they would not have the time or resources to do on their own. Check it out on Saturday at from 9:00-4:00.

Fall Frenzy @ DC SCORES! (at Kelly Miller Middle School, 301 49th Street NE)

Do swing by for this celebration of the DC SCORES fall season filled with soccer games, relays and arts and crafts, and other activities on Saturday from 10:00-2:00.

Continue reading →

In The News …

Posted on by
Reply

DC Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy (WUSA9: Brightwood): “Councilmember Mary M. Cheh and colleagues the DC Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy on the steps of the John A. Wilson Building for a press conference to highlight the continuing challenges the District of Columbia faces with teen pregnancy and its effect on the economic well being of our residents and the city at large. […] Due to the work of groups like the DC Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, the District of Columbia has recently seen a reduction in the rates of pregnancies for teenage women aged 15-19 years old; however, rates in the District far exceed the national average.” In DC, the rate is 67 out of every 1,000.

Michael on Being Down for Da Struggle (People’s District): Michael, a poet, vividly desribes how Catalogue non-profit Free Minds Book Club & Writing workshop made a critical difference in his life. He recounts, “I eventually started getting into trouble with the law. Which also lead to me going to prison more times than anyone would ever want to. really helped me become more diverse and more open minded. I started to do a lot of reading; also, I became very intrigued by poetry […] Every Friday, I would get up early to prepare to go to the book club because it was a way to free my mind. Free Minds Book Club gave me a positive outlet to express myself and has opened several doors for opportunity and success.”

Continue reading →