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Around Town: June 23-24

Oh yes. The heat will continue into the weekend. So do spend an hour (or two) inside at a DC-area non-profit, such as …

Alternative House

On Saturday, 10:00-11:00 AM, learn about volunteer opportunities for adults in all of Alternative House’s programs for homeless and at-risk youth and teens.

Friends of Fort Dupont Ice Arena

Escape the heat at a Kids on Ice Saturday Open Practice Session on Saturday from noon to 1:30 PM! No previous skating experiences necessary.

Encore Stage & Studio

You can catch the magical classic Wizard of Oz with a talented young cast on Saturday at 2:00 and 8:00 PM and Sunday at 2:00 PM at Thomas Jefferson Community Theatre in Arlington. Tickets here!

Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company

Tickets are going fast for the Pulitzer Prize-winning hilarious and biting Clybourne Park. 3:00 PM shows on Saturday and Sunday, plus 8:00 Pm on Saturday.

Dance Place

On Saturday at 8:00 PM, experience BAREdance, a collaboration of multiple choreographers that creates harmony of voices, angles, and perspectives.

7 Questions – Amanda Andere (FACETS)

Let’s get to know … Amanda Andere, Executive Director of FACETS in Fairfax, VA. Through emergency and supportive programs to prevent homelessness and assist those who are already homeless, FACETS works to ensure that every area family has a place to call home.

1. What was your most interesting recent project, initiative, partnership, or event?

In May, over 500 people woke up to make a difference at the FACETS Opening Doors Benefit Breakfast. At this free breakfast, members of the community, current supporters, and elected officials heard directly from the people with whom we work about the impact we’ve had on their lives. The result was over $190,000 raised to help us continue to open doors for people in need and break the cycle of poverty and homelessness.

2. What else are you up to?

FACETS is an active partner in the Fairfax-Falls Church Community Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness by 2018. It has changed our work dramatically and we are now embarking on our second joint grant with eight other partners that will help people move from homelessness to housing more quickly. On October 22nd, we will hold our annual Taste of Fall with FACETS — a great event with wonderful food, live and silent auctions, and awesome music. Continue reading

In The News …

This week’s bundle of non-profit news — most of it national this time around!

The Unemployed Cutting Corners in their Diets (DCentric): “Eating healthy can be a matter of having access to stores, but it’s also about having enough money to buy healthy food and having the time to cook it.” And to quote from the Huffington Post’s article, “Since housing costs tend to be fixed, many underemployed and unemployed people save money by eating cheaper and unhealthy foods.” That latter point is especially striking. Housing rarely comes cheap or simple, but food does. And inexpensive, convenient foods tends to be less healthy. Obviously, fixing the price of food benefits no one — so how can we keep the flexibility, but improve the health?

The Giving Pledge: Bill Gates, Warren Buffett Visit Obama (Huffington Post): “President Obama will host the nation’s two wealthiest private citizens, Warren Buffett and Bill Gates, at the White House on Monday to receive an update on the Giving Pledge. […] As the White House and congressional Democrats push for a debt ceiling deal that includes taxes on the wealthiest Americans, the event shines a spotlight on the very people who would bear that burden.” So what should be the topic of chief conversation, the former or latter? Continue reading

Around Town: July 15-18

Spend a day (or two, or three) with a DC-area non-profit near you:

Friday, July 15

7:30 PM — On The Town, a musical that follow the antics of a trio of World War II sailors on leave, just opened at Theatre Lab. Two shows on Saturday as well (2:00 and 7:30 PM) and tickets are available HERE!

8:00 PM — The Hip-Hop Theater Festival celebrates its tenth year in DC at Dance Place tonight with “Word Becomes Flesh,” a fluid evening-length choreo-poem performed as a series of letters to an unborn son. Continue reading

7 Questions – Mark E. Robbins (Yellow Ribbon Fund)

This week, we’re getting to know … Mark E. Robbins, Executive Director of the Yellow Ribbon Fund. The philosophy of the Fund is simple: wounded servicemen and women deserve first-class care as they recover. And their families deserve the same. With the help of over 1,200 volunteers, Yellow Ribbon Fund supplies the personal services that government programs just don’t cover.

1. What was your most interesting recent project, initiative, partnership, or event?

We are launching a new initiative to stay in touch with the injured service members we helped while they were being treated at Walter Reed and Bethesda Naval Hospital after they return to their hometowns. Many of these young men and women have a good support system at home and have goals of getting a job or going to college. But many do not have this safety net and we are reaching out to see how we can help.

2. What else are you up to?

We are starting to build a network of attorneys who can do pro bono work on behalf of veterans with legal needs. We are getting close to launching this effort and believe that this will be a very important service. Continue reading

Who’s Wired?

So who is “connected” — digitally, that is– and who is less so? According to a new report from the Investigative Reporting Workshop at American University:

People who live in the Washington, DC, region are pretty well connected when it comes to high-speed Internet service — but there are still large swaths of the population that are unwilling or too financially strapped to plug in.

Having a low income is the most consistent trait among non-adopters, while Hispanics and rural residents are also less likely to be broadband subscribers, according to a four-month study of government data by the Investigative Reporting Workshop at American University.

The data show that in the DC region and elsewhere, the debate over the “digital divide” has become less about access to broadband and more about the far-stickier issue of affordability. The District ranks 17th out of 29 counties and cities in the region for residential broadband adoption. The most connected areas, like Fairfax County, VA, are also among the wealthiest. Continue reading

Around Town: July 9-11

Coming soon, to a DC-area non-profit near you!

Saturday, July 9

Noon to 1:30 PM — Escape the heat at a Kids on Ice Saturday Open Practice Session with Friends of Fort Dupont Ice Arena! No previous skating experiences necessary.

8:00 PM — At Dance Place, Human Landscape Dance and Anne-Marie Mulgrew & Dancers Co. present The Washington DC/Philadelphia Exchange: two companies, two visions, and two cities.

8:00 PM — Celebrate DCypher Dance’s 5th Anniversary during an evening at Joy of Motion packed with unique hip hop flair, powerful energy, and excitement. Continue reading

In The News …

Preview: 2011 Capital Fringe Festival (DCist): “The Capital Fringe Festival starts its sixth year this Thursday with over one hundred productions being performed at venues all over the city. Fringe is an opportunity for actors and production companies to get a moment in the limelight — whether they’re unknowns or big players doing some experimenting — and for arts-goers to see lots of theater for relatively little money.” Not sure where to start with your arts-going? Capital Fringe’s website has a great tool for searching all shows by location, date, time, and genre. (Among others, Catalogue-nonprofits CHAW and Woolly Mammoth are serving as Fringe venues these next few weeks!)

Continue reading