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Around Town: April 6-7

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With the nicer weather (and cherry blossoms!), Catalogue nonprofits are getting busy! Check out all of the great things that are going on Around Town this weekend!

Saturday, April 06, cheap essay writing services 2013

Red Shoe 5K Run & Walk

Ronald McDonald House Charities of Greater Washington, DC
Ronald McDonald House Charities of Greater Washington D.C.’s Red Shoe 5K Run & Walk helps children heal faster and better. April 6th. Race starts 9:00am Kids Fun Run at 8:45am. Registration 7:00am. Family friendly Red Shoe 5K is for racers, leisure walkers and runners. Prizes, awards & surprises. Kids can get community service hours. Team & Family discounts. Kids in strollers free. Sign up on-line now at www.redshoe5K.org or call 703.698.7080.
When: Saturday April 6, 2013 (09:00 AM)
Where: Dulles Station, 2303 Dulles Station Boulevard, Herndon, VA 20171
Fee: Yes, Adults $35 until March 6; Kids $25; Adults $40 until March 31; $45 after March 31.
Volunteer Info:Volunteers needed?for our Red Shoe 5K April 6th. 2 shifts 6:30AM – 8:30AM & 8AM -11AM. Water and food stations; Set up, registration, Greeters/Parking Directors, Floaters, making sure our guests have fun. Volunteers get the much-coveted dri-fit 5k shirt for free and snacks and beverages are provided throughout the day. Contact Rachel: rachel@rmhcdc.org or at 703.698.7080.
Contact: Rachel, (703) 698-7080 ext 220

Help Clean Up Rock Creek Volunteer on April 6

Rock Creek Conservancy (formerly Friends of Rock Creek’s Environment)
It’s time to give Rock Creek and its beautiful parks a spring cleaning. Sign up for the Rock Creek Extreme Cleanup this Saturday! Rock Creek Conservancy is mobilizing volunteers at over 60 Rock Creek locations. Visit rockcreekconservancy.org to find a spot near you. Most of the cleanups will take place on Saturday, April 6, from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon. Check the site you are interested in for details. Register today! Some of the sites are highly popular and filling up quickly with volunteers. This is a fun, worthwhile opportunity for people of all ages to work together to make a real difference for our parks. Student Service Learning credit is available. The fifth annual Rock Creek Extreme Cleanup is part of the larger Potomac River Watershed Cleanup. Rock Creek Conservancy works in partnership with Montgomery County Parks, the National Park Service, and the Alice Ferguson Foundation to field volunteers for the event. Bring your friends and families and join your neighbors in working for a clean Rock Creek! And please help spread the word to others who might be interested.
When: Saturday April 6, 2013 (09:00 AM – 12:00 NOON)
Where: Rock Creek Watershed, 4825 Cordell Avenue, Bethesda, MD 20814
Fee: No
Volunteer Info: We will be cleaning up the entire Rock Creek Watershed from the headwaters in Laytonsville, MD to the Mouth of Rock Creek in Georgetown.
Contact: Karen Zeiter, (301) 775-2960

Outreach Visits to Low-income Seniors

We Are Family Senior Outreach Network
We Are Family will be coordinating outreach visits to isolated, low-income seniors in their homes.
When: Saturday April 6, 2013 (10:00 AM – 1:00 PM)
Where: Metropolitan Community Church, 474 Ridge St. NW, Washington, DC 20001
Fee: No
Volunteer Info: Volunteers will receive a brief orientation and then go out in pairs or groups to visit with seniors in their homes.
Contact: Mark Andersen, (202) 487-8698

I, Jack, am the Knave of Hearts

District of Columbia Arts Center (DCAC)
I, Jack, am the Knave of Hearts takes the audience on a journey of discovery and reckoning as Don Juan bursts through the fissure that separates mortality from eternal damnation and tries desperately to remember who he was, discover what he is doing here now and uncover why he has been allowed to escape. “You want to know what Hell is like? Hell is to be aware when there is nothing to be aware of and nothing to be aware with but your own desire? Hell is the end of hope.” John Carter, a local poet who has turned his hand to playwriting over the past fifteen years, deftly merges lyrical language with narrative as he delves layer by layer into the complex nature of Don Juan’s reflections on a life he would have lived in no other way; even with the full knowledge of the resulting punishment. His last play, Lou, based on the life of Lou Salome received critical acclaim in the New York Fringe Festival last year.
When: Saturday April 6, 2013 (7:30 PM)
Where: DC Arts Center, 2438 18th St Washington, DC 20009
Fee: Yes, $25.00
Contact: B. Stanley, (202 ) 462-7833

Kyle Abraham/Abraham.In.Motion

Dance Place
Inspired by the 1991 film, Boyz N The Hood, and the early writings of W.E.B Dubois, New York based Kyle Abraham investigates the rich history of urban culture and the rise and fall of community. Set to a mix of operatic scores with the sounds of an urban city, the work blends bold imagery with subtlety into a tapestry of visual and emotional depth. Co-presented with Reston Centerstage. Funded in part by the NEA, MAAF ArtsCONNECT and NEFA.
When: Saturday April 6, 2013 (8:00 PM)
Fee: Yes, $22 General Admission; $17 Members, Seniors, Teachers and Artists; $10 College Students; $8 Children (17 and under)
Contact: Carolyn Kamrath, (202) 269-1608

ETC/ArtStream OnStage present The Final Showdown and Lights, Camera, Chaos.

Educational Theatre Company
Inclusive Theatre Companies are directed by trained theatre professionals and feature actors with intellectual disabilities, learning disabilities and on the Autism Spectrum. An original script is developed during the rehearsal process through improvisation techniques. A play is scripted and then blocked, memorized by the actors and performed for the public. The final production is designed to showcase each actor?s unique talents.
When: Saturday April 6, 2013 (8:00 PM – 10:00 PM)
Where:Gunston Theatre One, 2700 South Lang Street, Arlington, VA 22206
Fee: no
Volunteer Info: ArtStream,Inc is producing two original musical comedies featuring actors with and without cognitive disabilities and WE NEED VOLUNTEERS! We need 3-4 people to help run simple sound cues or help our actors backstage.
Contact: Jennie Lutz, (301) 565-4567

Sunday, April 07, 2013

Kyle Abraham/Abraham.In.Motion

Dance Place
Inspired by the 1991 film, Boyz N The Hood, and the early writings of W.E.B Dubois, New York based Kyle Abraham investigates the rich history of urban culture and the rise and fall of community. Set to a mix of operatic scores with the sounds of an urban city, the work blends bold imagery with subtlety?into a tapestry of visual and emotional depth. Co-presented with Reston Centerstage. Funded in part by the NEA, MAAF ArtsCONNECT and NEFA.
When: Sunday April 7, 2013 (7:00 PM)
Where: Dance Place, 3225 8th Street NE, Washington, DC 20017
Fee: yes, $22 General Admission; $17 Members, Seniors, Teachers and Artists; $10 College Students; $8 Children (17 and under)
Contact: Carolyn Kamrath, (202) 269-1608

Raising the Bar for College Access in DC

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by Barbara Harman, Catalogue President and Editor

I’ve been hearing a lot of buzz about a new initiative called RaiseDC and it’s something of which all of us should be aware. In its Baseline Report Card, the organization puts the problem succinctly: “Too many children are still entering school not fully ready to learn, are academically off-track, fail to graduate from high school on time, are inadequately prepared to succeed in the workforce and higher education, and are out of school and out of work.”

Quite a few Catalogue nonprofits (see list below) are already participants in this important initiative — as members of what RaiseDC calls its “change networks,” and others may wish to consider adding their voices and expertise to the cause. I’m planning to join myself as someone who cares deeply about the fate of our young people here in the District, and about educational outcomes in particular — both because research shows what a powerful impact they have on economic futures and because I believe that education is fundamental to full human development. Both should matter. RaiseDC wants to use data to establish benchmarks and track results, direct resources to the most effective programs, and coordinate work across academic and nonacademic programs. The focus is on what is now called the “cradle to career” continuum, so it begins with pre-kindergarten and ends with “disconnected” youth in the 20-24 age range.

In a city with one of the most highly educated populations in the country, educational outcomes for low income children are dismayingly poor — whether one looks at test results for 3rd and 8th graders, or high school completion rates, or college-going and college completion stats. The in-school and out-of-school services that might come to the aid of our young people and make it possible for them to succeed in school and in life — more effective schools, better enrichment programs, appropriate family support services — are often uncoordinated, dispersed, duplicative, or absent. Working to bring them together, and identifying specific targeted outcomes that will make it possible to track success in achieving them, are laudable goals.

One thing that I find interesting is that the higher education focus is on two years of post-graduate study. While this is clearly an improvement over zero years, it seems like a less ambitious goal than others (for example, raising the high school graduation rate to 75% by 2017). While many two-year programs, including credential and certificate programs, vastly improve the opportunities for employment, and while even two years of college can make a difference in a young person’s life, a 4-year college degree should still be the gold standard, at least for those who, though under-resourced, are eager and motivated. (The current four-year college completion rate in the District is 9%, so targeting even 25% would be a dramatic improvement; the national average is 55.5%.) Don’t get me wrong: increasing the percentage of students who complete four years of college is one of RaiseDC’s goals; it just doesn’t appear to be a central goal of the initiative. It should be.

I was also struck by the fact that data collection that informs the work of RaiseDC comes from “government agencies and national data sources,” and does not include information from community-based nonprofits who are working to address these cradle to career issues. RaiseDC is totally open about this, and eager to learn “how many out-of-school youth are served by community-based education and employment training programs,” and which ones are the most effective. But that is why Catalogue nonprofits should join the appropriate Change Network and make their voices heard. Perhaps there will emerge a method of collecting information and best practices that might inform the work of this initiative.

Even more, an excellent outcome would be a clear idea of how organizations, including community-based nonprofits like those in the Catalogue, might work more effectively together — sharing information about what works, collaborating across disciplines, partnering with each other to add value to the work they already do.

It is a daunting task, indeed. But there is a lot at stake — and we can’t afford not to take up the challenge. Let’s keep our eye on the work that RaiseDC is poised to do and let’s think together about how we can help make it happen. What’s the alternative?

Catalogue nonprofits currently participating in RaiseDC Change Networks: AppleTree Institute, DC Appleseed, Capital Partners for Education, College and Career Connections, College Bound, For Love of Children, Higher Achievement, Hope and a Home, Mentors Inc, New Community for Children, New Futures, The Next Step Public Charter School, Posse Foundation, Reach for College!, Urban Alliance, Youth Build Public Charter School

A Meaningful Mother’s Day

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By Kathy Widenhouse, Healthy Babies Project, Inc.

For twenty-five at-risk DC teen mothers, Mother’s Day 2012 was not only their first as new parents or parents-to-be. It was also especially meaningful.

On Monday, May 14, Healthy Babies Project paid tribute to these young women with a special Mother’s Day Dinner Celebration. It was a fitting way to honor one of HBP’s principal constituencies — teen moms enrolled in HBP’s cornerstone Teen Parent Empowerment Program (TPEP) — and the steps these disadvantaged young parents are taking to turn their lives around.

At HBP’s inception in 1991, the District of Columbia had among the highest infant mortality and infant illness rates in the nation — rates on par with some Third World countries. Today, those rates have been cut in half, thanks in large part to HBP. The agency works to reverse this needless cycle of poverty, illness, and despair by equipping at-risk DC families to have healthy babies. Case management, health education, and life skills training are keys to the agency’s success. HBP’s infant mortality rate is nearly two-thirds lower than the District’s; HBP client low birth weight rate is half that of other delivering mothers in DC.

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Housing Rising

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From the DC Fiscal Policy Institute‘s May 7th report, “Disappearing Act: Affordable Housing in DC is Vanishing Amid Sharply Rising Housing Costs,” via Washington Grantmakers Daily:

Over the last decade, DC has experienced a rapid rise in housing costs that has contributed to a substantial loss of low-cost housing stock. Since 2000, the number of low-cost rental units in the city has fallen by half, due primarily to rising prices, and the number of lower-value homes fell by nearly three quarters […]

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In The News …

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Unemployment Still on the Rise in DC (DC Fiscal Policy Institute): The District ended 2011 with an average yearly unemployment rate of 10.3 percent, slightly higher than the rate for 2010 and far higher than that for 2007 before the start of the recession. This is a sign that economic weakness continues to affect DC residents.” Workers ages 16 to 24 still have the highest unemployment rate (17.4), but this same demographic also saw a drop from 2010 to 2011 — the only group to do so. On the flip side, the rate for residents with a high school diploma continued to rise: from 9.7 in 2007 to 25.3 in 2011.

The report concludes that “the economic recovery is far from complete, so it is important to consider policies to support these populations with high unemployment rates.”

The Helen Hayes Awards Nominations Are Announced (Washingtonian Blog): Special congratulations to the three Catalogue nonprofit theater companies that received nominations for their 2011 productions. TheatreWashington, also a Catalogue nonprofit, announced the nominations this past Monday. Synetic Theatre nabbed fifteen nominations for a single production, their dynamic and wordless King Lear. Adventure Theatre received thirteen nobs in total, including nine for A Year With Frog and Toad and three nominations in the Outstanding Production: Theatre for Young Audiences category. And Woolly Mammoth Theatre received eight nominations, including nobs for Director, Lead Actor, and Production for A Bright New Boise.

With Few Other Options, More Low-Income Patients Visit ER for Dental Care (PBS via DCentric): “More Americans are visiting the emergency room because of toothaches and other routine dental problems — at 10 times the cost of preventative care and with far fewer treatment options than a dentist’s office,” according to a new report from the Pew Center on the States. From 2006 to 2009, the number of emergency room trips for dental care went up by 16% and the trend seems to be continuing. And the costs of that trend are high: “a routine teeth cleaning that could prevent future dental problems can cost up to $100, as compared to $1,000 for ER treatment for untreated cavities and infections.” You can learn more about our nonprofit free (and mobile) clinics right here.

In The News …

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DC schools with more low-income, academically troubled students should get more money, panel recommends (DC Schools Insider): “The 15-member [Public Education Finance Reform Commission] panel concluded its work last week with a series of recommendations to the Gray administration : add an additional “weight” to the Uniform Per Student Funding Formula so that schools receive more money for serving larger numbers of students who are both from low-income households.” The panel also recommended a year-long study on the real costs of “adequate” public education in DC to inform further funding revisions. The commission did not study the “appropriate role for the District in funding and/or finding buildings for charter schools,” although that was a key topic of conversation.

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Charter Talk

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From “New focus on DC public-charter collaboration” (02/02/2012) in the DC Schools Insider:

DCPS maintains a system of neighborhood schools with seats guaranteed to anyone within prescribed boundaries. The [Public Charter School Board] oversees schools open to all comers citywide. Decisions about openings, closings, program offerings and facilities have, more often than not, been made in isolation. Last week’s IFF report on school capacity is the latest sign that the silos are about to come down. […]

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In The News …

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Division of Labor: The Gap Between Skills and Jobs (DCentric): “While much of the country struggles with job creation, DC is in the unique position of having more jobs than residents […] Many of the available jobs in the District, the ones that attract people from around the country, require advanced degrees. This mismatch, or skills gap, means many of those born and raised within the District are increasingly being left out of its economic success.” According to the DC Department of Employment Services, professional, technical, or scientific or federal government positions make up nearly half of the area’s jobs; and 65% of November online job postings stipulated that applicants needed a minimum of a bachelors degree.
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In The News …

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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.”

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In The News …

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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!

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