Shaw residents will have a chance to get outside and work off some of that Thanksgiving turkey during a volunteer effort at the Shaw Dog Park this weekend.
The association operates the park at 1673 11th St. NW is looking for people to participate in a “big” cleanup on Sunday, Nov. 27 at 9 a.m.
“In place of our monthly hour-long clean up, on Sunday, November 27 we’ll be closing the park to dogs for a special one-time-only Big Clean to help the park get in shape for winter,” the Shaw Dog Park Association wrote in its Nov. 17 newsletter. “Help out with the standard clean-up or bring your paint brushes and help us stain and condition our tree boxes.”
Those interested in helping are instructed to leave their dogs at home, however.
Photo via Shaw Dog Park
A Columbia Heights nonprofit is inviting neighbors to clean up, then cook out in the neighborhood tonight.
Locals will meet at the office of the Columbia Heights Initiative (3400 11th St. NW) this evening at 5:30 p.m. to help beautify the surrounding streets. The cleanup will be followed by a cookout where neighbors can socialize and eat together.
“Join us for our monthly community clean ups,” reads a volunteer page. “Following each clean up will be a hangout where volunteers can spend time getting to know each other and building community.”
Last call to sign up for tonights community clean up! Join in on the fun! sign up here https://t.co/aJSiykTEgK
— cohiinitiative (@cohiinitiative) May 25, 2016
Click here to volunteer.
Photo via Facebook / Columbia Heights Initiative
The ANC that represents parts of Columbia Heights, LeDroit Park, Pleasant Plains, Shaw and U Street is looking for volunteers to help clean up the community this weekend.
Volunteers and ANC 1B commissioners will gather at Saint-Ex (1847 14th Street NW) this Sunday at 9 a.m. for the commission’s first annual volunteer clean up day.
After meeting at the restaurant, the crowd of clean-uppers will move along 14th St. and Florida Ave. NW, 14th and V streets NW and between 8th and 9th and T streets NW to help beautify the surrounding areas.
D.C.’s Department of Public Works (DPW) will provide brooms, rakes, shovels and bags, but volunteers are encouraged to bring along an old pair of gloves and wear an outfit they don’t mind getting a little dirty.
Local knitters and crocheters are needed on U Street this weekend to help make blankets for babies who live at the D.C. General homeless shelter.
Off Road Indoor Cycling at 905 U St. NW is scheduled to host volunteer knitters and crocheters Sunday from 4:30 to 6 p.m. as part of the DC Warm Baby Project. Organizers of the initiative look to make blankets for each of D.C. General’s 200 babies.
Experience with knitting and crocheting isn’t necessary to participate. Organizers also will supply yarn for free. But they encourage volunteers to make a $10 donation for supplies.
“Together we can give every baby something warm this winter to call their own,” DC Warm Baby Project’s Facebook page says.
Photo via Facebook/Warmbabyproject
Locals are set to have two opportunities to spruce up parts of the Borderstan coverage area this weekend.
Shaw and Park View residents are hosting cleanups to held tidy up their neighborhoods for the fall, according to flyers from organizers.
Tomorrow, locals are slated to clean up the French Street Park at 10th and French streets NW, beginning at 9 a.m. Volunteers are encouraged to bring work gloves, but will get coffee and doughnuts for helping.
Residents also can bring to the park electronics they’re looking to recycle from 9 to 11 a.m.
On Sunday, locals will have a neighborhood cleanup that starts at Georgia Avenue and Lamont Street NW. The event from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Organizers will provide trash bags.
The organizers behind this year’s Little Goblins Parade in Logan Circle are on the hunt for volunteer “goblin wranglers.”
During the parade, which begins on Oct. 24 at 1 p.m., little ones dressed in colorful costumes will walk from Logan Circle to the 1400 block of P Street NW in search of treats. With candy in hand, the tiny revelers will move on to Stead Park in search of music, dancing and games.
Volunteers will ensure parade participants traverse the route safely and happily. Those who want to help out can contact event organizer Evelyn Boyd Simmons via e-mail.
Photo via Facebook.com/LCCA.D
Washington Parks and People is looking for volunteers to help spruce up Meridian Hill/ Malcolm X park tomorrow morning.
Volunteers will help park staff remove invasive plant species, clean up litter and trim trees at the popular park near Adams Morgan from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. tomorrow.
Organizers have asked volunteers to RSVP via e-mail. Washington Parks and People personnel will meet volunteers at the statue of Joan of Arc inside the park tomorrow morning.
The cleanup event is part of National Public Lands Day. This year’s Public Lands Day includes cleanup projects at more than 2,500 parks across the country.
Dupont Circle Main Streets needs volunteers to help staff its Art All Night info hub during the annual event this Saturday.
Volunteers will meet at the Dupont Circle Metro entrance at 20th and Q streets NW. Volunteers are needed from 6:30-9 p.m. and from 8:30-11 p.m.
The Dupont info hub will act as a reception area for visitors, said Main Streets Executive Director Bill McLeod. Volunteers will hand out brochures and maps and help guests on their way to the area’s 12 exhibits. McLeod added that the info hub will also include a large light-up map at the station with a teaser about what kind of art can be found at each exhibit.
Those interested in volunteering should e-mail Dupont Circle Main Streets.
Photo via Facebook/Dupont Circle Main Streets
Garrison Elementary School (1200 S St. NW) is seeking volunteers for its annual Green Apple Day of Service event this Sunday at 3 p.m.
The national event, organized by the Center for Green Schools at the U.S. Green Building Council, encourages local schools and communities “to make a difference in the quality of our children’s physical environment.”
Volunteers will help spruce up the school’s gardens and do general work outside during the event. Attendees are encouraged to wear clothes they don’t mind getting dirty and to bring work gloves if they have them.
Click here to RSVP for the volunteer opportunity.
Foundry United Methodist Church is seeking volunteers to help teach the English language during its upcoming English as a Second Language (ESL) courses in September.
Volunteers will teach adult students with low-to-advanced level English language skills during free two-hour courses on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
Those interested in volunteering don’t need to have previous ESL teaching experience or belong to the church.
To get involved, fill out the church’s volunteer interest form.
Photo via Facebook.com/FoundryUnitedMethodistChurch
Garrison Elementary School is seeking supplies and volunteers to help usher in the new school year.
The school is currently accepting donations of pencils, erasers, glue, crayons and other supplies. Residents interested in donating supplies can drop them off at the school (1200 S St. NW) this Saturday between 9 a.m. and noon.
Click here for a full list of the school supplies that Garrison needs.
The school is also seeking members of the public to help with a community-led volunteer day this Friday and Saturday at 10 a.m.
Volunteers will help with sprucing up classrooms, installing bulletin boards and cleaning up the school’s common areas.
Click here to RSVP for the volunteer opportunity.
Photo via facebook.com/GarrisonES
Volunteers are being sought for a community-led effort to beautify the School Without Walls at Francis-Stevens, (2425 N Street NW) this Saturday at 9 a.m.
Volunteers should arrive ready to clean classrooms, hallways and gymnasiums as well as build and move bookshelves and other furniture. The school also needs help with gardening, weeding and planting, and requests related supplies and equipment.
DCPS may have canceled Beautification Day, but we haven't! IT'S ON – next Saturday 8/15 9am-1pm Details & RSVP at: http://t.co/eVOZmO9Npx
— Francis-Stevens HSA (@WallsAtFS_HSA) August 8, 2015
Here’s a list of other items the school needs:
- Hammers
- Nails
- Screwdrivers
- Shovels
- Rakes
- Seeds and plants to plant
- Garbage bags
- Three-pronged hand rakes (to pull out weeds)
- Paint, paintbrushes, paint pans, rollers, tarp, blue tape
- Fabric (large pieces with small patterns for bulletin boards)
- Brooms and dustpan
- Clorox Wipes
Attendees can RSVP on the event’s Facebook page.
Image via Facebook.com/School Without Walls at Francis-Stevens
Volunteers are being sought to help clean up graffiti along the lower part of Georgia Avenue NW.
Those interested should meet at Torrie’s Restaurant (700 V Street NW) next Saturday at 10 a.m. to pick up supplies and receive training.
Cleaners will then break into teams and remove graffiti at 18 businesses and public spaces in an area that stretches from the intersection of Georgia and Florida avenues NW to Georgia Avenue and Upshur Street NW.
Event organizer and economic development consultant Jon Stover says a power washer and 25 graffiti cleanup kits were purchased to aid with the project.
“We’re going to train community members on the appropriate process for removing graffiti,” says Stover. “There’s so many big large tags along Georgia Avenue. Having a power washer is a great tool to address that.”
Artistic graffiti and murals will not be removed during the cleanup, adds Stover.
“Right now, none of the graffiti [we’re targeting] can be construed as art,” adds Stover.
The effort, funded by a grant from the Department of Public Works, is meant in part to study the feasibility of a Main Street organization along Georgia Avenue. The idea goes that if the community can coalesce around certain issues, conditions may be right to start a Main Street organization.
If all goes well and a Georgia Avenue Main Street organization is founded, Stover says the goal is to make the cleanup a regular event.
“We’re hoping the community to take ownership of it and it will be up to the community to develop it themselves,” he says.
Image via Flickr/Perspective
Ward 1 D.C. Councilmember Brianne Nadeau is seeking volunteers to join her in escorting senior citizens to and from Nationals Park for a baseball game next Tuesday, July 7.
All volunteers will receive a free ticket to the 7:05 p.m. game, during which the Nationals will face off against the Cincinnati Reds.
Volunteers will meet at the Columbia Heights Civic Plaza at the corner of of 14th Street and Park Road NW for a quick orientation at 5:00pm before heading to the Georgia Avenue, Columbia Heights, U Street or Shaw Metro stations to pick up a senior.
“We’re telling seniors that they can come to any of those Metro stops,” says Tom Fazzini, spokesperson for Nadeau’s office. “They will be able to meet a volunteer of ours there, and then the volunteer will escort them to the ballpark.”
After the game is over, volunteers will lead the seniors back home.
Nadeau’s office is urging those who want to volunteer or seniors who want to attend the game to sign up online.
From Mathew Harkins. Email him at mharkins[AT]borderstan.com.
Martha’s Table on 14th Street NW. (Luis Gomez Photos)
There’s a lot to be thankful for in our community. Borderstan is home to some wonderful development projects, from new condos and apartment buildings to new supermarkets to a seemingly unending supply of new restaurants, bars and cafes.
There are a lot things being offered in the neighborhood, so why not carve a little time out of your day to give something back?
Along with all those great things mentioned above in the neighborhood, there are some great venues for volunteering here in Borderstan.
N Street Village
N Street Village, located on N Street between 14th Street and Vermont Avenue, is a facility designed to help homeless and low-income women in our neighborhood through supportive services and housing. NSV takes a broad, holistic approach in assisting these women as they face a number of challenges that vary from individual to individual, including homelessness, addiction, mental illness and more.
A selection of the volunteer opportunities at NSV includes: tutoring, preparing and serving meals, maintaining the courtyard garden, helping with fundraising and much more. To find out more about these opportunities and to apply to volunteer, head over to the NSV Volunteer page.
Common Good City Farm
Since there’s no better way to state it than what’s already on their website, Common Good City Farm’s mission “is to grow food, educate, and help low-income DC community members meet their food needs.” Located just outside the Borderstan area near V and 4th Streets, CGCF is exactly what it sounds like: a small farm in the middle of the city that teaches residents and students about food production, healthy eating and environmental sustainability.
Just last year, they CGCF “provided over 6,300 pounds of fresh vegetables to low-income families.” There are many ways to help, including donations, dropping off scraps for composting and volunteering on the farm itself. See their Get Involved page as well as their Volunteer page for more information.
Martha’s Table
Located on 14th Street between V and W Streets, Martha’s Table uses education, nutrition and family support services to address poverty and issues stemming from poverty. Some of their volunteering opportunities include preparing food, tutoring children and staffing their mobile soup kitchen. You can find out more about these opportunities and fill out a volunteer application on their Volunteer Opportunities page.
Other Organizations
- Bread for the City – “The mission of Bread for the City is to provide vulnerable residents of Washington, DC, with comprehensive services, including food, clothing, medical care, and legal and social services, in an atmosphere of dignity and respect.”
- SOME (So Others Might Eat) – “An interfaith, community-based organization that exists to help the poor and homeless of our nation’s capital. We meet the immediate daily needs of the people we serve with food, clothing, and health care.”
- DC Central Kitchen – “Through job training, healthy food distribution, and local farm partnerships, DC Central Kitchen offers path-breaking solutions to poverty, hunger, and poor health.”
- Church of the Ascension and Saint Agnes – A local church, located on Massachusetts Avenue between 13th and 12th Streets, with a handful of programs that reach out to the neighborhood through blood drives, partnering with other institutions (like NSV), working with local seniors and the disabled, and more.
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