Recently, I saw a college production of Swimming in the Shallows, Adam Bock’s smart, thought-provoking play about three couples who encounter obstacles on the way to true happiness. One character grabbed my attention during the show and has remained in my mind since. Barb, trapped in an unhappy marriage, becomes obsessed with giving away all her belongings, following the teachings of Buddhist monks who limit their worldly possessions to only eight. By the end of the play, she is down to 45 and counting.
Black Friday began early this year, with many stores opening their doors Thanksgiving night. The holiday shopping frenzy is when we add to our own and other people’s worldly possessions. If the truth be told, most of us don’t need another thing. We want things, yes. But need things? No. Most of our relatives and friends also have everything they need, one of the reasons shopping becomes so difficult. What do you give someone who has everything?
There are many people who don’t have everything they need and those are the people who should head up our gift list. This holiday, pick out that special present for the special people in your life, then give to one or more non-profits on this list. The gesture will warm your heart and help others.
Alzheimer’s Association of the National Capital Area
This chapter serves nearly 40,000 families in DC and the five surrounding Maryland counties (Montgomery, Prince Georges’, Calvert, St. Mary’s, and Charles). With an aging society, unfortunately there will be a great need to help patients and their families coping with this disease. The chapter’s services include referral, supprt groups, care coordination services, and more.
92 cents of each dollar donated goes directly to feeding the hungry. Last year we distributed 25 million pounds of food to over 700 nonprofit partner agencies throughout the metropolitan area. For over 30 years, the Capital Area Food Bank has worked to prevent food waste and feed the hungry in the Washington metro area. Through a network of over 700 member agencies, the Capital Area Food Bank distributes 1.6 million meals each month. The CAFB also strives to educate, empower and enlighten the community about the issues of hunger and nutrition.
The Black Student Fund (BSF) exists to assure that black students and families have equal access to EVERY educational opportunity as well as to assist students in managing and understanding systems so they can achieve their goals and attend any college they choose regardless of racial or economic opposition. The Black Student Fund has a unique history of providing comprehensive support services in combination with scholarships enabling students to concentrate on their studies and achieve academic success.
use of Ruth, Maryland, Inc.The House Of Ruth Maryland (HRM) was created to provide a safe shelter for battered women and their children. Over the course of the past thirty years we realized that in order to help these victims move from a life a violence we had to address more than just their need for shelter. As a result, today we provide a full range of services including: emergency shelter, counseling services, childcare, legal services, and transitional housing.
HRM is unique among other domestic violence agencies because we believe that we are not just here to provide services to victims of domestic violence. We are here to stop the violence before it begins. As a result of this belief, we offer a continuum of care that is not limited only to the victim’s immediate and basic needs of shelter and crisis intervention but also endeavors to address the root causes of domestic violence
FOHA is a no-kill animal shelter located in Northern Virginia — dedicated to caring for abandoned and abused dogs and cats while they wait for their permanent, loving homes.
Friends of Homeless Animals strives to:
Bring an end to the unnecessary killing of companion animals.
Provide a safe haven for abused and abandoned animals.
Provide food, shelter, medical care, rehabilitation and compassion to homeless animals.
Find permanent, loving homes for the animals in our care.
The Inn provides “A Place Like Home” in a healing environment for seriously ill children and families to stay together while participating in groundbreaking medical treatment at NIH.
The Children’s Inn at NIH is “a place like home” for pediatric outpatients and their families at the National Institutes of Health, the nation’s leading biomedical research center. Families seek treatment for their critically ill children at the NIH as their last, best hope for a healthy future. These young patients are facing medical challenges that range from cancers to rare genetic illnesses. Some diseases have yet to be identified. Often NIH is the only medical center offering treatment and the promise of a cure. While the NIH takes care of the child’s medical needs, The Inn tends to the child’s heart, soul, and spirit. At the end of a long day of pokes and prods at the hospital, kids come home to The Inn just to be kids – to paint a picture with mom, read a book with dad, or play video games with siblings or new-found friends. The care and empathy these families give to one another is invaluable.
The Coalition for the Homeless provides transitional and permanent housing, shelter, employment placement assistance, substance abuse counseling and supportive social services to individuals and families who are homeless or vulnerable.
In 2008, the Coalition provided direct services to more than 1,600 individuals, including 194 children in families. Services included temporary housing, shelter, food, substance abuse counseling, general social services to assist the participant to obtain benefits such as public assistance and food stamps, employment and housing placement assistance.
