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Quote for the Day

I thought that this might be a good final thought for the month of February:

What an artist is trying to do for people is bring them closer to something, because of course art is about sharing: you wouldn’t be an artist if you didn’t want to share an experience, a thought.

- David Hockney

In a sense, art is inevitable because of our fundamental impulse to share. Sometimes, we latch on to things that are terrifying or frustrating or sublime, moments that are too critical to be forgotten or pushed away. So we must give them a form in which they can be discussed, seen, and shared. In that sense, art is not just a personal pursuit. It is inherently a collective one.

So many Catalogue cheers this Monday for our Community Arts non-profits — for bringing us closer every day of the week!

Around Town: February 25-26

Welcome to the weekend (almost), Greater Washington! We have an awesome variety of events and opportunities, so just follow your interests …

Ready to Volunteer?

Saturday from 9:30 AM – 1:30 PM in Falls Church marks the first day of volunteer training with the Literacy Council of Northern Virginia and you can sign up right here. From 2:00 – 3:30 PM, For Love of Children also welcomes new and returning volunteers to learn about FLOC’s mission, accomplishments, goals, and tutoring programs; email ntorentinos@floc.org for more info. And definitely call Chess Challenge DC (202.560.1467) to learn more about Saturday’s big intramural tournament for all kids enrolled in their program.

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Picture for the Day

Courtesy of DCist:

As much as we like to maintain an exclusive focus on the business of Washington, DC, there’s no denying that our city is inexorably intertwined in international affairs. So when unthinkable bloodshed breaks out across the world, our purview often widens … Take, for example, the current state of affairs in Libya, which drew a group of protesters to the White House on Saturday. Just one example of the local response to events currently transpiring in Tripoli, DCist contributor Kevin Carroll was able to capture some powerful images during Saturday’s gathering.

While we are most aware of happenings on our street and around our homes, those of us in Greater Washington are often profoundly conscience of and connected to the broader world by virtue of where we live.

Similarly, our focus here at Catalogue is certainly local — yet we also are committed to non-profits who are enacting specific and localized change around the world, in the communities that are most in need. Do check them out. No matter how far away we are, we definitely can still reach out.

In The News …

Good morning, folks! Just a small bundle of non-profits news and notes this week …

How You Can Change The World in 40 Hours a Week — As James McBryan aptly points out on the Taproot Foundation blog, “Changing the world is hard. Changing the world while balancing social, professional, family, and financial needs is even harder.” But contributing to your community (or a community thousands of miles away) can be part of the job that you already have. He tells a great story about creating a volunteer-tracking system for a local rose garden pro-bono — which not only benefited the gardeners, but led his company to realize that “this idea was something many organizations could use and create a platform from which hundreds of organizations could all benefit.”

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7 Questions – Nancy Kelly (Health Volunteers Overseas)

Good morning-after-the-hailstorm, Greater Washington! Today on “7 Questions,” we’re psyched to introduce you to … Nancy Kelly, Executive Director of Health Volunteers Overseas since its founding in 1986. Now in 25 developing countries, HVO’s healthcare professionals offer medical education to their counterparts, improving the quality and quantity of healthcare where it’s most needed. Want to learn more? Read on!

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

We are working with the American Dental Association on an initiative to rebuild 35 dental practices in Haiti. The goal is to raise $350,000 since we estimate the cost to rebuild is $10,000 per practice. We are working with the ADA and the Haitian Dental Association to develop an application process that will serve as a means of identifying the best prospects for support. Those dentists that receive support must commit to paying back to the community by providing free dental care to those in need but unable to pay. This is a new type of project for HVO, one that will be quite challenging as we move into the implementation phase — but I hope that it will be the start for similar initiatives elsewhere.

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Around Town: February 18-20

TGIF! Why not celebrate this absolutely delicious weather with one of our non-profits?

Joy of Motion Dance Center (at Imagination Stage, 4908 Auburn Avenue, Bethesda)

Where best to leap into the weekend? That would be a free Youth Dance Party with Joy of Motion, Dansez! Dansez! & Imagination Stage Dance Studio from 7:00-9:30 PM on Friday; try out hip-hop, modern, jazz, and tap all in one day. PLUS, at 8:00 PM on Saturday, you can also catch the JOMDC youth company, Urban Impact, performing an exciting fusion of bollywood and hip hop as part of Dance Bethesda.

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In the News … (Part 2)

Good morning, DC region! We dedicated yesterday to the proposed federal budget; so today, we’re featuring some choice non-budget non-profit news items! As always, do let us know if you have anything to share.

It’s Not Candid Camera, It’s Random Culture — We’re just a touch late on sharing this NY Times article, but it’s definitely worth checking out. Funded by a “major initiative undertaken by the Knight Arts Program,” over 160 arts organizations have performed pop-up “random acts of culture” in their local communities. Imagine shopping for shoes and suddenly, an opera company appears to serenade you and the entire shoe-browsing crowd. The concept is simple, but really moving — and a great reminder of how live performance can bring anyone and everyone together. Have you tried this?

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In the News … (Part 1)

Welcome to Wednesday, folks.

First, to address the questions that are arising both in the wake of the President’s budget proposal and from the debate to come, do check out yesterday’s coverage at Chronicle of Philanthropyand in the Nonprofit Quarterly. The former takes a more level approach, pointing out that “the news wasn’t all bad. The president proposed adding money, for example, to programs to help homeless people and provide rental assistance to low-income families.” The latter then offers a partial “list of program terminations and reductions … tucked into one of the supplemental volumes” of the President’s proposal and concludes that his “middle-of-the road … strategy might be part of the reality that nonprofits have to address.” In terms of indirect effects, the plan also “proposes limiting the value of itemized deductions for the better off deductions could only be claimed against a 28% rate.”

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7 Questions – Sara Strehle Duke (Encore Stage & Studio)

It’s spring! Well, not quite. But it certainly feels like it. So welcome to early spring and welcome to “7 Questions” … Sara Strehle Duke, the Executive Director of Encore Stage & Studio. With over 165 full-scale, high-quality plays to its name, Encore is a unique educational community theatre, providing opportunities both onstage and backstage to kids of all ages. Read on to learn more!

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

We just wrapped up our production of Night at the Wax Museum: the Musical. There were awakened wax figures, undercover agents, and high schoolers (!) running all over the stage, stopping every now and then to do a dance number. I particularly enjoyed this production because it allowed our student actors to tackle some pretty interesting historical characters: Henry VIII, Butch Cassidy, Cleopatra, Madame Ching, and Lizzie Borden to name a few. The cast and crew did a wonderful job. I think we all had fun with it and learned a little as well.

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