Brooklyn Castle

Posted on October 18, 2012 by Marie LeBlanc

By Marie LeBlanc, Community Partnerships Coordinator

Chess is not just a game of kings and pawns, queens and knights. For a group of middle schoolers from Brooklyn — and for thousands of other students here in DC and across the country — chess is a unique afterschool activity that impacts their lives both on and off the board. Catalogue nonprofit Chess Challenge in DC co-sponsored a sneak peek of the documentary film Brooklyn Castle last week, which profiles a student chess team from Brooklyn, New York, and invited Catalogue staff to have a look.

Brooklyn Castle tells the stories of five members of the chess team at a below-the-poverty-line inner city junior high school (Intermediate School/IS 318) that has won more national championships than any other in the country. The film follows the challenges these kids face in their personal lives as well as on the chessboard, and is as much about the sting of their losses as it is about the anticipation of their victories.

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Fearless Changemakers Surround Us

Posted on October 17, 2012 by Spur Local

By Michael Smith, Senior Vice President — Social Innovation, The Case Foundation

Earlier this year, we at the Case Foundation declared our intention to Be Fearless in all that we do. As we reflected on the 15 years since Jean and Steve Case created the Foundation, we realized that we — and our partners — were best when we were willing to dream big, experiment with new approaches, and admit our failures so that we could learn from them. We were best when we were fearless.

In a time when social challenges seem to be getting bigger and more complex, those of us charged with finding and funding solutions cannot be satisfied with the status quo. In a world where athletes, entrepreneurs, and explorers are all supposed to be fearless, for some reason many leaders responsible for lifting up communities and changing the world for the better have often become safe, incremental, measured, and sometimes slow to act. It’s time to change the game. That’s why not only have we declared our intention to Be Fearless, but we are committed to inviting others to help us define a fearless approach to social change, to spread the concept far and wide, to learn and experiment together, and to uncover the fearless changemakers and change movements already happening in communities in the US and around the world.

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Catalogue Milestones: 2005 & 2006

Posted on October 16, 2012 by Marie LeBlanc

By Marie LeBlanc, Community Partnerships Coordinator

As we approach our celebration of the 10th Catalogue for Philanthropy, we look back to see how the Catalogue has grown and evolved.

In its third and fourth years, the Catalogue for Philanthropy continued growing — and marked its first significant milestone in fundraising for nonprofits. In 2005, Catalogue broke the $1 million mark with $1,778,181 raised in the first three years of publication, and went on to increase its annual fundraising level by 43% in 2006. In 2006, the Catalogue also became an independent 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, and transitioned its advisory board into a governing board.

The following charities were featured for the first time in print either in 2005 or 2006, and are relisted in the Catalogue this year:

- Nueva Vida offers support services for Latinas affected by cancer.

- DC Coalition Against Domestic Violence provides resources for thousands of domestic violence survivors in DC.

- Anacostia Watershed Society is an environmental group seeking safe, clean, swimmable and fishable Anacostia River

- Fair Chance builds capacity for nonprofits serving DC at-risk youth.

- Lorton Community Action Center works to break the cycle of poverty in Lorton, VA by providing community-based social services.

- theatreWashington promotes, represents, and supports Washington’s professional theatre community.

And the following nonprofits, originally featured in 2005 or 2006, were re-certified to remain on the Catalogue website this year:

- Community of Hope provides low-income, homeless, and underserved families with healthcare, housing, and education.

- ARRIBA Center offers employment training, job placement, bilingual, and advocacy services for minority disabled populations.

- Dana Tai Soon Burgess & Co. (DTSB&Co.) creates, presents, and tours dance works with a unique Asian American movement aesthetic.

As Memory Is

Posted on October 15, 2012 by Julia Cain

It is useful to remember that history is to the nation as memory is to the individual. As persons deprived of memory become disoriented and lost, not knowing where they have been and where they are going, so a nation denied a conception of the past will be disabled in dealing with its present and its future. [...]

History is a doomed enterprise that we happily pursue because of the thrill of the hunt, because exploring the past is such fun, because of the intellectual challenges involved, because a nation needs to know its own history. Or so we historians insist. Because in the end, a nation’s history must be both the guide and the domain not so much of its historians as its citizens.

– historian Arthur Meier Schlesinger, Jr., born today in 1917

Around Town: October 12-15

Posted on October 12, 2012 by Julia Cain

Have a good weekend, Greater Washington! And consider spending a day with a local nonprofit …

District of Columbia Arts Center (2438 18th Street NW, Washington, DC)

Over 40 area artists in two spaces create “Signals,” DCAC’s new exhibition; JW Mahoney (DC curator and artist) aims to prove that there long has been a distinct “school” of DC art. Opening reception is today at 7:00 PM.

Anacostia Watershed Society (Bladensburg Waterfront Park, Bladensburg, MD) — Event Full

On Friday at 10:00 AM, build and install bird houses at our native meadow along the Northwest Branch of the Anacostia River; all tools and supplies needed will be provided. More information this way!

Audubon Naturalist Society of the Central Atlantic States (600 Water Street SW, Washington, DC)

Tour the Potomac aboard the historic Sequoia Presidential Yacht. ANS Naturalists will highlight efforts to clean the river — and the work that still needs to be done. Event is filling fast; RSVP information is here.

Smith Center for Healing and the Arts (1662 U Street NW, Washington, DC)

Join in a therapeutic practice to align breath, movement, and awareness to restore balance and health at “Qigong: Going Within” on Monday at 8:00 AM. Learn more right here.

Also: the Acumen Solutions 4th Annual Race for a Cause is coming up this weekend. Race proceeds will be distributed to ten great nonprofits (eight of which are in the Catalogue network). Consider signing up today!

Roundtable Summit

Posted on October 11, 2012 by Marie LeBlanc

By Marie LeBlanc, Community Partnerships Coordinator

Yesterday morning, the Nonprofit Roundtable of Greater Washington celebrated its tenth anniversary with a touching look back and a pressing call to action for the future. As a young nonprofit professional, the messages I heard were both disheartening and inspiring. According to Mario Morino, Co-Founder and Chairman of Venture Philanthropy Partners, the nonprofit sector faces quite a few challenges in the years ahead. Even with potential economic upturns (which are by no means guaranteed yet), the changing economic and employment landscape in the US will have a profound effect on the demand for social sector services. Effectively funding those services will require a dramatic re-think of current funding mechanisms, and above all the willpower from funders, investors, government, and social service providers/nonprofits alike to meet the needs that our country, regions, and cities will face.

Benjamin Jealous, President and CEO of the NAACP, passionately spoke of the civil rights crisis facing America today — what he called the “most massive and simultaneous attack on rights happening in recent history.” Women, immigrants, and the LGBT and black communities are on the front lines of this battle — one primarily fought within state boundaries, not on the federal level. Such a multifaceted problem requires intense collaboration and coordination to solve it — and an acknowledgement of the political and systemic barriers that contribute to (and often cause) the larger problems nonprofits work to address.
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In The News: Shelters

Posted on October 10, 2012 by Julia Cain

From “With shelters full, homeless families have nowhere to go” in the Washington Post:

In a region with seven of the 10 most affluent counties in the country, family homelessness is on the rise — straining services, filling shelters and forcing parents and their children to sleep in cars, parks, and bus and train stations. One mother recently bought $14 bus tickets to and from New York so she and her 2-year-old son would have a safe place to sleep — on the bus. [...]

The city has recently come under fire for turning away families seeking help as 118 overflow beds that were added last winter at DC General — the city’s main family homeless shelter — sit empty. A few places have recently opened up, but 500 families — some of whom are living with relatives or friends — are on a waiting list for housing.

Since the recession, homelessness among DC families has risen by 23 percent; in Maryland, “38 percent of homeless families are living on the streets.” Says Nassim Moshiree of Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless (a Catalogue nonprofit), “These families are the most desperate because they have young children and have nowhere to go.”

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In The Closeness

Posted on October 9, 2012 by Julia Cain

[...] Now sets the weary moon upon its slack seabed
Now the bursts of laughter quiet down, and even the storyteller
Nods his head like a child on his mother’s back
The dancers’ feet grow heavy, and heavy, too,
Come the alternating voices of singers.

Now the stars appear and the Night dreams
Leaning on that hill of clouds, dressed in its long, milky pagne.
The roofs of the huts shine tenderly. What are they saying
So secretly to the stars? Inside, the fire dies out
In the closeness of sour and sweet smells. [...]

– excerpt from “Night in Sine”
Leopold Sedar Senghor, poet & president of Senegal, born today in 1906

Around Town: October 5-8

Posted on October 5, 2012 by Julia Cain

What’s coming up at your local nonprofts? Check out Catalogue Happenings and find out!

Downtown Cluster’s Geriatric Day Care Center (Washington Navy Yard, 1411 Parsons Avenue SE)

Best of luck for the 36th Anniversary Benefit Gala, “,” on Friday at 6:00 PM! All proceeds will provide therapeutic and supportive services to frail older persons in Washington, DC.

Arlingtonians for a Clean Environment (Lubber Run Park, N. Columbus Street & 2nd Street N, Arlington, VA)

On Saturday at 10:00 AM, volunteers should meet at the amphitheater (just below the parking lot) and will help collect seeds and acorns of native tree species to be sent to the state nursery. More info right this way.

Smith Center for Healing and the Arts (Hallowood Retreat and Conference Center, 7300 Banner Road, Comus, MD)

Best wishes to those attending the October Residential Cancer Retreat this coming week (starting Monday), which provides an opportunity for transformative healing on the physical, mental, and emotional levels.

Also: coming up on Wednesday at 10:00 AM, Anacostia Watershed Society will be building and installing bird houses at our native meadow along the Northwest Branch of the Anacostia River.

Volunteering in America

Posted on October 4, 2012 by Marie LeBlanc

By Marie LeBlanc, Community Partnerships Coordinator

Over the past few weeks, Sherika Brooks and I have ventured “into the field” with a handful of Catalogue nonprofits –sorting books, promoting clean water, and serving meals. We are not alone in engaging in volunteer work in our community. Across the United States, over 60 million people spent time volunteering last year, contributing nearly $173 billion worth of value to their communities. In the District, about 30% of adults volunteer, and the same is true for Maryland and Virginia — which is just above the national average of 26.5%.

So who volunteers in America? Sherika and I fit the typical volunteer profile in some ways, but not others. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 2011, women volunteered more than men and middle- and older-aged adults are most likely to volunteer. (We broke the trend for adults in their early twenties, who are least likely to volunteer among all age groups.) Another interesting trend is that “individuals with higher levels of educational attainment engaged in volunteer activities at higher rates than did those with less education. Among persons age 25 and over, 42.4 percent of college graduates volunteered, compared with 18.2 percent of high school graduates and 9.8 percent of those with less than a high school diploma.” A majority of those who volunteer dedicate their time to one or two organizations, one of which is often religiously affiliated. Among all volunteers, the most common activities are fundraising and providing meals.

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