Category: Help

This past Sunday, GMC friend Maggie Handel organized another Hot Meal Challenge (see previous challenges here and here). This month, the menu included homemade chili, cornbread, coleslaw, and brownies. Our members loved sampling the many pots of chili, each a little different from the others.

Thank you to those who made lunch:

Marsha Ford
Maria Garcia
Jeanne Hickox
Allison Kitchen
Zoe Kitchen
Brenda Zaidman

Let us know if you would be interested in participating in a Hot Meal Challenge, which typically occur on the third or fourth Sunday of each month. Every month, there is a menu that volunteers prepare (recipes may vary, but everyone follows the menu) and bring to GMC. Volunteers may drop off the food or stay and serve, and slow cookers are available for those who need them.

Last year, Water Street Gym held their first coat drive for us. This year, they held another coat drive, lasting two months, to benefit not only Georgetown Ministry Center, but also Bread for the City and Jubilee Jobs. Steve and Susan Kostorowski, along with Patricia Peva, of Water Street Gym placed donation boxes in strategic high-traffic locations, such as banks and coffee shops.

We think this coat drive was three times more successful than last years. Many, many thanks to Water Street Gym and to everyone who donated such beautiful coats!

We are always grateful for the friends we have at GMC, but we are especially grateful during the winter months and holiday season, when our neighbors help make the holiday season a special one for our members. Thank you to Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Georgetown, who every year makes GMC one of the recipients of its Holiday Giving Tree

Another shout out goes to Maggie Handel, who has been such an avid supporter of GMC. She organized a sock drive for us and lovingly wrapped over 100 pairs of socks for her and her niece to distribute on Christmas Day. She also provided a delicious brunch for everyone on Christmas. That’s not all! For the six ladies who regularly participate in our knitting group, she put together “cold weather survival kits.”

Gifts for the Homeless, which is a wholly volunteer-run organization that annually organized a huge clothing and donation drive for over 70 shelters, also helped make this holiday season a warm one by donating lots of cold weather essentials.

And then there are our many volunteers and friends who have helped us in many different ways, from providing food for our holiday party or on Christmas Eve (thanks, Peggy, Pat, and Anne!) or volunteering on the 24th and 25th (looking at you, Anna, Amy, and Nadeeda!). And if I’ve neglected to mention you, please know that you are included in this thanks (and let me know so I can properly acknowledge you).

Have a wonderful, safe, and happy new year!

At the beginning of fall, I received an email from two Georgetown University students, Doug Badini and Erin Cawley. They were doing a project for their Leadership class and asked if the homeless guests who come in to GMC could use phones or phone cards. I told them that they absolutely could, and a few months later, Doug and Erin came to GMC with a stack of 350 phone cards that they received from AT&T for this project!

I am so impressed by Doug and Erin and by the initiative they took. Both are seniors at the McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University, and both of them are so dedicated and motivated to give back to their community and a variety of ways.

Continue reading to learn more about these two superstars, what they learned from this project, and what words of encouragement they have for others who are interested in volunteering.

Read more…

Many people have been asking us about what we need, what they can donate, and what donation drives they can organize for us. Below is a list of things we are always in need of. We hope this list also lends itself to successful drives that one can organize at their school, congregation, workplace, or local community.

• adult socks, underwear, and undershirts
• thermal undershirts and pants, hats, gloves, and scarves
• washcloths, towels
• toothpaste and shaving cream
• paper, pens
• yarn – multiple skeins of the same color/type, preferably
• crochet hooks, knitting needles
• books
• $5-$10 gift cards to Subway, Starbucks, Safeway, etc.

Donations can be dropped off at Georgetown Ministry Center between 8am and 5pm any day of the week. Questions? Please call us at 202-338-8301. Thanks!