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We are happy to announce the start of our very own clothes closet! When we renovated our center in 2011, we decided to knock down a few walls in order to create a space for our guests to come, sit, and hang out. Doing so meant getting rid of our clothes closet and turning away most clothing donations due to lack of storage space.

A year and a half later, we have transformed a tiny office in Grace Church into our clothes closet! And, having a clothes closet means that we can accept clothing donations again (in limited quantities; the room is still small). The closet is currently being organized and manned by two enthusiastic Georgetown University students, Alex and Kathryn. They have been coming in once or twice a week to organize incoming donations and to distribute clothing every Friday at 10am. Needless to say, our guests are ecstatic about this news.

If you wish to donate clothes, please call Stephanie (202-338-3801) ahead of time to check whether or not we are in need of certain items. We will be posting on our blog, Facebook, and Twitter items that are in high demand. Right now, there have been many requests for jeans, with 32-36″ waists being the most in demand sizes. Our guests also often request belts, since it is difficult to acquire well-fitting pants on the street.

Jane is one of our stellar volunteers. Just about every Tuesday for the past ten months, Jane has faithfully come into our center to help with anything that needs to be done. She manages our computer lab, distributes sandwiches, and provides camaraderie and conversation.

She first heard about GMC at Holy Trinity Church, where she is a parishioner. We look forward to seeing Jane’s smiling face every Tuesday. Read more about her in Holy Trinity’s latest bulletin.

Georgetown Ministry Center celebrated Mardi Gras with food, friends, and fun. We started off the party with homemade gumbo and rice from Shower and Laundry Manager Lucane’s kitchen. For dessert, we had cookies and king cake, courtesy of volunteer Jane.

During the food, one of our members DJ’ed while volunteer Dewey set up a karaoke machine. The center was filled with music, singing, laughter, and smiles all afternoon.

Thank you so much Lucane, Jane, and Dewey for helping to make this Mardi Gras party a success!

This is the last poem in our first GMC Poetry series. This one was written by Program Manager Stephanie.

Homelessness we seek to end
One person at a time.
Broken minds and spirits mend;
It is an upward climb.

This is a welcoming space;
We work with everyone.
Our job is not a race,
Our job — never done.

And still we press on and on,
We try to persevere.
Until homelessness is gone
Our aid we volunteer.

This week’s poem is titled “Along Wisconsin Avenue,” by Jimmy.

Summer comes in winter’s time
the ivy plants blink in rhyme
from Indian summer’s dew;
the lights are on
and the lights are off
in the shops
Along Wisconsin Avenue.

Stray-bird breaks
a stray cigarette
Breakfast comes
but he’s not breakfast yet
in the shops
Along Wisconsin Avenue.

Aimless loves
that were born to wander
Knights-errant
in athletic gear
The morning’s breath
pops right in your ear
Along Wisconsin Avenue.