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Our Winter 2012 Newsletter is out! We hope you’ll take a few minutes to read it and to remember this holiday season all of the wonderful work Georgetown Ministry Center does to help those on the street.

You can give a gift to GMC by either sending a check (please enclose this response card if you can) or online through PayPal.

Thank you for taking the time to read our newsletter!

Last Tuesday, ER Nurse Jessica Cook came to the Center and gave a presentation on foot care and trench foot, a disorder not uncommon to homeless people.  She stressed the importance of letting one’s feet breathe and changing into dry socks after spending time in the elements. Afterwards, Jessica check blood pressure and glucose levels for those who wanted the service. Jessica plans on coming back often to provide health talks and basic health screenings.

Last Wednesday, MPD officers Antonial Atkins and Roberto Corchado came to talk about personal safety, public awareness, and working together with all segments of the community to reduce street crimes.

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…

Back in September, the Citizens Association of Georgetown dedicated one of their meetings to educating the Georgetown community about homelessness, mental illness, and Georgetown Ministry Center. We showed two videos featuring the family members of individuals that came to GMC, and have now added these two videos to our  Media Page.

We invite you to listen and watch Greg’s Story and Tom’s Story.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=y7NRRlJ6RLM

Tom

On Sunday, November 18, GMC guests had a special treat: sloppy joes, potato and egg salad, rolls, pickles… all organized by Georgetowner Maggie Handel.

Maggie wanted to provide a nice lunch for Georgetown Ministry Center’s members and created the idea of a “Sloppy Joe Challenge,” rallying Georgetowners and neighbors to help chip in, whether by providing a jar of pickles, cooking the sloppy joes, or loaning a slow cooker. She first posted on the Georgetown Forum asking for six volunteers to prepare the menu for twelve lunches each and deliver them to the GMC at the appointed time. Only one eager volunteer stepped up to the challenge then: Anna Harris, who not only cooked for twelve people but also made homemade rolls!

After asking for help on the forum, Maggie told us, “Once I realized the Forum response was light, I sent a plea out to my neighbors. We’ve developed a friendly & supportive block community at N & 27th through the Georgetown Block Captain program. They rallied to my call and delivered the scrumptious home cooked food.”

Everyone loved the food, and the next morning they were still raving about how delicious it was.

We are so lucky to have friends like Maggie. She drops by our center with toiletries and special treats like nail polish for our ladies, supports our knitting group, and comes up with new ways to give, like this Sloppy Joe Challenge. What we like so much about Maggie is that she is so community-oriented. She is a Georgetown Block Captain and also understands that the homeless are part of the Georgetown community. She could have chosen to order food or cook it all herself, but instead chose to rally friends and neighbors to work together. She is a true friend and community organizer.

Of course, we must give thanks to everyone who helped Maggie with this project! A big THANK YOU to the following people:

• Anna Harris, who helped cook and serve
• Amanda Peterson, who helped serve
• Gail McKee, who cooked
• Kirk Jeffery, who cooked
• Lara Potter, who cooked
• Ev Phipps, who cooked
• Maria Garcia, who loaned her crock pot
• Erin Reeder, who also loaned her crock pot
• Enjum Hamid, who also loaned a crock pot