DC Central Kitchen  -  425 Second Street, NW

The D.C. Central Kitchen collects food that would otherwise go to waste from area restaurants, caterers, hotels, cafeterias and other food service businesses.  The donated food is used to prepare over 3,000 meals a day for adults and children at 130 agencies throughout the D.C. Metropolitan area, including homeless shelters, community and youth centers, children's after-school programs, and senior-citizen lunch programs.  In addition, D.C. Central Kitchen provides training to unemployed individuals in basic culinary skills.  Volunteers assist with food preparation alongside the men and women in the job training program.

Food & Friends - 219 Riggs Rd., NE                                                                                        

Food & Friends prepares, packages and delivers nutrious meals to support men, women, and children living with HIV/AIDS, cancer, and other life-challenging illnesses throughout the Washington, DC area.  Volunteers assist with food preparation.  

Capital Area Food Bank – 645 Taylor Street, NE

The Capital Area Food Bank is the largest public, non-profit food distribution center in the Washington, DC metropolitan area. Through a network of more than 750 member programs, CAFB distributes several million pounds of food each year.  Volunteers sort and pack food for distribution.

Thurgood Marshall Academy  - 2427 Martin Luther King, Jr. Ave.

The Thurgood Marshall Academy Public Charter High School (TMA) was founded by Georgetown Law students and Prof. Rick Roe in 2001 to provide a college preparatory high school curriculum to students living in the Congress Heights section of Southeast DC, a low income area of the city. To date, the school has graduated four classes and all of the graduates have been accepted into college. TMA was recently profiled in the June 10th edition of the Wall Street Journal:  http://online.wsj.com/article_email/SB121306417113859741.html. Volunteers assist the teachers set up their classrooms for the new school year.

Bread for the City

Bread for the City is a private non-profit and multi-service community-based organization that provides vulnerable residents of Washington, DC with comprehensive services including food, clothing, medical care, legal and social services.  Bread for the City’s food pantry provides 4,000 households each month with a three-day supply of nutritious groceries including fresh fruit, meat and vegetables. Volunteers sort clothing and assist in the medical clinic.

DC Habitat for Humanity

DC Habitat for Humanity seeks to eliminate poverty housing and homelessness in the nation's capital by building simple, decent, affordable homes for people in need using donated funds, supplies and volunteer labor.  Habitat is driven by the philosophy that those in need deserve a hand-up, not a hand-out, and homeowners must work 300 hours of “sweat equity” on their own home before they can purchase it. When the house is completed it is sold by Habitat to the new homeowners with an interest-free 25-year mortgage. Volunteers assist with construction tasks which could include framing, roofing, painting, installing siding, and/or landscaping.

Emmaus Services for the Elderly

Emmaus Services for the Aging builds bridges between isolated seniors and the world around them, helping them maintain their independence in their own homes. Roughly 500 seniors receive services throughout the year, most of who are disabled, homebound, or simply have difficulty meeting their basic needs. Emmaus strives to provide service with dignity and a human touch, assisting seniors with shopping trips, writing checks/bill paying, house cleaning, as well as deliver groceries, and pay regular visits.  Volunteers teach computer skills to seniors at the Emmaus Service Center and visit home-bound seniors to assist them with anything they need help with, perform light housekeeping or just to sit and chat.

National Arboretum

The National Arboretum is a 344 acre park that was established in 1927 by an Act of Congress.  Its mission is to serve the public need for scientific research, education, and gardens that conserve and showcase plants to enhance the environment.  Unfortunately, non-native plant species are invading the Arboretum grounds which, if left unchecked, would choke out many of the plants that the Arboretum is trying to conserve.  Volunteers assist in the removal of non-native plants and shrubs.