In each issue of the Bittersweet zine, we profile about a dozen organizations, each doing inspiring and much-needed work in response to the critical social issues of our day, in our city. We hope that you’ll be inspired to engage with one (or a few!) of these organizations and feel equipped and empowered to be part of the good work being done in our city.
A
- Academy of HopeThe Academy serves highly motivated adults who need academic skills and training for employment or a promotion on the job, have limited financial resources and access to quality educational and training programs, and are interested in transforming their lives by earning a high school diploma or increasing their skills.
- Adoptions TogetherAdoptions Together supports children and families formed through adoption, guardianship, foster care, and kinship care with specialized services offered at locations in Maryland, Virginia and DC.
- Alzheimer's Family Day CenterThe effects and progression of Alzheimer's disease vary with each individual. Because of this, Alzheimer's Family Day Center (AFDC) offers programs that address the specific needs of people in the early, middle, and late stages of the disease.
- Amani Ya JuuAmani provides hundreds of women in eastern and central Africa an opportunity to gain experience in purchasing, bookkeeping, stitching, quality control, management and design.
B
- Bethany HouseBethany House of Northern Virginia, Inc. (BHNV) offers emergency shelter and support services to victims of domestic violence throughout Northern Virginia and the surrounding DC metro communities.
- BrainfoodBrainfood is a non-profit youth development organization in Washington, DC. Using food as a tool, Brainfood builds life skills and promotes healthy living in a fun and safe environment.
C
- Capital Area Asset BuildersCapital Area Asset Builders (CAAB) puts people on the road to financial independence. Its programs help low- and moderate-income individuals and families improve their money management skills, increase their savings and build wealth by investing wisely.
- Capitol Hill VillageCapitol Hill Village (CHV) is just that: a virtual village in livable, walkable surroundings where volunteers unite to help older adults age safely and comfortably in their own homes and beloved neighborhood.
- Carpenter's ShelterOpen since 1988, Carpenter’s Shelter works tirelessly to help children, families and adults overcome homelessness, believing all people can become contributing members of their community.
- Child & Family Services AgencyOf the 2,000 children in District foster care, fully 59 percent are older youth and young adults, ages 12 to 21. CFSA has two critical obligations to these young people.
- Child Center and Adult Services, Inc. CCAS provides mental health counseling to children, adults and families at all ages and stages of life. Nearly a thousand DC-area residents are served each year through CCAS’ programs.
- Children’s National Medical CenterEach year Children’s National Medical Center cares for more than 360,000 child patients from throughout the region, nation and world. Children’s is the largest non-governmental provider of pediatric care in the District of Columbia, providing more than $50 million in uncompensated care. It also serves as the regional referral center for pediatric emergency, trauma, cancer, cardiac and critical care as well as neonatology, orthopaedic surgery, neurology, and neurosurgery.
- Christ Child Society of Washington DCThe 120-year old Christ Child Society serves the most basic needs of at-risk children. Staffed by 10 licensed social workers, it provides counseling services to financially challenged schools. As a result, students at these schools are able to receive high quality mental health services at no cost to the families receiving them.
- Coalition for Economic EmpowermentCEE established the Teen Empowerment Initiative, which has led to a decrease in truancy rates of participating teens from 60 percent to 15 percent.
- College BoundCollege Bound targets underserved junior high and high school students who have the drive and desire to attend college. Each week, students meet one-on-one with college-educated mentors who assist them in math, SAT prep and college admissions, with the goal of improving DC’s historically low test scores and college-attendance rate.
- Common Good City FarmCommon Good City Farm is an urban farm and education center growing food for low-income residents in Washington, DC and providing educational opportunities for all people that help increase food security, improve health, and contribute to environmental sustainability.
- Courtney's HouseThe Courtney’s House initiative was started in August 2008. The organization was founded by Tina Frundt, herself a survivor of domestic child sex trafficking. Courtney’s House is projected to be a 6-bed long-term group home for sex-trafficked girls between the ages of 12 and 18 years old – the only one of its kind in the DC area.
D
- DC Central KitchenDC Central Kitchen turns leftover food into millions of meals for thousands of at-risk individuals while offering nationally recognized culinary job training to once homeless and hungry adults.
- DC Central Kitchen Truck FarmThe DCCK Truck Farm is a mini garden planted in the bed of a pick up truck that will serve as a tool to teach urban youth about agriculture and healthy eating and to help provoke an interest in where their food comes from.
- District Alliance for Safe HousingThe District Alliance for Safe Housing (DASH) was founded in 2006 to provide relief to domestic and sexual violence survivors in the form of emergency and long-term safe housing and innovative homelessness prevention services.
- DoorwaysDoorways for Women and Families has been serving the community for over thirty years by ending domestic violence and family homelessness for the women and families that come through its doorways.
- Downtown Cluster's Geriatric Day Care CenterFounded in 1976 at a time when seniors were being abandoned in hospitals and on streets, this Geriatric Day Care has made it its mission to offer a dignified alternative to expensive institutional care. Trained and dedicated staff work tirelessly to provide daytime programming to nearly a hundred seniors.
E
- Enterprise Development GroupThe Enterprise Development Group (EDG) provides financial resources and support to individuals, families and small businesses in the DC metro area.
- Ethiopian Community Development CouncilThe Ethiopian Community Development Council (ECDC) serves as a welcoming presence and as a bridge for dialogue and education. It seeks to empower African newcomers, giving hope for the future and helping them become self-sufficient, productive members of their communities in their new homeland.
F
- FAIR FundFAIR Fund works to prevent human trafficking of youth worldwide by building community leadership, providing education and empowerment programs, and offering compassionate intervention services.
- Family & Youth InitiativeFamily and Youth Initiative (DCFYI) is focused exclusively on helping teenagers in foster care make lifelong connections with caring adults. It creates enriching lifetime relationships for youth at risk of aging out of foster care, matching youth with host parents and mentors and helping them find adoptive families.
- Family Matters of Greater WashingtonFamily Matters provides assistance that impacts more than 12,000 children, youth, families and seniors each year. Its spectrum of programs includes therapeutic and traditional foster care, youth development programs, mental health and counseling services, among others.
- Food & FriendsAlong with nutrition counseling, Food & Friends prepares, packages and delivers meals and groceries to more than 1,400 people living with HIV/AIDS, cancer and other life-challenging illnesses throughout the DC-metro area.
- Free MindsFree Minds uses books and creative writing to empower teenage boys in the adult criminal justice system in DC to transform their lives.
G
- Green DoorGreen Door was founded in 1976 as a community program that prepares people with severe and persistent mental illness to work and live independently. Each year, it helps over 1,800 DC residents move on from institutions and homeless shelters to lead fulfilling, independent lives.
- Grey DCGrey DC is a small business incubator that provides opportunities for local entrepreneurs—who lack a wealth of financial capital—to test the market.
- Guitars Not GunsGuitars Not Guns conducts an after-school music program for youth ages 10-18. Classes consist of up to 10 students and last for 8-10 weeks. They meet once per week for a one-hour lesson.
H
- Heart GalleryThe Freddie Mac Foundation Heart Gallery features compelling portraits of children in foster care who are waiting to be adopted.
- House of RuthFounded in 1976, House of Ruth helps women, children and families in greatest need and with very limited resources build safe, stable lives and achieve their highest potential. At House of Ruth, women, children and families heal from lifetimes of traumatic abuse.
I
- International Rescue CommitteeFounded in 1933, the International Rescue Committee (IRC) responds to the world’s worst humanitarian crises and helps refugees to survive and rebuild their lives.
- Iona Senior ServicesDay-in and day-out, Iona offers adult health wellness and arts care, workshops and caregiver education classes, support groups, fitness classes, consultations, care management, and counseling.
J
- JewelGirlsJewelGirls is an income generation and art therapy program that gives teen women a chance for safe, healthy, and bright futures. Currently, the program supports 200 teen women in Bosnia, Serbia, Russia, Uganda, and Washington, DC.
- Joseph's HouseMen and women come to Joseph's House directly from a hospital, hospice program, clinic, or shelter and are seriously ill with AIDS, cancer or another terminal illness. Once at Joseph's House, the new resident receives the very best nursing care we can give, and is welcomed into a safe and nurturing home.
- Jubilee JobsFor nearly 30 years, Jubilee Jobs has been a place of hope and support for disadvantaged job-seekers throughout metropolitan Washington. It provides compassionate, skilled job preparation and placement services for people in serious need of help and guidance.
K
- KEEN (Kids Enjoy Exercise Now) - Greater DCAs a volunteer-led nonprofit, KEEN is able to provide one-on-one recreational opportunities for children and young adults with developmental and physical disabilities at no cost to their families and caregivers.
L
- Latino Economic Development CorporationThe Latino Economic Development Corporation (LEDC) provides microloans, technical assistance, training and commercial façade improvements to small business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs in the DC area.
- Lutheran Social ServicesEvery year, LSS/NCA welcomes hundreds of refugees from around the world to the United States. From the moment a new family arrives at the airport, their staff is at the gate waiting to provide guidance and encouragement.
M
- Mentoring TodayMentoring Today serves youth both before and after they are released from incarceration to support their successful reintegration into their families and community.
N
- Neighborhood Farm InitiativeNeighborhood Farm Initiative (NFI) was started 3 years ago to create an educational demonstration garden space in which adults and teens could come together to learn how to grow food in the city.
- New Community for ChildrenNew Community for Children provides underserved children and families in Washington, DC with before school, after school, and summer programs that help them strengthen their academic skills as well as foster the self-confidence and creativity needed to realize their fullest potential.
- Northern Virginia Therapeutic Riding ProgramThe Northern Virginia Therapeutic Riding Program (NVTRP) is truly unique in the greater DC-Metro landscape, providing equine assisted activities for children and adults with disabilities, youth-at-risk, veterans, and their families.
O
- Operation HopeOperation Hope operates two main efforts that expand economic opportunity in underserved communities through financial literacy training and education: the HOPE Financial Literacy Empowerment Center and the Banking on Our Future program.
- Opportunity InternationalOpportunity International provides small business loans, savings, insurance and training to people working their way out of poverty in the developing world. Clients in over 20 countries use these financial services to start or expand a business, provide for their families, create jobs for their neighbors and build a safety net for the future.
P
- Pediatric HIV/AIDS CarePediatric Care provides children living with HIV/AIDS with education, therapy, and youth programming to empower them to live healthy and successful lives. They are the only organization in the DC area devoted exclusively to vital support services for children and adolescents living with HIV/AIDS.
- Pets DCMany people with HIV/AIDS live alone and having a pet supports them living independently. A pet's love and affection are unconditional and everlasting. That love is a very important part of the emotional support network of persons living with HIV/AIDS; yet many of our clients experience financial and physical barriers making it difficult to care for their pets.
- Polaris ProjectPolaris Project’s vision is for a world without slavery. Polaris Project’s comprehensive approach to combating human trafficking includes direct outreach, victim identification, social services, transitional housing, operating the national hotline on human trafficking, advocating for stronger state and Federal anti-trafficking legislation, and engaging community members in local and national grassroots efforts.
R
- Restoration MinistriesRestoration Ministries is a Christ-centered ministry that provides a prostitution intervention/prevention program at the youth detention center five times a month to girls 11-17 who have been trafficked or who are at a high-risk of being trafficked.
- Ronald McDonald House Charities - Greater Washington D.C.The concept is a simple one: provide a home-like environment where families can find comfort, necessities and respite during a time of great stress. Ronald McDonald Houses allow parents to care for a sick child and healthy siblings in a place where they can share and draw strength from others experiencing similar circumstances.
S
- SHARE Food NetworkThe SHARE Food Network distributes high quality, affordable nutritious food as a way to build community and strengthen families.
- So Others Might EatSo Others Might Eat (SOME) works to help break the cycle of homelessness and poverty by offering affordable housing, job training, addiction treatment and counseling to the poor, the elderly and individuals with mental illness.
- Southeast White HouseThe Southeast White House seeks to build up local churches, non-profits, and other community groups serving the poor in Washington, D.C. and striving to offer every person that passes through its doors the opportunity to know that they are a friend held in high regard.
- Strive DCSTRIVE DC helps chronically unemployed people in the Washington, DC area find and keep employment. From providing the basic necessities to more advanced job skills training, STRIVE is an engine of empowerment in the DC community.
- Studio DownstairsStudio Downstairs is a community for the arts where adults who may have experienced emotional distress can meet in a non-institutional setting and where the making of art is linked to the therapeutic process of feeling more alive and social. It is a place where there is no stigma of mental or physical illness, and instead, art is viewed as a powerful means of communication and healing.
T
- Tahirih Justice CenterTahirih seeks to ensure the protection and safety of their clients, as well as their long-term well-being, by raising their voices in the public policy arena, informing the public of the unique challenges immigrant survivors of violence face, and ultimately, creating lasting legal and social change.
- The Grassroot ProjectThe Grassroot Project uses peer education to prevent HIV/AIDS in Washington, D.C. by recognizing the enormous potential of student athletes to serve as role models to local youth and by utilizing an interactive, engaging curriculum that targets middle school aged students.
- The Rebecca ProjectThe Rebecca Project for Human Rights advocates for justice, dignity and policy reform for vulnerable women and girls in the United States and in Africa. The Rebecca Project believes that women and girls possess the right to live free of gendered inequity and violence, and that investment in their leadership creates healthy, safe, and strong communities.
- The Women's CollectiveThe Women’s Collective was founded in 1993 by Patricia Nalls, who found out she had contracted HIV after husband and young daughter died from AIDS complications. TWC is a haven for HIV-infected women and their families. It's a peer-led, women-focused, family-centered non-profit organization.
- Think Local First DCThink Local First works with independent businesses, consumers and policymakers to grow a sustainable, local economy in Washington, DC.
- Thrive DCThrive DC provides a safety net for people facing economic crisis and housing instability and a first step towards independence for people experiencing extended periods of homelessness.
U
- Urban AllianceCurrently serving over 600 youth annually, Urban Alliance provides opportunities for low-income youth to gain the skills necessary to succeed in the workplace by matching them with corporations in need of entry-level help and with staff interested in giving back by becoming mentors.
W
- Washington Youth GardenIn the summer, the Washington Youth Garden offers a special series called ‘Growing food—Growing Together’. This interactive family gardening, nutrition education and cooking program takes place on Saturday mornings at the Washington Youth Garden (National Arboretum), spanning 15 weeks May through August.
Y
- Young Professionals in Foreign PolicyFounded in 2007, the Refugee Assistance Program (RAP) is a unique project that helps newly resettled refugees from war-torn countries adapt to life in the United States.
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