From an email:

Firefly Restaurant and Hotel Madera will host a blood drive to benefit the American Red Cross on Thursday, January 19th between 10:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m.  Chef Daniel Bortnick will provide a blood sugar-boosting Red Velvet Cupcake treat, as a thank you to everyone who donates. The cupcake is a staple on Bortnick’s dessert menu and is made with cream cheese frosting and chocolate pearls. Donors can conveniently schedule appointments online by clicking here.

Firefly is located at 1310 New Hampshire Avenue, NW.

Photo by PoPville flickr user Glyn Lowe Photos

From an email:

Monday, January 16, (10am-1pm, 1pm-4pm or 10am-4pm)

Sign up today for our We the People-MLK Day projects.  Please register ASAP!  Spots fill quickly.   All volunteers 14 and over are welcome.

You will be placed on one of these two projects:

Rachael’s Women Center

One of two day shelters for homeless people in DC, the center provides a warm community space, two hot meals, access to showers and laundry services and a sense of home.  Help us rehab the building by painting, installing shelving, and tearing up carpet.

Rising Sun Baptist Church Community Center

Once complete, the center will house four of the church’s ministries including a food pantry, clothes drive, HIV/AIDS testing, and activities for children of incarcerated parents.  We will be installing flooring, cabinets and more.

To participate, a $25 tax-deductible donation is requested.  This donation is matched by an anonymous Yachad donor.

From an email:

“This is the final week to sign up to participate in Children’s Law Center’s annual Holiday Hope Drive as a volunteer Santa, the deadline is Friday, December 2. We hope you can include the announcement in your publication, as we still have many children waiting for volunteer Santas to ensure they have a happy holiday.

Children’s Law Center is offering a new way to help our teen clients this year: donating gift cards. As in years past, Santas may also choose to “adopt” a younger child and receive a wish list with specific items.

Please visit www.childrenslawcenter.org/join-our-team/holiday-hope-drive for stories of children enrolled in the Hope Drive this year.”

Photo by PoPville flickr user Vileinist

From an email:

“Join us at the AARP District of Columbia 3rd Annual Food Drive on Friday, October 14, 2011. We are still in need of volunteers to assist in collecting food at several DC stores. We also have a need for volunteer drivers to deliver food to Capital Area Food Bank from 5:00 pm – 7:00 pm on the day of the event. This is an intergenerational project. Please email me at jwjordan@aarp.org for more information.

The following locations are in critical need of volunteers:

Safeway (Ward 1) 1747 Columbia Rd NW (Adams Morgan) ALL TIMES AVAILABLE: 8:00 – 11:30; 11:30 – 3:00, 3:00 – 6:30 pm

Safeway (Ward 2) 490 L St NW, (5th St & New York Ave NW) (11:30 -3:00pm ; 3:00 – 6:30 pm

Contact me and provide your desired store and the time you will volunteer! Times are flexible.

Join us at the AARP DC 3rd Annual Food Drive and let’s work together to end hunger. If you are unable to volunteer please stop by one of the ten DC locations to donation needed nonperishable items. www.aarp.org/dc”

Photo by PoPville flickr user C. Michael Poole

From emails:

“Join your neighbors for a Petworth neighborhood street cleanup as part of National Public Lands Day, this Saturday, Sept. 24, 9 am – Noon.

Meet up at the Georgia Avenue/Rock Creek East Collaborative at 1104 Allison Street NW–corner Georgia Avenue. Trash bags & gloves provided. Free coffee & donuts to get you started!

Street litter washes into storm drains which empty into Piney Branch, a tributary of Rock Creek. Let’s beautify the neighborhood and help protect our local waters and parklands!

Sign up online here.

Please spread the word to your friends and neighbors – thanks!”

and

“Dear friends, residents of Columbia Heights, and residents of the greater PoPville Area,

You are invited to the first no-obligation Columbia Heights Community Litter Clean Up Day! This will be a day to meet your neighbors, make friends, make our neighborhood prettier for at least a day, raise awareness about the litter problem in Columbia Heights, and maybe even alert area businesses of the extreme need and desire for a Columbia Heights BID.

When: Sunday September 25th at Noon
(Should last no more than an hour, so you’re all free to attend the National Book Festival activities beginning at 1pm! Clean up as much or as little as you want. I’m a happy camper if you come to say hi and pick up just one candy wrapper.)

Where: Meet at the Civic Plaza right in front of the Columbia Heights Metro Station, at the corner of 14th and Irving.

What: Picking up trash. My goal is to clean up the entire Irving civic plaza and the block south to the 7-11, where the litter is worst, with particular emphasis on the poor rosebeds-turned-trash-dumps. I have no idea how many people will show up, so if it’s more than I think, the area can be expanded however much people want.

What You Should Bring: A pair of gloves and your own large trash bag. I will try to provide a box of surgical gloves for those who don’t already have some, but I personally prefer to wear kitchen dish gloves because I find them more comfortable. I will also bring a box of trash bags, but I can’t guarantee to supply everyone with a bag. (Just grab one from your kitchen!)

Disposal: I have had no problem in the past picking up trash and then putting the entire collected trash bag of litter into one of the emptier sidewalk trash cans up and down the street for city pickup later. (This is where the trash should have been in the first place, right?) We’ll make an effort to spread out where we place our trashbags, while leaving room for people who are actually using the sidewalk trashcans to put their trash in too. We don’t want to cause an overflow which results in more litter. Worst case scenario I can take a couple bags back to the dumpster at my place. I don’t anticipate having a completely unmanageable amount collected.

Fun: For people who feel social, lunch at Potbelly/Five Guys/etc. afterward isn’t out of the question!

Rain Notice: Currently, there is a 30% chance of isolated showers on Sunday. Look out your window at 11:30 am. If it’s raining, it’s cancelled!”

Eat More Salad Flyer

“Participating schools: Eastern High School, H.D. Woodson High School, Ellington School of the Arts, Ballou High School, Columbia Heights Education Campus, Wilson High School, Phelps Architecture, Construction & Engineering High School, Banneker High School, Coolidge High School, and McKinley Tech High School.”

“Dear PoP,

Thanks to everyone who came out to help with the Bruce Monroe Community Garden last weekend, we managed to get about 8 beds built and a few filled with soil. We still need additional volunteers to help move dirt on Saturday, from 9-12noon, if anyone is around and willing to help! We need to get more dirt out of the way before we can continue building plots.”

Bruce Monroe Park Community Garden is located at Georgia Avenue at Columbia Rd., N.W. (behind tennis court). Another reader sends some more photos of the progress.

From an email:

Meridian Hill Neighborhood Association
3rd Annual Spring Cleanup & Curry

Sunday April 10
Cleanup 10:00-1:00; Curry 12:00-1:00

Come meet your neighbors to clean up the block. We will meet on the south side of the 1400 block of Florida Ave, NW at 10AM. After the clean up, please join us for lunch. Meat and vegetarian-based curries, and lassipops will be provided by our friends at Fojol Bros.

For more information email President@meridianhilldc.gov

MHNA is a nonprofit neighborhood association dedicated to improving our community by strengthening relationships between neighbors, businesses, developers, schools, churches, local government and other neighborhood groups. Please visit our website at www.MeridianHillDC.org to learn more about the exciting things going on with MHNA.

Photo by PoPville flickr user elliotmitchell

“Dear PoP,

I came across this great website, which is promoting the idea that should the federal government shut down, some of us Federal workers who will be furloughed, may want to step up to serve our local communities as volunteers.”

Pretty cool. Their Web site says:

“If the federal government shuts down, thousands of passionate public servants will be kept from their full-time jobs. But that doesn’t mean they can no longer serve. In the event of a shutdown, we commit to volunteering with non-profit organizations throughout the DC area to make a positive impact on our community.”

Shutdown Startup Background

You can find volunteer opportunities here.

“Dear PoP,

On April 16, Greater DC Cares will mobilize thousands of volunteers at more than a hundred school and nonprofit sites for Servathon, an annual day of community service, to celebrate the culmination of National Volunteer Week. Volunteers will paint, tutor, landscape, clean, and much more, to spring into action (this spring!) and get involved in service—learning more about the city’s neighborhoods to inspire continued participation in the community.

Service projects last from 9:30 to 1:30 PM, followed by an afterparty at three bars in Dupont Circle featuring food and drink specials, and live music from Washington City Paper’s Best-Of 2011 local band pick—White Ford Bronco!

Register to volunteer with us on Saturday, April 16! When you register to volunteer at www.greaterdccares.org, you can select your project and get excited to make a difference this April. Registration closes April 11.

**Adult registration is $25, youth $15, to cover the costs of site supplies and logistics**”

Photo by PoPville flickr user JosephLeonardo

And finally a Bloomingdale Spring Cleanup:

“Dear PoP,

Join the Bloomingdale Civic Association and the Alice Ferguson Foundation on Saturday, April 9th, 2011 from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM for our annual Spring Cleanup.

Our Spring Cleanup will include trash pickup, tree box maintenance and plantings, and several minor streetscape improvements throughout the neighborhood. We will be meeting at the park at the Northeast corner of 1st and T Streets, NW at 10:00 AM. Light refreshments will be served by Big Bear Cafe and Rustik Tavern. Tools and trash bags will be supplied. “

From an email:

Monday, January 17, 2011
9:00 a.m. to 12: p.m.
North Portal Drive, NW and East Beach Drive, NW
(Across the street from 1775 North Portal Drive, NW)

Come join neighbors, friends, and the Friends of Rock Creek’s Environment (FORCE) as we celebrate the memory of Martin Luther King, Jr., by removing invasive English Ivy (as well as debris and trash) from the parklands surrounding the Fenwick and Portal/Blair tributaries to Rock Creek.

English Ivy is a nonnative, invasive plant that strangles and kills trees. It is one of the few plants that the deer do not eat. Since no other animal or plant competes with English Ivy we have to remove it ourselves.

FORCE has lined up several experienced “weed warriors” to train you on identifying English Ivy and properly removing it from living trees. NPS Naturalist Ken Ferebee will bring all of the necessary tools and FORCE will provide bags. Bring your gloves.

I often get asked for good volunteer opportunities around Martin Luther King Day. This seems like a great one. From an email:

Lifting Voices is a nonprofit, grassroots organization which helps young people discover and share their voices in order to grow, find joy, and accomplish change. Please visit our website, watch a mini-documentary about us, or take a moment to look over what our kids create.

We are on the hunt for passionate volunteers to co-lead our writing workshops with a staff member.

Writing Workshop Teachers serve with Lifting Voices to share their passion. Volunteers help kids in under-served neighborhoods find the excitement in thinking and words. Volunteers nurture and grow relationships with young writers.

Our volunteer teachers say that working with young people in our service community recharges them for the week, and gives them a renewed sense of purpose.

Volunteers co-lead workshops once per week alongside a Lifting Voices staff member. Workshops take place Monday through Thursday — there are hourly sessions at 4pm, 5pm & 7pm, as well as a Saturday morning. Volunteers’ schedule can be adjusted to suit their needs, but a steady weekly commitment is required once a schedule is established. All workshops take place in under-served neighborhoods.

For more information or to apply for a volunteer position, please email info@liftingvoices.org.

Photo by PoPville flickr user nairdaecartal

“Dear PoP,

I am the Volunteer Coordinator for the DC EITC Campaign, which provides free tax preparation in DC to help low-income residents and families move up the financial ladder. We have 6 sites around the city, from Anacostia to Columbia Heights.

We are looking for volunteers who would be willing to help prepare taxes and talk about free financial services (like credit counseling and money management classes) for the upcoming tax season, as well as anyone who could interpret for Spanish, Chinese and Amharic-speaking clients. Your blog’s readers are exactly the people who would make great volunteers: people who care about the community they live in and are interested in making changes for the better.

Volunteers will receive free training and certification on Saturdays and/or weekday evenings in January: 12 total hours for Tax Preparers, and 4 hours for Savings Promoters.

Volunteers then commit to one 3-4 hour session per week (primarily evenings and/or weekends) from late January through mid-April (10 weeks) at one of 11 tax sites throughout the Greater Washington, DC area (6 sites in DC proper).

For more information, visit the Campaign’s website here.”

Photo of Pony Express festival volunteers courtesy of Postal Museum

“Dear PoP,

I’m recruiting volunteers to help out at workshops, family festivals, lectures, and other programs, and have noticed a lot of applications from Maryland and Virginia, but not many coming from DC. In the hopes of representing the neighborhoods that actually surround the museum, I was wondering if you’d let your readers know about the volunteer opportunity in some capacity?

Volunteers should have friendly smiles, strong communication skills, and a passion for learning and teaching. Saturday availability is required. A one-year commitment is required.

New volunteers will attend Volunteer Orientation on Saturday, January 15th and Saturday, January 22nd, apply for an ID badge and undergo a background check. From the airmail festival in February to the Holiday Card Workshop in December, there are plenty of opportunities to get involved!

If interested, e-mail Erin at NPMprograms@si.edu and include the following information:

1. Your name and contact information
2. Two references and their contact information
3. Availability (note: Saturday availability required)
4. Two reasons why this opportunity interests you
5. An example of why you think you will be a great Postal Museum volunteer at festivals, workshops, and other educational programs”

Photo by PoPville flickr user Mr. T in DC

From an email:

“There are currently 1.4 million active duty service members, and tens of thousands of will find themselves away from home during this holiday season,” said Sherri Brown, senior vice president of Service to the Armed Forces at the American Red Cross. “Through Holiday Mail for Heroes, Americans can help send a touch of home to our men and women in uniform, their families and many of our nation’s 24 million veterans.”

To participate in the campaign, the public can send holiday cards with personal messages to:

Holiday Mail for Heroes
P.O. Box 5456
Capitol Heights, MD 20791-5456

Cards must be postmarked no later than December 10. Please be sure to affix adequate postage. For reasons of processing and safety, participants are asked to refrain from sending “care packages” or monetary gifts; using glitter; or including any inserts with the cards.

The public can also support military members, veterans and their families this year by making an online donation at www.redcross.org. Donors can add a personal message to one of four holiday cards designed by Amy Grant, Jane Seymour, Miley Cyrus and Dr. Phil McGraw, members of the American Red Cross National Celebrity Cabinet. The Red Cross will then send the printed holiday card to a military member, veteran or family.

From a press release:

Lincoln Congregational Temple UCC
1701 11th Street NW,

www.lincolntemple.org

Lincoln Congregational Temple UCC, a historic 141 year old church in the Shaw
neighborhood of Washington DC will hold a World AIDS Day service on Sunday,
November 28, 2010 starting at 10:30 AM. This special service will feature guest
preacher Rev. Dyan Abena McCray, pastor of Unity Fellowship Church in
Washington DC. We will commemorate the losses to our society from AIDS and lift
up the courageous men and women affected by and living with HIV/AIDS. The
service will include special musical performances and a candle lighting ceremony. A
collection of nonperishable food is being taken to support Damien Ministries.

“Dear PoP,

Every Thanksgiving for over 30 years the residents of the 17th and 18th blocks on Swann Street have fed the homeless, shut-ins and others who are without plans for Thanksgiving. For the last five years a clothing drive has been added. It will take place this year in front of Rosemary’s Thyme at the corner of 18th and S Streets, NW.

Volunteers willing to make a dish for the meal are needed. Rosemary’s Thyme graciously donates the turkeys and Swann Street provide the hams and paper goods. They also make dressing, green beans, gravy and soup. Wagshal’s Delicatessen supplies pies.

The group anticipates feeding up to 250 people this year. Caroline Mindel says they always run out of beans, sweet and mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, apple sauce and macaroni and cheese. They would welcome any item people would like to make.

The food can be delivered to 1760 Swann Street, NW until 11 am and to Rosemary’s Thyme after 11 am. They serve from 11:30 am until 1 pm. Please contact Caroline Mindel at 202-232-4653 if you know of someone who is in need of a meal. They can make arrangements to deliver it if necessary.

The Thanksgiving meal was begun by Ruth Long, veteran Dupont Circle activist and ANC member, and is continued in her memory by her husband Isaac Long and Caroline, both DCV members.

Winter clothing is collected between 10-12 and distributed at RT.”