DC Central Kitchen

There are a number of REALLY GREAT organizations here in the DC area that are doing work to address hunger issues.  Today I want to talk about DC Central Kitchen.

DC Central Kitchen puts into practice the saying "Give a man a fish, he eats for a day; teach a man to fish, he eats for a lifetime."  One of their signature programs is the Culinary Job Training program that helps homeless, unemployed, underemployed, and previously incarcerated individuals learn both the "hard" and "soft" skills that are needed to work in a commercial kitchen.  Graduates of the program are also assisted in finding a job, so that their new skills are not wasted.

And this is only one of their programs.  They have their own in-house catering company that employs graduates of the Culinary Job Training program, they participate with DC colleges in the Campus Kitchens project, they have a food recycling program, and utilize efficiencies to distribute meals to other local social services organizations at a lower cost than if those organizations had to prepare the meals on their own.

AND...

Their annual fundraiser is coming up, with discount tickets on sale through Friday.  Here is the email that I got this morning:

60 Restaurants, 5 Battling Chefs, 
ONE Fight Against Hunger

The Capital Food Fight is less than 6 weeks away!
On Wednesday, November 11, you can sample food and beverage from 60 of DC's best restaurants, watch live battles between 5 of the area’s hottest chefs, and see national food celebrities hosting the event.
The early discount ends Friday, so act now to save $25 on your tickets: http://capitalfoodfight2009.eventbrite.com/

AND--as if you needed any more reason--it's all for a great cause. The event has raised over 1 MILLION dollars for our efforts to combat hunger and create opportunity.
See you there!

Chairman & Host Jose Andres Chef/Owner, ThinkFoodGroup and Host of PBS-TV's Made In Spain Co-Chair Ted Leonsis Majority Owner of the Washington Capitals Co-Host Anthony Bourdain Author and Host of Travel Channel's No Reservations Honorary Co-Chairs Sen. John Kerry Sen. Frank Lautenberg Rep. Jo Ann Emerson Rep. James McGovern

Battling Chefs Mike Isabella Michael Mina Tracy O'Brady Barton Seaver Bryan Voltaggio Judges Ted Allen Host of Food Networks's Chopped Eric Ripert Executive Chef, Le Bernardin Carla Hall Top Chef Finalist and Owner of Alchemy Caterers

Wednesday, November 11 @ 6:00pm Ronald Reagan Building Pennsylvania Avenue & 14th Street NW, Washington, DC 20004

A Break for Some Local Requests

I haven't quite figured out yet how to publicize the "one-off" events that are worthy of mention but don't fit in the month's theme.  So with that disclaimer, a few local requests:

1. Miriam's Kitchen is looking for mugs.  Have any extra you can spare? 

2. DC WEAVE (Women Empowered Against Violence) is in a push to prevent needing to close at the end of the fiscal year--in just one week.  The subject of fundraising in a recession, earmarks, and the like is for another post.  For now, I will leave it at this: WEAVE serves a vital role in the DC community and is one of the best-known domestic violence support and advocacy agencies here.  Furthermore, this very direct push to raise $85,000 is impressively responsible.  Nervous that you'll donate and they'll have to shut their doors anyway?  Save WEAVE pledges to return all donations if the $85,000 goal isn't reached.  At the moment that I'm typing this, they are at $74,832.  I am going to donate $18.  Will you join me?

Books for America, part 3

I'm typing this post while listening to the Overture from the musical Annie.  What does this have to do with Books for America?  I'll tell you:

I went to Books for America this afternoon to look for a book on knitting.  I've been window-shopping for a book with good patterns but reluctant to spend $20-$25 when I'm unemployed and any project in the book is going to require paying for materials.  They had a few options--not the book I saw on Tuesday that I really wanted, but beggars can't be choosers!--and as I was paying and arranging for them to come pick up the donations from the book drive in my apartment building, lo and behold the Annie cast recording! 

Anyway, Annie has always been one of my favorite musicals (though the scene in the movie where Annie climbs the railroad bridge while being chased by Rooster still makes me nervous) and it's great to be able to listen to it while blogging and knitting.

So all in all, a good day at Books for America.  $7 for 16 sweater patterns and a favorite CD.  Check it out yourself if you're in DC!

Reminder: Is Reading Really Fundamental?

Remember to RSVP today for the D.C. Public Library's "Is Reading Really Fundamental?" to be held on September 29.   For more information, see my earlier post.

DC LEARNs

In DC we  have an adult literacy problem, but we also have tremendous resources to address the problem.DC LEARNs helps adult learners who are looking for literacy classes by serving as a clearinghouse, a single source of information about local programs.  They also provide resources to literacy providers.  Their website isn't the best (I'm not here to criticize, but if you go to their site and have complaints, please don't come back to me and say "hey Reb, why'd you highlight this organization that...?") but they provide a very. important. service.  

I recommend that you check out their site, see what they do, and support them, a member program, or a similar clearinghouse or consortium where you live--in whatever capacity you are comfortable with.

More Facts about Literacy

Most people involved in DC policy and advocacy know Susie Cambria (link is to her Twitter profile).  I will say on a personal note that I admire Susie and want to be her when I grow up.

Susie has a local-focus budget and policy blog.  This morning, she posted some facts about literacy in the DC area: Poor literacy affects 1 in 5 DC residents. You should definitely hop over and read the post; she links to a video of a C-Span segment (disclosure: I have not watched the video myself yet) and other information about literacy.

The title of her post comes from the the statistic that 1 in 5 adult residents of DC lack basic prose literacy skills.  As an aside, I am glad that poetry literacy is not included in "basic literacy," or I would have to be considered illiterate, much to the dismay of my aunt. However, in all seriousness, Susie's title understates the effect of poor literacy skills.  Poor literacy affects not just the adult, but the members of his or her family.  A parent with poor literacy is unable to help his or her child with homework, to read to the child, even perhaps to budget or read a cookbook to make healthy meals.  A parent with poor literacy is likely to be unemployed or underemployed, with the family living in poverty.  All these affect the children in the home, other family members who might need to take the children--or the entire family--in, and the community as a whole.

So while 1 in 5 adult residents may have poor literacy skills, poor literacy affects us all.

 

Literacy Volunteer Opportunity

The District of Columbia Public Library is seeking volunteers for its upcoming book sale.  Volunteers are needed to help set up (September 5, 7-10) and to help during the sale (September 11-12).  The web site indicates that it is necessary to apply if you are interested in volunteering.

 

Washington Literacy Council

My friend Drew recommended that I highlight Washington Literacy Council in this space.  Drew used to serve as their general counsel, and other friends of mine have volunteered as tutors through WLC.  

Washington Literacy Council offers a variety of programs for adult learners, each based on research and best practices.  Tutors receive training before being paired with students.  The WLC is expanding its outreach to young adults age 18-30 in order to have secondary impact on their children's school achievement.  And what strikes me the most is their Family Literacy Workshops.  These workshops help parents, many of whom did not have a strong background of reading at home with their own parents, to know how to build their children's early reading skills.  The workshops meet at schools with parents and their children to learn techniques and read together.  

If you'd like to contribute to the Washington Literacy Council to support the Family Literacy Workshops and other programs, you can do so here.

Book Drive, part 2

Exciting news, here in Book Drive land.  Yesterday evening when I got home from work, I was pleased (and, to be honest, a little bit surprised) to find that there were already donations in the book drive box.  But today when I got home--the box was FULL and there was an entire other box of videos.  Wow.  Books for America will be quite pleased.

If you know where I live, feel free to stop by with contributions. 

Is Reading Really Fundamental? September 29

(UPDATED: Note that I am aware that there are weird font things going on here. I'll try to fix it and avoid similar issues in the future.)


From Ben Merrion at the District of Columbia Public Library: 

The Adult Literacy Resource Center at the DC Public Library in partnership with DC LEARNs will be hosting an FYI on Adult Literacy: “Is Reading Really Fundamental? How Adult Literacy Is Related to Different Social Issues” on Tuesday, September 29, 2009 from 6:30 - 8:30 pm at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Library, 901 G Street, NW  in the Great Hall.  Find out how adult literacy is connected to issues such as unemployment, poverty and health care.

Become engaged: interact with adult learners, providers and advocates; find out how adult literacy matters to you and DC; volunteer for an adult literacy program; and connect to the adult literacy blog. The featured speaker will be Talmadge Guy, author of Providing Culturally Relevant Adult Education: A Challenge for the Twenty-First Century.  

Please RSVP by September 20:  You can email: benjamin.merrion@dc.gov or call (202) 727-2431. You can also sign up on Idealist or Facebook.

Book Drive

I very well might have the best landlord (well, building manager) on the planet.  Really.  Granted, I have some strange landlords to compare him to: the elderly man who lived below me my first year of law school who reasonably required us to be quiet after 10 pm who nevertheless banged on the ceiling with a broomstick one Sunday afternoon at 4; the bizarre man who lived above me my second year of law school who insisted on renovating our one bathroom while there were three of us living in the apartment (and took away the 3rd floor residents' parking space and laundry access in retaliation for refusing to all him to renovate their bathroom--we at least successfully withheld rent for the 23 days we didn't have a shower); and others.

But my current landlord has been more than gracious with making substantial repairs to my unit as a result of various inspections required as part of the process of being licensed as a foster parent (more to come on that issue when I highlight Child Welfare as a monthly cause). 

And despite the trouble I have therefore subjected him to, he still likes me.

What's the point?  I emailed him to ask if I could hold a book drive in our building.  His response warmed my heart: "YES YES YES! VERY COOL! When?"  He is printing notices to put in each unit's mailbox; I will provide a box.

The books will be donated to Books for America.  If you know me personally and would like to drop off a contribution, you should feel free to do so.

Books for America

I buy my books at Books for America, a used book store in my neighborhood.  Books for America collects used books and then re-sells them, with the proceeds going to literacy efforts.  Any children's books that they receive are donated directly to libraries, schools, and after-school programs serving low-income kids. Other books are donated to adult programs, such as shelters, adult education programs, and prisons.

I hope that by the end of my month (and a half) highlighting literacy, Books for America will be your favorite bookstore.  This post is just a teaser for better posts to come.

How to support Books for America:

• When shopping at amazon.com, enter through the Books for America site.  Books for America will receive up to 15% of your purchase.
• Donate books at their store (22nd and P Streets, NW, in Washington) or warehouse (in Fairfax).
• Host a book drive at your office.

Do you have a story to share about the friendly folks or great selection at Books for America?  Leave it in the comments.