Restoring Haiti…Restoring Lives!

Totally Committed Community Outreach Center would like to announce our Restoring Haiti…Restoring Lives! benefit dinner hosted by Angela Bryant-Brown on May 19, 2012 at 8:00 PM at the Seabrook SDA Church , 8900 Good Luck Rd, Lanham, MD 20706.

TCCOC will host a fundraiser dinner to benefit our planned summer 2012 mission to Haiti as part of the continuing earthquake relief efforts. Join us for an exciting evening of Haitian food, music and entertainment while learning about the rebuilding of Haiti.

Other sponsors for the night’s festivities include:

  • Chantal Beauty Concepts
  • Serenity Health Spa
  • By Your Side Ministries

Ticket for the event are $40 in advance and $45 at the door.

For more information, please contact Chantal at (240)605-9027.

Working-age adults make up record share of US poor

Working-age adults make up record share of US poor – WTOP

By HOPE YEN
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) – Working-age America is the new face of poverty.

Counting adults 18-64 who were laid off in the recent recession as well as single twenty-somethings still looking for jobs, the new working-age poor represent nearly 3 out of 5 poor people _ a switch from the early 1970s when children made up the main impoverished group.

While much of the shift in poverty is due to demographic changes _ Americans are having fewer children than before _ the now-weakened economy and limited government safety net for workers are heightening the effect.

Currently, the ranks of the working-age poor are at the highest level since the 1960s when the war on poverty was launched. When new census figures for 2010 are released next week, analysts expect a continued increase in the overall poverty rate due to persistently high unemployment last year.

If that holds true, it will mark the fourth year in a row of increases in the U.S. poverty rate, which now stands at 14.3 percent, or 43.6 million people.

“There is a lot of discussion about what the aging of the baby boom should mean for spending on Social Security and Medicare. But there is not much discussion about how the wages of workers, especially those with no more than a high school degree, are not rising,” said Sheldon Danziger, a University of Michigan public policy professor who specializes in poverty.

Census numbers show that out of 8.8 million families who are currently poor, about 60 percent had at least one person who was working.

“The reality is there are going to be a lot of working poor for the foreseeable future,” Danziger said, citing high unemployment and congressional resistance to raising the minimum wage.

Continue reading at

http://www.wtop.com/?nid=289&sid=2531257

Donation Will Keep Capitol Area Food Bank Produce Free: DCist

Donation Will Keep Capitol Area Food Bank Produce Free: DCist
Good news: philanthropist William E. Conway Jr. donated $1 million to the Capitol Area Food Bankyesterday, ensuring that the metro region’s main provider of food for the poor would not have to start charging its clients for produce.In June, the Bank, which supplies food to more than 700 food banks and pantries around the region, announced that it would have to begin a 10 cents per pound surcharge for fruits and vegetables due to budgetary constraints. The Post reports that Conway apparently saw the news and figured that another million dollars — on top of a five million dollar donation he gave the Bank last fall — was necessary:

“I had fresh produce last night with dinner. I had blueberries this morning with my cereal. It’s a luxury for some people,” Conway said in a phone interview. “I wanted to try to help.”[…]

“I thought, if I’m going to try to solve one problem, we ought to really be working to try to solve another problem, too,” said Conway, who ranks 182nd on the Forbes 400 list of America’s richest people, with a net worth of more than $2 billion.

Brantley said Conway’s donation will reimburse clients for any charges since the fee took effect at the beginning of this month and will buy the food bank another year to find a long-term solution, which may include new sources of funding and food.

If you feel inspired by Conway’s generosity, you can donate to the Bank here, or save them some staffing costs by volunteering your time.

Contact the author of this article or email tips@dcist.com with further questions, comments or tips.
Good news: philanthropist William E. Conway Jr. donated $1 million to the Capitol Area Food Bankyesterday, ensuring that the metro region’s main provider of food for the poor would not have to start charging its clients for produce.In June, the Bank, which supplies food to more than 700 food banks and pantries around the region, announcedthat it would have to begin a 10 cents per pound surcharge for fruits and vegetables due to budgetary constraints. The Post reports that Conway apparently saw the news and figured that another million dollars — on top of a five million dollar donation he gave the Bank last fall — was necessary:

“I had fresh produce last night with dinner. I had blueberries this morning with my cereal. It’s a luxury for some people,” Conway said in a phone interview. “I wanted to try to help.”[…]

“I thought, if I’m going to try to solve one problem, we ought to really be working to try to solve another problem, too,” said Conway, who ranks 182nd on the Forbes 400 list of America’s richest people, with a net worth of more than $2 billion.

Brantley said Conway’s donation will reimburse clients for any charges since the fee took effect at the beginning of this month and will buy the food bank another year to find a long-term solution, which may include new sources of funding and food.

If you feel inspired by Conway’s generosity, you can donate to the Bank here, or save them some staffing costs by volunteering your time.

Contact the author of this article or email tips@dcist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

D.C. Central Kitchen Seeking Donations for Second Kitchen: DCist

D.C. Central Kitchen Seeking Donations for Second Kitchen: DCist.

D.C. Central Kitchen is raising funds to expand their programming with a second kitchen, known as the Nutrition Lab, which is set to open in late August. Donations made before August 20 will be matched up to $25,000 by the Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation — and the Kitchen is less than $1,000 away from their goal.

For those unfamiliar with the organization, DCCK “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.” The Nutrition Lab will give them more space for their culinary job training program, which utilizes local food to feed the homeless, and cater for schools, and low-income senior citizens.
Contact the author of this article or email tips@dcist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

TCCOC Anniversary Picnic BBQ

 

A cooked hot dog garnished with mustard.
Image via Wikipedia

TCCOC would like to invite you to our anniversary picnic BBQ. There will be a selection of grilled meats including burgers, hot dogs, and chicken, served with sides like pasta and potatoe salad.

Here are the event particulars:
When: Saturday, July 23, 2011 from 11am until 3pm
Where: Noyes Park, Washington, D.C.

If you are interested in helping with the day’s events, or with the center in general, please contact Larry Hill or Lesley Reynolds. You can also contact us at (703) 472-0012.

Produce For People | Capital Area Food Bank

 

Just getting the word out…

The CAFB is making a renewed commitment to provide fresh, nutritious produce to members of our community who are experiencing hunger – many for the first time.

We are issuing an urgent appeal for your support to help us increase the amount of fresh produce we distribute to our more than 700 partner agencies.

The goal of our campaign – Produce for People — is to distribute 30 million pounds of food, including 15 million pounds of fresh produce, by June 30th. We have six million pounds to go and we need your support to reach that goal.

Why is the need so critical? Since 2006, hunger in the Washington metro area has increased by 25 percent and with the current rise in food prices, it’s only getting worse. With 1 in 5 children in the metro area struggling with hunger and with so many families having to choose between paying the mortgage, health care, or paying for utilities, it is imperative that we do more to nourish our community.

via Produce For People | Capital Area Food Bank.

Homelessness increases in D.C. area – The Washington Post

No surprise here. Please spread the word that if people need help or food they can come to the TCCOC. We have a food distribution service this Saturday at our DC location from 9 AM to noon.

The number of homeless families in the Washington region rose nearly 10 percent during the economic downturn, according to data released Wednesday as part of the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments’ annual survey of the homeless.

via Homelessness increases in D.C. area – The Washington Post.

Social Networking and Non-profits

Part of being a nonprofit is networking and reaching out to the community to ask for help.  Today that means more that just having a bake sale or a spaghetti dinner or raffling off a prize.  Those things are still important, it gives the charity an opportunity to directly interact with their supporters; however, today the use of social media is just as important.  The Internet has given nonprofits an endless stream of supporter and partners.

Today I decided that I would do some general upkeep on our Twitter account (@TCCOC) and I thought it would be a good idea to find and follow some like minded organizations.  It really is impressive… the number/diversity of the nonprofit organizations that you can interact with is really astonishing. From clean water projects (@charitywater, @TheWaterProject), AIDS (@GreaterThanAIDS, @AIDSgov), environmental causes(@nature_org, @RainforestUS) , to disaster relief (@SalvationArmyUS, @RedCross) sites like Twitter have really helped nonprofits connect with supporters and partners.

While all these causes are more than worthy of your time and donations, the TCCOC would like to highlight the following organizations.  These are, for the most part, based in the Washington, D.C. area, or they are the national partners of charity organizations that work in D.C.

Fair Chance DC

http://www.fairchancedc.org

@FairChanceDC

Fair Chance provides capacity building services to community based nonprofits in Wards 5-8 to give every child in DC the Fair Chance to Succeed.

TCCOC Blog Picts

DC FoodForAll

http://dcfoodforall.com

@DCFoodForAll

Eaters and advocates, growers and wonks, working to bring healthy, sustainable and affordable food to all.

SOME-Facebook-Logo

So Others Might Eat

http://www.some.org

@SOME_DC

SOME (So Others Might Eat) is an interfaith, community-based organization that exists to help the poor and homeless of our nation’s capital

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DC Central Kitchen

http://www.dccentralkitchen.org

@dcck

DC Nonprofit that uses food as a tool for community empowerment

CAFBlogowithfood_fortwitter

Capital Area Food Bank

http://www.capitalareafoodbank.org

@foodbankmetrodc

We feed people at risk of hunger

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Feeding America

http://www.feedingamerica.org

@FeedingAmerica

Feeding America is the nation’s leading domestic hunger-relief charity helping more than 37 million Americans each year.

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Fredericksburg Area Food Bank

http://www.fredfood.org

@FredFoodVA

More than 7,000 people are receiving food assistance each month through our network of non-profit, faith-based, and community food assistance organizations.