We all arrived safely to Washington D.C. late on Saturday night and were greeted by Lee Ellen and her daughter Amelia. We ate at a terrific restaurant called Thai-Tanic. After eating, we were exhausted from a full day of traveling and headed back to the Steinbruck Center to get some much needed rest. As I was falling asleep I was filled with anticipation and excitement for all of the wonderful things we will be experiencing through this cultural immersion.
Sunday was our first full day in Washington D.C. That morning we walked down 14th street to a soup kitchen called Martha's Table. It is a non-profit, tax-exempt organization that feeds over 1200 homeless and hungry people in many locations throughout Washington D.C. Their mission is to "help at-risk children, youth, families and individuals in our community. Improve their lives by providing educational programs, food, clothing, and enrichment opportunities." It was such a wonderful opportunity to be a part of their honorable mission. We arrived at Martha's Table early and I was struck by how kind the citizens of the community were as we waited outside. They talked with us and ensured us that Martha's Table will be opening soon. Maybe we looked like real tourists, walking around aimlessly (haha) but they were so willing to reach out to others. This was a great start as we began to interact with the community.
Martha's Table was such a neat experience. The Obama family volunteered there last November. It was fun to hear that we were at the same place that the president was! With a lot of excitement we washed our hands, put on our gloves, hairnets and aprons. We were ready to be immersed within this experience! We bagged several bakery items and placed them into specific bins for the other volunteers to distribute throughout the community. We prepared salads and cut up potatoes as well. It was such a rewarding feeling to know that someone who is in need of food will eat because of this wonderful organization.
Later that afternoon we took a tour of the N. Street Village which provides a variety of services such as housing, food and clothing to homeless and low income women. They offer services to 800 women which would account for 1/3 of the total number of homeless women in Washington D.C. Syndi who is the community outreach coordinator explained that their main focus is respect. This is why they only accept new donations and not old or used. It was nice to hear that these women are treated no different than anyone else. Through respect their goal is to provide these women with the right tools towards a more stable lifestyle.
Their mission states, "N Street Village empowers homeless and low-income women to claim their highest quality of life by offering a broad spectrum of services and advocacy in an atmosphere of dignity and respect. The Village also provides affordable rental housing for low and moderate-income individuals and families."
For more information regarding Martha's Table visit: www.marthastable.org
For more information regarding N. Street Village visit: www.nstreetvillage.org
We also fit in some time do some site seeing. Here a couple of pictures:
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