Want To Help?
You can help us put an end to hunger and homelessness in the DC Metropolitan community simply by CAREing (Contribute, Advocate, Reach out, and Educate). For additional ways to CARE, please visit the National Coalition for the homeless website.
Contribute
While the concern and support demonstrated by volunteer work and advocacy are essential, material assistance is also a necessity. Donate today! Needed items and services include, but are not limited to:
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Monetary Donations to further iCare's programs and services
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Food (Please refer to iCare's Grocery List as it helps us remain amply supplied with these food staples to prepare hot delicious, nutritious meals for recipients and volunteers of our programs and services.)
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In-Kind Services and Materials (printing services, marketing assistance, computer equipment and assistance, office space, food storage (freezers, refrigeration, shelving), food truck(s), and professional services (program development, event planning, fundraising, and graphic design)
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Homeless "Survival Kits" (towels, toiletries, cosmetics, diapers, socks, blankets, coats, hats, gloves, scarves; etc.)
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Clothing and Shoes (please clean clothes before donating them)
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Job Opportunities (Encourage your company, school, or place of worship to hire people experiencing homelessness. Most unemployed homeless adults desperately want to work, but need an employer to give them a chance.)
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Smile (Whether or not you choose to give change, please don’t look away from homeless people as if they do not exist. Making eye contact, saying a few words, or smiling can reaffirm the humanity of a person at a time when poverty, hunger and homelessness seems to have stripped it away.)
Advocate
Advocacy means working with people experiencing hunger, poverty and homelessness to bring about positive changes in policies and programs on the local, state, and federal levels. It also means changing your language and behaviors in small ways that may contribute to larger changes in the way people experiencing poverty, hunger and homelessness are seen and treated in our society. Here are some ways you might help us advocate:
iCare is committed to staying on the pulse of changes and issues relating to poverty, hunger and homelessness. Some of the ways you can help us be effective community advocates are:
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Get involved with us by volunteering, sponsoring a program or event or making a financial contribution to further our work.
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Volunteer for Our National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week Activities (see the Events page for more information)
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Help us Respond to Legislative Alerts (These alerts give the most up-to-date information about what is happening in Congress affecting homelessness and poverty on a national level, and what we can do about it.)
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Help Us Register People Experiencing Homelessness to Vote (The “You Don’t Need A Home to Vote” nonpartisan voter registration/education/get-out-the-vote campaign occurs nationwide each election cycle. Contact us for information on our scheduled voter registration drives.)
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Become More Aware of Your Language (Try to minimize language in your own and others’ vocabularies that refers to people experiencing homelessness in derogatory ways. By using expressions such as “people experiencing homelessness” rather than labels such as “bum,” “transient,” or even “the homeless,” we remind ourselves that people who are in such situations are still people first—just people who are going through a difficult period in their lives. In a time when they may find it difficult to hold onto their sense of humanity, it is particularly important that we do not use language that further diminishes the dignity of people in homeless situations.)
Reach Out
Reaching out by volunteering your time to work directly with people experiencing hunger, poverty and homelessness is one of the best ways to learn about these rapidly growing problems and help to meet immediate needs at the same time. Please consider volunteering with us as we reach out to the DC Metropolitan community via the following programs and services:
Please refer to the PROGRAMS page for more information about how you can assist us. Also, please feel free to provide us with your contact information on our Volunteer page so we can get to know what capacity your interests and abilities are.
Educate
Learn about the root causes of hunger, poverty and homelessness and teach others. National Coalition for the Homeless maintains updated Facts Sheets on many aspects of homelessness including causes, numbers, and special issues (a few of those Facts Sheets can be accessed from the links below). Also, DC Hunger Solutions maintains facts on hunger in DC. Read the Fact Sheets to familiarize yourself with the latest information, and then share what you learn with your community—your place of worship, school, colleagues, friends, neighbors, media, and elected officials. Be sure to follow us on Facebook and Twitter and repost to spread awareness!
HUNGER FACTS SHEETS
Household Food Insecurity in the United States (USDA Full Report 2011)
Ending Childhood Hunger by 2015 - Essential Strategies for Achieving the President's Goal
HOMELESSNESS - BASIC FACTS
How Many People Experience Homelessness?
HOMELESSNESS ISSUES
Mental Illness and Homelessness
Education of Homeless Children and Youth
Hate Crimes and Violence Against People Experiencing Homelessness
Homelessness Among Elderly People