December Holidays, Action and Fun

The Homeless Children's Playtime Project

December 3, 2010

Dear Friend of Playtime,

As the holidays quickly approach, Playtime families and volunteers are reminded of all that we are thankful for and have to celebrate. Over Thanksgiving, volunteers discussed what children were grateful for and welcomed families into the playroom for festivities! At Park Road, a "Harvest Festival" thrown by families from Adas Israel Congregation included a yoga station, food, face painting and fun arts and crafts. NCFN volunteers held a Thanksgiving feast complete with turkey, mashed pototos and stuffing. The kids loved making this turkey snack sculpture out of healthy snack foods! snack turkey

As December descends, volunteers are busy gathering gifts and planning holiday parties, as well as preparing for the growing number of families seeking shelter from the cold. The needs of families in our community are growing, and there are many ways that you can get involved and help this season. Here are two big things you can do TODAY!

1) Tell your Councilmember that you are concerned about the 2011 budget cuts. As a Playtime supporter, we must speak out to protect the needs of vulnerable families and children in the District. It is URGENT that you email or call city leaders this weekend before the vote on Tuesday. See the article below for more information!

2) Give the Gift of Play! What better gift for a loved one than helping to bring JOY to children living in shelters? If you notify us of your donation by December 15, we will send your special someone a beautiful card to announce your gift!

Now we prepare to have holiday parties in each of our sites complete with individual gifts that parents can give each child and gifts children can make or give their parents. We look forward to making this month extra special at Playtime!

Walkathon Team Reaches New Goal - Congratulations!

WE DID IT! Thanks to you, the Playtime Project walkathon team had a total of 315 walkers which will earn us a $5,000 bonus from the Fannie Mae Foundation on top of the money you already raised. This is twice the number of walkers we have ever had before, and you made it happen! This is going to make an immediate difference in our ability to expand to the DASH domestic violence program this month where the children who just moved in are waiting for Playtime to help make them feel at home. Thank you so much for all of your outreach that helped us reach our goal!

TELL THE D.C. COUNCIL TO STOP CUTS THAT WILL HURT OUR KIDS

Next Tuesday, Dec. 7, the D.C. Council will vote on how to make up the District of Columbia's $188 million budget shortfall for this current fiscal year. The mayor's proposal calls for balancing the budget by cutting job training, cash assistance to poor families with children, poor residents with disabilities, and to grandparents caring for grandchildren. It would also cut funding for housing assistance, child care, and energy assistance. Many grassroots and advocacy organizations are calling on the D.C. Council to avoid some of these cuts by enacting a 1 percent tax increase on those earning more than $200,000.

Email the councilmembers a short, personal message by Monday, especially Chairman Gray at vgray@dccouncil.us and pmendelson@dccouncil.us, kbrown@dccouncil.us, and mcheh@dccouncil.us.

Ask them to support a one percent income tax increase on income above $200,000, a sensible way to raise $75 million to keep DC moving forward. For more information, visit the D.C. Fiscal Policy Institute http://www.dcfpi.org/ or Save Our Safety Net. http://www.saveoursafetynet.com/