• Germantown Glory at the SoccerPlex in the South Germantown Recreational Park, 18041 Central Park Circle, Boyds.  Germantown Glory will kick off at 7 p.m. with a concert by Bobby and the Believers. 
• Mid-County Sparkles at Albert Einstein High School, 11135 Newport Road, Kensington. Both fireworks displays will begin at approximately 9:15 p.m. Mid-County Sparkles activities begin at 7:30 p.m. with a concert by Quiet Fire Soul.

Low lawn chairs, blankets and coolers are welcome at both events. Food vendors will be on site. No alcoholic beverages are permitted. The rain date for fireworks only is July 5. 

Every Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) student needs school supplies to be ready for the first day of school on August 24, 2013.  For just $10, you can provide a student in need with a backpack filled with school supplies.   

Looking for more opportunities to donated school supplies this summer?  The following organizations are accepting donations now and will soon be preparing them for distribution.

The Annie E. Casey Foundation has released its 2013 Kids Count report, which looks at a wide variety of indicators that measure children's well-being in the United States. Overall, the nation has more children living in poverty than before the recession. On the bright side, more kids have health insurance, graduation rates are generally up, and a number of health indicators are improving.

Locally, Maryland and Virginia both showed improvements in educational achievement, dropout rates, and graduation rates. The District also improved in academic proficiency, but has had a big spike in truancy. In all jurisdictions, childhood poverty continues to be a huge problem. 

Here are the detailed local profiles:

District of Columbia | Maryland | Virginia

My friend Peter Edelman of the Georgetown University Law Center got it just right: "If you thought suburban poverty was an oxymoron, this important book will set you straight. Elizabeth Kneebone and Alan Berube tell us the facts and offer thoughtful reforms to help under-resourced suburbs cope in our 21st-century world." Peter is writing about a new book from the Brookings Institution Press - Confronting Suburban Poverty in America.

Montgomery County is cited for our large increase in poverty between 2000 and 2010, but I'm proud to say we are  featured in the book for our exemplary response: "Montgomery County officials and service providers recognized the changing needs of a diversifying population and anticipated the growing demands that would arise as the Great Recession began to take hold. In 2006, the newly elected county executive, Isiah (Ike) Leggett, signaled that the county recognized the transitions under way and the need to leverage resources beyond what it alone could provide." The book cites the creation of the Office of Community Partnerships and the launching of the Neighborhood Opportunity Network as two creative examples of a responsive local government.

Perhaps you don't often include a Brookings policy book on your summer beach week reading list, but this year you should. Kneebone and Berube pull together examples from across the country that follow "the proactive and collaborative approach that emerged in Montgomery County."

Recognizing that immigrants help maximize opportunities for economic growth and civic vitality and position communities as globally competitive, 21st century leaders, 14 local governments have joined the Welcoming Cities and Counties Initiative with Welcoming America.  
 
The initiative signals the growing importance of an innovative and proactive role for local governments, and the growing recognition of immigrants as assets in any community. 

The Corporate Volunteer Council of Montgomery County (CVC-MC) was named Corporate Volunteer Council of the Year on Thursday, June 20, 2013 by Points of Light at its annual Conference on Volunteering and Service. 

"The CVC is honored to receive the Points of Light's National CVC of the Year Award and we are inspired to do more for the County," said Will Schroeder, CVC-MC President and Attorney at Law at Shulman Rogers Gandal Pordy & Ecker, P.A.

The CVC-MC was chosen as the recipient of this prestigious award because it teaches businesses how to partner with and support nonprofit organizations by helping create successful volunteer or charitable programs that benefit the businesses, their employees and the community. Montgomery County's 25-year-old council, in suburban Washington, D.C., provides its more than 60 members with educational programming and resources, creates service and networking opportunities and celebrates successful volunteer programs.

"These leaders in employee volunteerism show the possibilities for engaging the workforce in improving communities," said Michelle Nunn, Points of Light's CEO. "We celebrate companies that incorporate their employee volunteer programs the way they do business, with the ultimate goal of making social progress."

The Center for Nonprofit Advancement is now accepting nominations for the Gelman, Rosenberg & Freedman 2013 EXCEL Award.

This competitive award spotlights up to three outstanding nonprofit leaders in the Washington metropolitan area for outstanding nonprofit chief executive leadership.

For more information or to register go to: 

www.shadygrove.umd.edu/openhouse or call 301-738-6023.

Cordially invite you to
Ramadan lftar Celebration & Dinner
On Tuesday July 23, 2013
6:30pm prompt

At The County Executive Building Cafeteria
101 Monroe St. Rockville. MD 20850

Please RSVP to:
mcmfusa@gmail.com
For more information please contact:  

The Latino Economic Development Center (LEDC) has officially launched its search for a new permanent Executive Director to champion their mission into the future.

LEDC is seeking an experienced nonprofit executive to serve as Executive Director and provide strategic leadership and daily management of all aspects of LEDC's people, programs, and systems.

To view the job description, click here.

The Montgomery Corps program will provide one year of meaningful employment serving others. This will be an experience of a lifetime that will help build skills and knowledge that will serve as a valuable stepping stone toward future jobs in the public, private, or nonprofit sectors. 

More:  http://www.idealist.org/view/job/wjTpjFp7sDw4/. 

A report issued by the federal Corporation for National and Community Service asserts that jobless Americans have a 27 percent better chance of finding paid employment if they do volunteer work, The Washington Post writes.

The study, based on data from the Census Bureau's Current Population Survey, builds on other research suggesting volunteers learn skills, seek leadership opportunities, and develop contacts that improve their job prospects. It found that the benefits of volunteering were strongest for less-educated individuals and rural residents, who have a particularly difficult time finding jobs. Volunteering increases the chances of employment for members of those groups by more than 50 percent, the study found.  Click here for the full article.

For the Nonprofit Village, 17 tenant organizations simply are not enough. That's why we are excited to announce our new "Room to Grow" Virtual Office Program.

The Catalogue for Philanthropy is proud to release the list of 2013-14 featured nonprofits! During a four-month application and review process, this group demonstrated excellence, financial stability and transparency, donor appeal, and diversity in services, impressing our group of 120+ reviewers. Please help us in welcoming these new and returning organizations to the CFP network! 

This list includes great organizations such as Asian American LEAD, ArtStream, Ayuda, Literacy Council of Montgomery County, Potomac Community Resources, Inc, Potomac Conservancy, and many more! Click here to see the full list.