I Serve DC December Newsletter

MLK Day of Service is January 21st: Register a Project or Find a Volunteer Opportunity

As the DC Commission on National and Community Service and the Mayor's Office on Volunteerism, each year Serve DC commemorates the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service by supporting and promoting service and civic engagement across the city. Serve DC connects residents with volunteer opportunities and community-based organizations with resources and volunteers and tracks the number and locations of volunteers and service projects citywide.

Are you planning an MLK Day service project or looking for volunteer opportunities? Serve DC encourages you to visit us online to register your projects and events and look for volunteer opportunities. Our new MLK Day of Service Volunteer Databank is searchable by organizer, focus area, ward and quadrant, and volunteer opportunities listed are based on projects submitted, so check back often for updates!

Please contact Clarence Fluker for further information about MLK Day in the District.

Serve DC & Partners Collect 1,100+ Pounds of Food During World AIDS Day Food Drive

In partnership with the Mayor's Office on GLBT Affairs and the DC Office on Women's Policy and Initiatives, Serve DC honored World AIDS Day with its second annual World AIDS Day DC Government Food Drive, which ran November 16th through World AIDS Day, December 1st. Eighteen agencies at 11 locations across the city collected more than 1,100 lbs. of food to benefit Food & Friends, a District-based nonprofit that provides free, home-delivered meals, groceries and nutrition counseling to people in the DC Metro area living with HIV/AIDS.

Serve DC would also like to extend a special thanks to Food & Friends, especially Executive Director Craig Shniderman, the DC Department of Health's HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis, STD and TB Administration (HAHSTA), the AIDS Healthcare Foundation's Blair Underwood Healthcare Center and Metro TeenAIDS for helping us to kick off this year's food drive. Check out photos from our World AIDS Day Food Drive kick off on Tumblr!

The World AIDS Day Food Drive is an opportunity for DC Government employees to support neighbors in need and raise awareness for HIV/AIDS in our community. Please contact Clarence Fluker for more information.

2012 Mayor's Community Service Award Winners to be Honored on December 11th

Serve DC is proud to announce its 2012 Mayor's Community Service Award (MCSA) winners! Winners were chosen in six categories: Community Service, National Service, Emergency Preparedness and Public Safety, Education, Youth, and HIV/AIDS Advocacy. Click on an awardee's name or visit Serve DC online for a complete profile.

Community Service, Carolyn Cook: Carolyn is a proud native Washingtonian, a passionate advocate for the rights of women and girls, and a long-time volunteer, especially in her Chevy Chase community, where she represents more than 14,000 District residents as Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner for ANC 3G01.

National Service, Stefanie Vestal: Stefanie is a former City Year Washington, DC Corps member, who serves as Board Co-Chair for the City Year Alumni Association of Washington, DC and Co-Leader for the DC Chapter of AmeriCorps Alums.

Emergency Preparedness & Public Safety, Kevin Johnson: Kevin has been a volunteer with the DC Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) since 2007 and is a member of the Red Cross Disaster Action Team and DC REACT, a group of amateur radio operators that aid communities in emergencies.

Education, Michael O'Neill: Since, 2000, Michael has been a volunteer with For Love of Children's (FLOC) Neighborhood Tutoring Program, a one-on-one program that helps students achieve grade-level competency in reading and math. He is FLOC's longest-serving volunteer ever.

Youth, Francesco Amorosino: Francesco is a 17-year-old senior at Washington International School and a weekly volunteer referee for DC SCORES, an after-school program that uses poetry, soccer, and service-learning to engage, enrich, and improve the lives of more than 1,450 low-income youth at 42 schools across the DC.

HIV/AIDS Advocacy, Januari McKay: Januari is the founder of the Rubber Runway, a fashion and arts event that raises awareness about HIV/AIDS and sexual health. She serves as a member of the Advocates for Youth Young Women of Color Leadership Council, The Women's Collective Remind. Encourage. Prevent. Protect. (REPP) program, the DC Community Coalition Youth Core, and Public Allies, where she is completing a 10-month AmeriCorps term with Metro TeenAIDS.

Awardees will be honored at a ceremony at the John. A Wilson Building on Tuesday, December 11th from 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. The public are welcome to attend. The MCSAs are an annual campaign to recognize extraordinary District residents who use service to make a significant positive contribution to our community. For more information or to RSVP for the award ceremony, please contact Clarence Fluker.

Meet Serve DC's Partners of the Americas' Legislative Fellow: Roger Aguilar Jerez

Serve DC is proud to host Partners of the Americas' Fellow Roger Aguilar Jerez. As part of the Partners of the Americas' Legislative Fellows Program, Roger is completing a five-week professional exchange with Serve DC aimed at learning more about engaging citizens, especially students and youth, in national service programs.

Roger is a lawyer, professor and a graduate of the Central American University, the University of Barcelona, where he holds a post-graduate degree in procedural law, and the Polytechnic University of Nicaragua, where he holds a Master in Criminal Law and Criminal Procedure and is the Head of Department of Social and Public Law. Roger teaches Introduction to Law, Constitutional Law, Human Rights, and Intellectual Property Law, among others. Roger also works with law students in their final year who provide legal advice to low-income people.