Washington Blade - December 19, 2008
Amy Cavanaugh

Craig Shniderman, executive director of Food & Friends, said the donations are helping sustain his organization, which prepares, packages and delivers meals and groceries to more than 1,400 people living with HIV/AIDS, cancer and other illnesses in the D.C. area.

"December is a time when people make charitable contributions, so donations have picked up, though not as much as in a better economy," he said. "We're feeling a financial pinch, and to some extent we're trying to make up for that by having [more] volunteers."

The plan seems to be working. Shniderman said the Food & Friends volunteer roster has grown in recent weeks.

"We've seen a pickup in the number of people who want to volunteer, which is probably an expression of two things," he said. "One, that some people are feeling more financially limited, and two - as people become more aware of the recession and the hard times for so many people, they look within themselves to see what they can do to be their best selves, and they express it through volunteering."

Shniderman said that by year's end, his organization will have seen 10,000 volunteers during 2008.

"That's great news," he said. "But then Jan. 1 starts 2009, so we need to look for new volunteers. Some come frequently and some come one time only. Some have been with us for 20 years and some have been here since 6 a.m. this morning.

"Thanksgiving through Christmas is a popular time to volunteer, and it's an important time for us to recruit volunteers for the coming year."

And as added incentive, Shnider-man noted that volunteering during the holidays is "a popular time for guys to meet other guys, for girls to meet other girls."

"There's a social element to this and Food & Friends is a place in the gay community to meet and greet," he said. "And what better than to do it while packaging food for people who are sick?"

Food & Friends donors also can direct their holiday checks to the Giving Tree program. The effort turns monetary donations into deliveries of cards, ornaments and cookies. Shniderman said the program aims to raise $35,000.

More information about donation and volunteer opportunities at Food & Friends is available online at www.foodandfriends.org.

Other holiday efforts are being made by Burgundy Crescent Volunteers, a gay organization that works with gay and gay-friendly non-profit organizations in the D.C. metro area.

The organization held a holiday party and children's gift drive Dec. 14 that 160 people attended. Jonathan Blumenthal, a BCV co-founder and board president, said the donated gifts filled a van.

Blumenthal said BCV has 3,700 people on its e-mail list, but is looking to grow its ranks. More information about BCV and its volunteer efforts - including an event at Food & Friends on Dec. 27 - is available online at www.burgundycrescent.org.

So Others Might Eat, an interfaith organization that helps poor and homeless D.C. residents, is holding clothing, food and shoebox gift drives during the holiday season. The shoebox gift drive is touted as a collection of shoeboxes filled with toiletries, hats, scarves, gloves and a treat for men, women or children.

Tracy Monson, the organization's marketing and special events manager, said the number of donated shoeboxes this year is lagging. The organization typically received 2,000 shoeboxes, she noted, but this year's collection is running behind, although exact numbers were not available.

"We hand them out to everyone who comes to our dining room for the homeless and clients in other programs," Monson said. "It seems to be something people enjoy doing with colleagues and with families. It's a good group activity."

She noted that the organization has seen an increase in those seeking services, and that volunteers are needed.

"As far as holiday volunteering, we need volunteers to help organize and sort donations, help in the food pantry, and to serve in the dining room for the homeless," Monson said. "We have enough for Christmas Day and Christmas Eve, but it's a daily need that we have."

For more information on the clothing, food and shoebox gift drives, visit www.some.org.

Metro Teen AIDS, a local health organization that supports youth in the fight against HIV/AIDS, is participating in a Toys for Tots drive. Donations of new, unwrapped toys are accepted from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. through Dec. 19 at the organization's offices, 651 Pennsylvania Ave., S.E.

Jayne Yamaykin, a Metro Teen AIDS volunteer coordinator, said volunteer opportunities also are available as the organization begins a new outreach program.

"We're trying to create a model where volunteers would partner with local businesses, and those would be condom distribution sites," she said. "In addition, we would send volunteers out in the community around times that schools would be getting out, to places with youth to pass out safer-sex kits."

More information on Metro Teen AIDS volunteer opportunities can be found at www.metroteenaids.org.

And for volunteer opportunities on Christmas, the D.C. Jewish Community Center is holding its 22nd annual Dec. 25 Day of Service, which supports dozens of service projects across the area. Projects range from serving meals to painting homeless shelters.

For more information, visit www.washingtondcjcc.org.

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