Letter from the Mayor
Hello Service Ambassadors,
Wow, what a year it is has been!
Serve DC is wrapping up another year of public service!
As the Mayor's Office on Volunteerism & Partnerships, we pride ourselves on connecting people through purpose. In this season of gratitude, I am grateful for our Serve DC staff, who work effortlessly to ensure we make impactful connections and build relationships through our vast number of programs and volunteer opportunities.
I am grateful for our commissioners, who always support the work of Serve DC, our grantees, and Seasons of Service programs and extend themselves to the team whenever we need to build capacity. As we connect people to purpose, I am grateful to have associated with such a fantastic group of people.
With that, I am excited to announce that I have officially been appointed by Mayor Bowser as the new Director and Chief Service Officer for Serve DC. I am excited to continue in this capacity, and I look forward to new collaborations in the spirit of service.
December, our Fall cohort will take their exams and graduate! We cannot wait to share our next group of Certified Emergency Responders! Serve DC has successfully graduated 149 residents who are trained to act as an Emergency Responder until help arrives. CERT members are trained in First Aid - CPR, Fire Suppression and more. Stay tuned for our 2024 Spring Cohort registration!
On December 4th, 2023, we will hold our My Brother’s Keeper DC Local Action Summit & Volunteer Fair, at Martin Luther King Library. This year’s event will be hosted in partnership with Youth Invest Partners, DC Public Library, and Gilded Knight. We hope this event will engage conversations and innovative best practices that support positive life outcomes for young men and boys of color.
Lastly, we are so excited to kick off our DC Volunteer Snow Team program! Serve DC is partnering with the Department of Public Works (DPW) to validate requests from the public by requiring requestors to sign up for an exemption through the Sidewalk Shoveling Exemption Program to be eligible for free snow removal services. Thus, if a resident is not matched with a volunteer, they will not be subject to a fine from the city.
Serve DC has 309 registered resident requestors to confirm that they are still in need of services this winter. We have 609 volunteers currently signed up to participate. We will also reach out to residents from DPW’s exemption list to inquire about their need for snow removal services.
In this spirit, please check out our recently published November Funding alert! These grant offerings and resources are available to you and your networks. It has been a pleasure working with each and every one of you this year, and I look forward to seeing you all in 2024.
In partnership and collaboration,
 The 2023 Feast of Sharing hosted almost 5,000 residents and seniors, who are often most in need during the holiday season.
Since 1999, the annual Safeway Feast of Sharing has brought together over 1,000 volunteers annually—from government officials to local celebrities and community leaders—to serve a traditional Thanksgiving meal and distribute winter coats and clothing to DC residents in need.
 In partnership with Food & Friends and Wegmans, Serve DC - Mayor's Office on Volunteerism and Partnerships supported Mayor Bowser’s initiative for food insecurity, by delivering over 4,500 meals across the DMV on Thanksgiving Day.
Food & Friends is the only community-based organization in the DC region providing home-delivered medically tailored meals and nutrition therapy to our neighbors living with cancer, HIV/AIDS, and other serious illnesses.
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Our National Service Team, on behalf of AmeriCorps - Serve DC attended the annual convening for all AmeriCorps state commissions.
Grantees from across the country and AmeriCorps staff connected to share best practices, generate new ideas and approaches to the AmeriCorps work, and learn from agency representatives and experts in the national service field.
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We kicked off our first 2023 CERT Fall Cohort on November 8th, 2023!
Our Fall cohort will be ending before the beginning of the year, and we cannot wait to share our next group of Certified Emergency Responders!
Serve DC has successfully graduated 149 residents who are trained to act as an Emergency Responder until help arrives. CERT members are trained in First Aid - CPR, Fire Suppression and more.
Stay tuned for our 2024 Spring Cohort registration!
 Through the Department of the State, The International Visitor Leadership Program requested to meet with Serve DC to inquire about DC’s Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) program.
The Department of State has outlined the following specific objectives for the project:
1. Explore the U.S.’s Federal emergency response structure and emergency medical technicians, volunteer fire departments, and civil society‐organized volunteer response; Investigate how various stakeholders anticipate and develop contingency plans for pandemics, earthquakes, floods, wildfires, chemical spills, and manmade emergencies.
2. Expose participants to integrated command structures to resolve disasters, including the incorporation of civil society, volunteers, military, police, multilateral, and international actors; Analyze leadership development, and funding for paid professionals and volunteer‐based Emergency Management Service (EMS) personnel.
 Winter is near, and we need YOU! Sign up today, to help make sure your neighborhood is safe this Winter! Visit us at https://servedc.galaxydigital.com/snow-team/ for more information on registering. #weserve
 Did you know that you can get a free COVID-19 rapid test kit at DC Public Library? Check your desired location or DC Library for hours of operation.
¿Sabía que puede obtener un kit de prueba rápida de COVID-19 gratuito en la Biblioteca Pública de DC? Consulte la ubicación deseada o la biblioteca de DC para conocer el horario de atención.
 Open Enrollment is happening NOW! Sign up before January 31st, 2024! Visit DC Health Link for more information! |
