October 2008

Act Now Join Team CFLS Today!

               Friends, we are less than two weeks away from the 21^st Annual Fannie Mae Help the Homeless Walkathon scheduled for November 22 on the National Mall and still several hundred walkers away from our goal of 1500. We need all our friends and supporters to register today to walk for Community Family Life Services (CFLS). 

You can go to the CFLS team page at www.helpthehomelessdc.org/goto/cfls and join right now, then ask your family, friends, co-workers, and neighbors to register also. The registration fee is $25 for adults and $15 for youths 100% of your registration fee goes to CFLS.

It is an incredibly exciting time and equally challenging time for all right now -- but as we contemplate everything thats happening around us we must continue to advocate for the homeless and underserved among us.

The Walkathon offers just that  a great opportunity for us to serve our community together. Additionally, it provides a great source of unrestricted funds that is critical to keeping the programs and services at CFLS going. Thats why we need to recruit 1,500 walkers in order to receive the $25,000 Fannie Mae Walker Incentive Award.  

We are still a far way off but I am counting on all CFLS friends and supporters to help us reach our goal!

Thank you for your continued support. Lets walk together and help support those who are working towards economic independence and self-sufficiency. If you have any questions or need additional information please contact us at 202-347-0511 ext. 415 or at development@cflsdc.org  

Sincerely,

Claudia Thorne                     

Executive Director

             A Mini-Walk And A New Friend For CFLS

               Community Family Life Services (CFLS) Mini-walk program got underway with the first walk being held by Reid Temple Christian Academy (RTCA) on October 17, at the schools beautiful Glendale Campus in Maryland. The Mini-walk for Community Family Life Services was Reid Temples first time participating in the Fannie Mae Help the Homeless Walkathon.

The schools chancellor Dr. Donnette Dais was supportive of the idea from the out set and lent her support to the parents and staff in coordinating the event.  The school has a strong tradition of community service which is grounded in its philosophy of service to God and commitment to their fellow man. RTCA has provided support and funds to families as far away as Zimbabwe. CFLS worked closely with parent, Mrs. Patricia Potts who coordinated the walk, sent reminders to parents and ensured that the forms were signed and turned in on time so that the students would have their shirts for the walk. The school community was very excited about the event and the opportunity of service it provided for the students. In the weeks before the walk the students made posters, rehearsed a performance and also included prayers for the homeless in their daily devotion.

The afternoon of the walk students from all grades, Pre-K2 thru 5 filed into the auditorium in their walkathon t-shirts. The students were treated to a short skit written by CFLS staff and performed by their classmates that showed the different faces of homelessness and an interactive educational presentation from CFLS. Next the parents, teachers and students led by Chancellor Dais marched around the schools campus. There was a wonderful air of excitement as the students waved their posters and chanted Help the Homeless.

By the end of the walk the school had determined that they wanted to do more for CFLS and the families that we serve. Dr. Dais expressed her desire to hold a mini-walk for CFLS next year and members of the student government offered to do a toy drive for the holidays for the children of CFLS families.  

CFLS sincerely thanks Dr. Dais, the parents, teachers and students of Reid Temple Christian Academy for your kind support in holding the Mini-walk and helping the many homeless families that we serve.  We look forward to walking with you next year!                         

Youth In Action - Georgetown students volunteer at CFLS

               It has been very rewarding to apply our schools [Georgetown University] mantra of Men and Women for others to real-life experiences, says Tim Olsen, one of our five volunteers from Georgetown University.  These five sophomores and juniors, currently enrolled in the McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University, have been volunteering with CFLS since the beginning of their semester in September. 

The wide array of programs and services CFLS provides to their clients and the community is what attracted these students to Community Family Life Services.  Consequently, they have been an integral part of the many programs at CFLS.  Their first undertaking was the food pantry.  They reorganized, labeled, and took inventory of the food pantry at Community Family Life Services.  This was a very important task because it allowed staff to survey what types of food were in demand for the pantry.  In addition, with everything labeled and in the correct cabinet, assembling bags of foods for our clients went quickly and efficiently.             

Their next mission was to reorganize the clothing room and closet to ensure that clients have a pleasurable visit with immediate success in finding whatever articles of clothing they need.  As the cold weather season approaches our main focus is cleaning out and replacing summer clothing with warmer winter wear such as sweaters, and winter jackets for our clients. The students wasted no time in whipping things into shape organizing boxes and racks of clothing. Our clothing room is part of our emergency services program and serves up to 1,000 clients throughout the year. The volunteers also worked in the clothing store serving our clients as they selected items for job interviews or just to stay warm.

But it hasnt been limited to these two services the Georgetown volunteers have immersed themselves in all our programs. They put their artistic skills to work by creating inspirational posters for the Help the Homeless Walkathon Mini-Walks and when their schedules allowed attended Mini-walks at DC Public Schools giving words of encouragement to the young students. They provided administrative and clerical help to the development office and will next apply their business school skills in helping with the CFLS employment program. 

Among other things the Georgetown students will assist Program Advisor John Andrews by helping our currently enrolled employment class write and revise their resumes and sharpen their interview skills. A well-written resume is a huge step in the job search, and can be overwhelming to develop and edit on your own. Having the students help our participants is a tremendous asset and will no doubt help to further many of the participants on their road to employment.

While the five student volunteers have provided CFLS with a great amount of support by assisting with our various programs, they have also brought a wonderful air of excitement and joy to service   as they have eagerly and happily worked with clients, staff and each other in advancing CFLSs mission and making a difference in the lives of so many.   They are quick to point out that they have benefited just as much from this experience. One student remarked, I have learned so much about myself. Jaleesa Jackson summed it up best when she spoke on the groups behalf stating; CFLS has been a wonderful experience for all of us.  It has been truly rewarding to have provided this group of college students the opportunity to engage in the community in such a meaningful way. We hope their experience with us will only get better as the semester progresses!