For most people, the winter season in Washington, D.C., is one filled with lights, ice skating, hot chocolate, and snow shoveling. Unfortunately, this is not the case for all people in the D.C. area. According to the Point-in-Time survey (PIT), which counts the homeless population, in the D.C. area last year, 11,623 people were without a permanent shelter during the freezing winter months. Besides shopping, skating, and playing in the snow, there are many opportunities to give back to our community this winter season.
Coat Drives
The simple gesture of donating a coat to someone in need this holiday season can make someone’s year. The warmth provided by a cozy coat during these freezing months can help people in need get through their daily lives. Here are some ways you can donate a coat:
Burlington Coat Factory: November 1-January 19
These coat drives are going on at all Burlington Coat Factory stores. When you donate a gently used or new coat, you can get a 10 percent discount on your purchase.
Divine Smiles Dentistry LLC: November 1- February 25
Donate gently worn or new coats at this local dentist’s office in Bethesda. Contact 301-312-8210 to get drop off hours, or visit onewarmcoat.org to learn about other drop-off locations for local coat drives.
Clean up wreaths at Arlington National Cemetery:
Each year, Wreaths Across America places holiday wreaths on the graves of Veterans at Arlington National Cemetary. After the holidays, the cemetery is in great need of volunteers to pick up those thousands of wreaths. This day is most likely in late January, and you can visit Arlington National Cemetary’s website or Wreaths Across America for more information after Christmas.
MLK Day of Service: January 16, 2017
Instead of taking a day off on Martin Luther King Day, give back to your community and serve while others are not. On January 16, 2017 you can spend the day doing a variety of things on your own time. Here are some ideas that can benefit the community on this day of service.
Clean up the Potomac River on January 14
Volunteers last year helped keep six tons of trash out of the Potomac. You can help beat this record by volunteering with the Potomac Conservancy. Visit potomac.org/events for more details.
Make hygiene kits for the homeless:
These kits can include a variety of travel size products like toothpaste, lotion, and deodorant. You can keep these with you to give to a homeless person on the street or donate them to a shelter in need of these items
Stuffed socks for the homeless:
To do this, you will need a new pair of socks, a few granola bars, and a bottle of water. Stuff one of the socks with the granola bars or other small snacks, and put the water bottle in the other sock. Tie the two socks together and keep these with you in a bag or in your car. These small sock packs are great to give to the homeless because they provide warmth and a small snack to hold them over until their next meal.
Donate towels and blankets to your local animal shelter:
Animal shelters are often in need of new or used towels, blankets, and sheets. These are used as beds, to clean the animals, and to make toys in animal shelters. Donating these can provide warmth to the recently rescued animals.
All these ideas are good ways to spend Martin Luther King Day; among these, you can also volunteer at food kitchens, homeless shelters, and animal shelters along with others. Spend this day wisely by helping those in need around you!