Locals can get a free lunch from Sweetgreen if they help work on a Capitol Hill-area school garden this weekend.
The salad and grain bowl purveyor’s “Capitol Hill Service Day” at Eastern High School’s garden is scheduled for Saturday from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., with the complimentary meal from 12:30 to 1 p.m. The school is located at 1700 East Capitol St. NE.
Sweetgreen is paying for gardening supplies with money it raised during a celebration it had in January when it reopened its location at 221 Pennsylvania Ave. SE.
An email from the eatery adds:
RSVP here to join us for a morning of preparing harvest boxes for the season, pruning perennials, improving the greenhouse, planting delicious produce.
Rosedale residents are calling on their neighbors to help them clean up their neighborhood tomorrow.
Locals are planning to meet at 17th and Rosedale streets NE at 11:30 a.m. Saturday for the community cleanup, according to neighborhood blog Frozen Tropics.
The blog adds:
Neighbors will spend about 1-2 hours working a grid of streets and back alleys to pick up trash. Clean ups like this can be a great opportunity to meet neighbors, or catch up with those you missed during the winter months. Spring is right around the corner. Gloves and trash bags will be provided. This clean-up is organized by Pete Maki (pete.maki[at]gmail.com) and “Doc” Perry Roots.
Hundreds of gently used winter coats and other clothing and more than 11 tons of potatoes will be distributed for free Saturday at the D.C. Armory.
The potato and coat giveaway is one of several annual events held by Helping Hands Inc, a local charity that also gives away food for Thanksgiving and Christmas.
This is the first event that Helping Hands has hosted at the Armory at 192 19th Street SE. Helping Hands have collected a large amount of gently used winter clothing and at least 450 50 pound bags of potatoes, more than 11 tons.
Greg Baldwin, the president of Helping Hands, said the organization gets bulk shipments of food and other donated items and distributes them for free whenever it can.
There is no need to pre-register for the event, which will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., and everything will be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis.
Those interested in volunteering to help set up the event can arrive between 7:45 and 8 a.m. to help sort the clothes into men’s, women’s and children’s areas.
Photo via Helping Hands, Inc.
A Northeast elementary school is planning a cleanup this weekend to prepare two outdoor spaces for spring activities.
Miner Elementary School (601 15th St. NE) has invited students, their families and neighbors to its a fall cleanup this Sunday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The project will address two outdoor spaces as part of an effort to prepare for the return of warmer weather and to get an early start on garden care, according to PTO Communications Chair Holly Harper.
“We are calling on our neighbors to help build something beautiful and green for our children,” Harper said in a statement.
The first space is an undeveloped piece of land along the early childhood playground. On Sunday, organizers hope to plant two or three trees there to provide shade for the playground, as well as act as a barrier between it and the edge of the school’s property.
Second, the school has garden beds for vegetables and flowers that need some repairs, cleaning and weeding before preparing the soil for winter and planting some spring flower bulbs.
In addition to volunteers, the project has relied on the help of donors. For example, Frager’s Hardware offered the school free and discounted plants, and the Department of Public Works provided tools and mulch.
However, Harper emphasized the outdoor work at Miner won’t end Monday. She hopes after the area is cleaned up, a garden club can organize in the spring to maintain the spaces more regularly.
“We are currently looking for a garden club coordinator and exploring our options to establish the program on an ongoing basis,” she said. “This is truly a community effort.”
Photo via DCPS
A D.C. resident behind a community garden near the Stadium-Armory Metro Station is looking for help with harvesting, planting and weeding at the site this weekend.
Local Rachel Trego is seeking Hill East residents this Saturday to assist with the maintenance of the RockStAr Garden at 19th and Burke streets SE, according to a notice posted on a neighborhood listserv.
Trego will have garden tools and gloves available starting at 9 a.m.
Locals can RSVP via email. But they don’t need to RSVP to participate.
Photo via Google Maps
E Street Adventures, a community group that sponsors events for children in the neighborhood around Miner Elementary School, is seeking volunteers and donations for its annual Halloween block party.
The party, called “Tricks and Treats on E Street,” is the largest event that the group of E Street residents holds. It takes place on E Street NE between 16th and 17th streets. This year’s party is scheduled for the evening of Oct. 17.
Rena Goldman, founder of E Street Adventures, threw her first Halloween party in the area in 2013, after moving to the 1600 block of E Street. Originally, the party was just a performance by a fire dancer who is a friend of Goldman’s and an appearance by Goldman’s boyfriend, Aaron Bryant, who dressed like a superhero.
As more community members got involved, the party grew into a full-fledged Halloween celebration with lawn games, pumpkin carving and face painting. Children in the neighborhood now look forward to the festivities all year, Goldman said.
“The party creates such a sense of community and a safe environment,” she said. “Normally, this area can be kind of rough, and kids can’t go out and trick or treat. This is a time when kids can come out and do something fun and innocent that’s just for them.”
This year, Goldman hopes to make the celebration even bigger and invite children from surrounding neighborhoods as well. She set up a website where community members can donate to the party or volunteer to help out. Goldman is looking to add a moon bounce, an obstacle course and a costume contest to the festivities this year.
“A lot of times what we have depends upon the donations we get,” she said. “The more donations we get the more things we can do. Certainly, my team members and I have no shortage of ideas.”
Photo via E Street Adventures
The District’s events authority and an environmental group are looking for volunteers to help spruce up the Anacostia River during a canoe trip next week.
Events DC and the Anacostia Watershed Society have scheduled the cleanup for Aug. 20 from 1:30 to 4 p.m. The excursion will begin and end at the Anacostia Community Boathouse at 1900 M St. SE.
The cleanup is open to 30 participants, who will get canoes to use. Interested volunteers can register online.
Participants should bring reusable water bottles, sunscreen and clothes that can get wet, organizers said. But closed-toe shoes for volunteers are required.
“Volunteers will enjoy an AWS guided canoe ride, [and] be educated on natural and invasive vegetation while also improving the water conditions,” according to a news release.
Photo via Facebook/Anacostia Watershed Society
A D.C.-based nonprofit organization is looking to recruit up to four coaches to teach rowing to children along the Anacostia River.
Serve Your City is seeking volunteers to teach and mentor at-risk 11-to-15-year-old boys and girls on Mondays and Wednesdays from 4 to 6 p.m. at the Anacostia Community Boathouse (1900 M St. SE).
No rowing experience is needed with all training and equipment provided, courtesy of the DC Strokes Rowing Club. Patrick Johnson, a U.S. Rowing Team coach, will lead classes and instruction.
Maurice Cook, founder of Serve Your City, said he hopes the program can serve as a stepping stone for disadvantaged youth to receive college rowing scholarships in the future.
“I’m just so excited to have the opportunity to do something to help these kids get outside and enjoy the resources that are right around them,” Cook said.
Serve Your City also runs a range of other sporting activities, including aquatics and tennis. They accept volunteers and participants of all abilities and experiences.
Prospective coaches can email Cook with their names, ages and coaching experience. Alternatively, they can call 202-341-1732 or visit the organization’s website for more details.
Photo courtesy of Maurice Smith
Locals can get free tickets to a D.C. United game this weekend if they help tidy up the Anacostia Riverwalk.
Events DC and the Anacostia Watershed Society are seeking volunteers to clean up the the trail Sunday.
Volunteers should register online and meet at Parking Lot 6 of RFK Stadium at 2:30 p.m. that day. Each volunteer will receive a ticket to the 5 p.m. D.C. United game at RFK. The soccer team is scheduled to play the Philadelphia Union.
Saturday morning, the Anacostia Riverkeeper also is a hosting a clean up event to remove litter from the Congressional Cemetery and Anacostia Riverwalk trails.
Volunteers should get to the cemetery at 8:30 a.m. to register. All supplies will be provided and Chesapeake Bay Roasting Co. will hand out free coffee. The cleanup will last until noon.
Organizers recommend wearing closed-toe shoes and clothes that can get dirty. Long pants are recommended to prevent poison ivy and insect bites along the trail.
Photo via Anacostia Watershed Society
A D.C.-based nonprofit organization that works with at-risk students is looking to recruit up to five tennis coaches for a six-week program starting in July in the Capitol Hill area.
Serve Your City is seeking volunteer coaches to teach and mentor 9-to-15-year old children from July 10 to Aug. 21.
Classes will run every Friday during that period from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m at Eastern High School at 1700 East Capitol St. NE.
Adults with intermediate tennis skills are preferred. But anyone is welcome to get involved.
Serve Your City also runs a range of other sporting activities, including aquatics and rowing. They accept volunteers and participants of all abilities and experiences.
To apply, email Serve Your City executive director Maurice Cook with your name, age and coaching experience. Alternatively, call 202-341-1732 or visit the organization’s website for more details.
Photo via Instagram/Serve Your City
Organizers of the H Street Festival are seeking volunteers to assist with their annual neighborhood fest.
The H Street Festival typically draws large crowds to sample local art and food along H Street NE. This year’s festival is Sept. 19.
Volunteer forms are available online. Festival directors also are seeking donors and sponsors for this year’s fest.
Image via Facebook.com/HStreetFestival
A D.C. group is seeking help this weekend to spruce up a garden created in honor of a Capitol Hill local who died in a car crash.
Friends of Kim Brenegar is asking Hill residents this Saturday to assist with the maintenance of Kim’s Garden, which is adjacent to Christ Our Shepherd Church at 801 North Carolina Ave. SE.
The cleanup runs from 10 a.m. to noon. If it rains, locals can help clean up the park Sunday from 10 a.m. to noon.
The organization dedicated the garden last year as a memorial to Kim Brenegar, who died in 2009. Brenegar, who owned The Ornamental Garden landscaping business, lived near the park.
Photo via Friends of Kim Brenegar
Locals can get a free lunch if they pick up trash along the Anacostia Riverwalk Trail this weekend.
Events DC, the Anacostia Watershed Society and other organizations are looking for volunteers to help spruce up the path on Sunday from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. After the cleanup, organizers will have a barbecue for the helpers.
Interested residents can register online and meet at RFK Stadium’s Parking Lot 8, which is just south of the facility on the Anacostia River.
Water coolers will be on hand. But volunteers should bring reusable bottles, the organizers said.
Photo via Anacostia Watershed Society
The annual Capitol Hill Classic race is later this month, and organizers still need a few extra hands.
Volunteers are still needed to hand out race packets, check bags and help children doing the “fun run,” organizers said online.
The race in its 36th iteration is scheduled for Sunday, May 17 and will include music this year from the all-women percussion group Batala Washington and the Stuart-Hobson Middle School marching band, as Hill Now reported.
The fundraiser for the Capitol Hill Cluster School — which includes a 10K, 3K and fun run for children — is expected to have more than 3,800 participants this year. Signups are still being accepted.
The race courses this year will be similar to last year’s courses, with the 10K starting at Peabody Elementary School, passing the Library of Congress and then heading east on East Capitol Street to the Anacostia Riverwalk Trail. It will then loop back to finish at Peabody. The 3K will start at Peabody, do a loop near Stanton Park and return to the school. And the fun run for kids will just lap Stanton Park.
To sign up to volunteer, see organizers’ online form.
Photo courtesy of Capitol Hill Classic/Djenno Bacvic Photography
You could help clean up a park this weekend — and then eat a free lunch from The Argonaut with your neighbors.
The group Sherwood Neighborhood Volunteers is seeking locals to participate in the annual spring planting and cleanup at Sherwood Recreation Center on Saturday. Volunteers will weed, mulch and plant flowers at 640 10th St. NE from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., an announcement from the group H Street Great Street says. The gardening work session will be followed by a complimentary lunch from The Argonaut (1433 H St. NE).
The public recreation center got a new playground and new plantings in fall 2014.
Image via Twitter/Sherwood Volunteers
