Friday, May 10, 2013
Kevin Ambrose has volunteered for 12 years with first-grade classes at Somerset Elementary School, helping students with writing and reading.
With all of the area's schools' recent awards racking up, it's time to celebrate those who help students achieve new learning goals every day in school. The Montgomery County Board of Education honored 15 people and organizations at its annual Distinguished Service Awards ceremony on Wednesday, May 8. Included in the honorees was Kevin Ambrose, who has volunteered for 12 years with first-grade classes at Somerset Elementary School, according to a county schools' statement. He started volunteering in the fall of 2001 as a writer's workshop volunteer, and now visits the school every day. "His work helping students with writing and reading has been folded into the teaching program," the statement added. The county school board established the…
Tuesday, March 26, 2013
Lauren Rubenstein and her son Jake Shapiro—and Shapiro's friend Eli Schwat—traveled to Haiti to help finish building a house for a family left homeless after the January 2010 earthquake.
When Lauren Rubenstein first went to Haiti in the summer of 2011, she had no idea what she was getting into. Rubenstein—a yoga teacher and therapist from Somerset—took that trip to teach yoga (through a YogaKids program) to some of the poorest kids in the western hemisphere—kids who had been left homeless after the Jan. 12, 2010, earthquake. But the trip turned into so much more. She bonded with young Michelda (who was 2 when the earthquake hit, and who had been living in a tent ever since) and her mother, and decided—when she got back to Chevy Chase—to sponsor Michelda through Partners in Development. For only $30 a month, the sponsorship program "[enabled] these kids to have clothes and food and be able to go to school," and the kids’ …
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
As the number of senior neighbors-helping-neighbors "villages" increases in Montgomery County, assistance at the county level could be of use in helping villages form and coordinate services.
Aging-in-place "village" networks are on the rise in Montgomery County—they're a great way to help senior citizens stay in their homes as they grow older. But the time needed to set up a nonprofit neighbors-helping-neighbors organization is lengthy, and the process can be confusing. A designated senior village county coordinator would make it much easier for county residents to form senior villages in their neighborhoods, agreed attendees of Monday's meeting of the Quality of Life/Public Safety Committee of the Western Montgomery County Citizens Advisory Board. At least half a dozen senior villages already are established in the county, and more are in formation, Ken Hartman, director of the Bethesda-Chevy Chase Regional Services Center, …
Monday, November 26, 2012
Chevy Chase-based Aid for Africa, Wonders Child Care and 4-H are among the nonprofits trying to encourage people to pause in their shopping and find a way to help others.
Will donating to charity ever be as popular as shopping during the holiday season? A partnership of nonprofits hopes so. For many people, the holiday shopping marathon began on Thanksgiving day, with some national chains opening their doors just hours after the traditional turkey dinner. Then came Black Friday, Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday, which has morphed into Cyber Week. Now, there's a new campaign asking you to open your wallet—Giving Tuesday. The Giving Tuesday website says the effort, coming on the heels of days devoted to consumerism, is designed "to create a national day of giving at the start of the annual holiday season. It celebrates and encourages charitable activities that support nonprofit organizations." Many …
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
How will you serve?
Today people across the country will volunteer locally in remembrance of the tragedy of September 11, 2001. From volunteering at shelters to donating blood, the focus today is on helping others. What will you do to participate in local charity campaigns? In addition to church and school events honoring the memory of September 11, there are many other ways to get involved. Check out the Montgomery County community service website here for a list of ways to help out. In Gaithersburg, Maryland Comptroller Peter Franchot will make a special appearance as a volunteer at Manna Food Center. The American Red Cross regularly accepts donations at the Gaithersburg Blood Donation Center, 501 N. Frederick Avenue, and in Rockville at 11820 Parklawn …
Monday, July 16, 2012
With eager spirits, three volunteers set off on a humanitarian trip to Haiti. Forty hours later, they were back in Maryland, never having gotten past Newark, NJ.
When Lauren Rubenstein set out for Dulles airport before dawn last Wednesday, she had a lot to look forward to: a week and a half in Haiti, helping a family build its first house since the Haitian earthquake, teaching kids yoga, feeding hungry bellies. But by Thursday evening, the excitement was gone and anticipation had turned to bitter frustration, as she returned to her home in the Town of Somerset, in Chevy Chase. Hearing her tale, one might not believe she is scheduled once again be on a plane to Port-au-Prince—today. After weeks of taking malaria pills, getting special vaccinations, gathering donations of beef jerky sticks, soap and children’s underwear, and finding other yoga teachers to cover her yoga classes while she would be …
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Lauren Rubenstein, of the Town of Somerset, is working to raise enough money to build a house for four-year-old Michelda and her family in Haiti, and she hopes to be able to bring local teens down to Haiti to help construct it.
Lauren Rubenstein doesn’t just do yoga for her own benefit. Nor does she limit teaching yoga to local children whose parents can afford the class fees. No, Rubenstein’s yoga calling is a little broader than that. In less than a year, Rubenstein, a psychotherapist and yoga therapist, has made two trips to Haiti’s tent cities to teach Haitian children yoga. She’s also become the sponsor of Michelda—one of the children living in the tent cities—and she’s working with local business owners in the Bethesda-Chevy Chase area to come up with unique ways to help Haiti—and Michelda. Last July, Rubenstein traveled to Haiti with YogaKids’ Bridge of Diamonds Foundation, an organization that sends yoga teachers to Haiti to teach yoga to some of the …
Friday, January 13, 2012
Catch a puppet show, check out the work of local artists at Gallery B, or lend a hand by volunteering this holiday weekend.
There's lots of opportunities to have fun this weekend, but with Martin Luther King, Jr. day approaching Monday, there's also plenty of ways to volunteer, give back, and serve the community. Our picks: 1. Afghan Benefit Dinner Where/When: 6 p.m. Friday, Jan. 13 at Cedar Lane Unitarian Universalist Church, 9601 Cedar Lane in Bethesda Why go: The International Concerns Coalition of the Social Justice Council is hosting a dinner and silent auction fundraiser to benefit Afghan couples literacy classes and orphanages. Check out our story on the event before you go. Pricing: $50 per person. Reservations required. 2. Art Walk and Gallery B January Exhibit Opening Reception Where/When: Art Walk will take place from 6-9p.m. Friday, Jan 13 at …
Monday, October 10, 2011
Donate items for soldiers serving at the front lines in Afghanistan through Operation: "Treat our Troops," a donation drive headquartered in the Village of Martin's Additions office.
Making a difference in someone else’s life can be as easy as picking up a package or two of white sport socks, some lip balm and sunscreen, power bars and maybe a phone card or two, and bringing them over to the Village of Martin’s Additions office for Operation: “Treat Our Troops.” As part of Montgomery County Community Service Week (Oct. 16-22), the Village office is collecting donations for troops serving overseas (mostly in Afghanistan). The donated items will be packaged on Oct. 22, and troops at the front lines should receive the care packages by Thanksgiving, said Doug Stein, the donation drive’s organizer. Stein—a Montgomery County resident and president of Wexford Homes, LLC, which is currently constructing a home on Chestnut …
Friday, July 1, 2011
This week's whiz kid took on a dirty job to raise money for his school's media center.
Patch Whiz Kid of the Week: Max Freedman Age: 9 School: Wood Acres Elementary School Accomplishment: Once school is out, most kids would rather eat a big plate of spinach than go back. However, rising fourth grader Max Freedman recently returned to do some “dirty jobs” to help raise money for the Media Center. “My mom got an email that Mrs. Lauchlan needed help, but most kids are too busy to volunteer. I thought we should make the time to go in,” said Max in a recent interview. Reason for Awesomeness: Max spent several hours packing boxes of dirty printer cartridges that will later be sent for recycling. “The media center earns money for every printer cartridge we recycle. It’s not much, but it adds up,” said Media Specialist Jennifer …
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6:48 pm on Thursday, July 19, 2012
Ms. Rubenstein, It may be more convenient to volunteer some time to help some poor Americans, in neglected areas such as Appalachia, or an Indian Reservation. more ›