Last week, one of our clean team members, James, found a wallet on the 200 block of Massachusetts Avenue. We were able to track its owner down and she was kind enough to write the following in a thank-you letter to James.
“Dear Mr. Fye,
I am the owner of the wallet that you found while cleaning the street along the 200 block of Massachusetts Avenue on Monday. I want to express my profound gratitude for your honesty and thoughtfulness in safeguarding it and turning it in to Mr. Lee so it could be returned to me.
When I discovered it was missing, I was very upset and concerned that someone could have accessed my bank account and charged my credit card, and I just hoped that someone with integrity might have found it. I am so glad that it turned out that you were the one who found it because you clearly have great integrity and a kind, respectful heart.
I am a mom of three small boys, from 4 months to 4 years old, so, in addition to being worried about someone using my bank card or credit card, I was concerned about how I would find the time to replace all the other cards that were in my wallet, including my driver’s license, membership cards, and SmarTrip card. I told my sons about how sad I was that I had lost my wallet. Then, when I learned from Mr. Lee that you had found it and given it to him to return to me, I also told them that a nice, honest person had found my wallet and made it possible for me to get it back. I hope that my sons grow to have your integrity and kind heart, and would act just as you have done to help a stranger.
I greatly appreciate your actions in helping return my wallet – thank you from the bottom of my heart!”
Ready, Willing & Working is a finalist in Sugarlands Distilling Company‘s MoonShare grant program and needs your help! The top 12 nonprofits with the most votes before January 31st will receive a $5,000 grant.
This money will allow RWW to provide jobs and supportive services to more homeless and formerly incarcerated individuals. These are the men and women in blue you see every day in DC working hard to make our city cleaner and safer!
The mission of the MoonShare Year of Giving program is to provide monetary donations to 12 elected non-profits, awarding one grant each month throughout the year. MoonShare is the giveback component of Sugarlands Distilling Co. that helps nonprofit organizations positively influence their communities by providing MoonShare grants, fundraisers, and various donations.
Please vote daily until the deadline at the following link: www.moonshare.org/vote – thank you so much for your support!
Yesterday morning, the DC Chamber of Commerce held its 2016 Annual Meeting & Chairman’s Inaugural Breakfast at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center.
The meeting brought together nearly 500 influential executives and decision makers from the DC business community to network and celebrate the successes of 2016, while looking forward to the promise and potential of 2016.
Ready, Willing & Working’s Director of Operations, Andrew Lee, was honored with the 2016 Hometown Hero Award for his passion and devotion to providing life-changing employment opportunities to formerly incarcerated and homeless individuals through the RWW program.
The award presentation included a screening of RWW’s latest video, “The American Dream,” which features Andrew and President of the DC Chamber of Commerce, Vincent Orange.
Andrew joined the Capitol Hill BID/RWW in 2004 as a member of the Clean Team and worked his way up to become second-in-command as the Director of Operations in 2008. He has helped countless men turn their lives around to become productive members of society. Congratulations, Andrew – we are so proud to have you on our team!
Ready, Willing & Working was recently awarded a $2,500 Fall Grant from the Capitol Hill Community Foundation for RWW’s efforts in helping formerly homeless and incarcerated individuals become productive, contributing members of society through meaningful employment.
The funds will be used to provide supportive services to the “men in blue” you see in Capitol Hill everyday. Supportive services include case management meetings, relapse prevention, Metro fare cards and incentives like meal tickets to restaurants in Union Station.
The Capitol Hill Community Foundation is a community organization funded entirely by contributions from Capitol Hill neighbors and friends. They support activities, projects and groups that enrich the lives of residents and celebrate the history and beauty of the community. Since its founding in 1989, the Foundation has directed more than $6.6 million to a broad range of projects.
Thank you to the Capitol Hill Community Foundation for your continued support of RWW!
The 9th Annual Magic & Miracles benefit for Ready, Willing & Working (RWW) was held Wednesday, November 30th at The Atlas Performing Arts Center on H Street, NE.
The event began at 6:00pm with cocktails, live music by the Herb Scott Jazz Quartet and plenty of delicious food provided by Belga Cafe, Trattoria Alberto and Windows Catering. Guests mingled and placed bids on over 70 silent auction items, varying from exotic getaways to goodies from local businesses. Kourosh Taie entertained and mystified guests with strolling magic.
Guests were invited into the Sprenger Theater at about 7:30pm, where they were greeted by our “Men in Blue,” who handed out programs as they entered. Patty Brosmer, President of Ready, Willing & Working, introduced Master of Ceremonies Kojo Nnamdi, host of WAMU 88.5’s The Kojo Show.
Local 18 year-old singing sensation Adalia Jimenez began the program with the singing of our National Anthem. Ward 6 Councilmember Charles Allen gave powerful remarks during the presentation, offering his praise and support of the program.
The event continued with an inspirational video, The American Dream, which showcased Vincent Orange (President of the DC Chamber of Commerce) for his efforts in passing the Living Wage Act, which raised the wages of our team members by 30%. The video also spotlighted Andrew Lee, Operations Director of the Capitol Hill BID and Ready, Willing & Working, for his tireless devotion to the program and our “Men in Blue”.
Check out the video here, which was filmed and produced by Matthew McClain and Pete Couste. After the video, Patty Brosmer presented both Vincent and Andrew with appreciation awards for their work and support of Ready, Willing & Working.
Next, Case Manager James Perry gave a heartfelt testimony to the audience about his experience working with the “Men in Blue”. Mr. Perry is an integral part of the Ready, Willing & Working program and a great role model for our participants.
The evening concluded with Adalia Jimenez performing a powerful rendition of “Miracle” by Whitney Houston. Guests enjoyed dessert in the Great Hall, generously donated by Shake Shack and District Doughnut. Thank you to our sponsors, silent auction donors and everyone who attended Magic & Miracles. Click here for more photos from the event. See you next year!
Welcome to Capitol Hill, &pizza! &pizza opened the doors to its brand new Barracks Row location on Thursday, October 20th. RWW is excited to partner with &pizza this weekend as a featured charity of their Buy One, Give One Campaign. For every pizza purchased from Friday-Sunday of opening weekend, &pizza will donate one pie to Ready, Willing & Working.
Since its founding, &pizza has focused on supporting the local community through &CHARITY, its multi-faceted philanthropic arm. All together, &CHARITY has supported over 500 local causes.
So be sure to check out &pizza this weekend to satisfy your pizza craving and support our “Men in Blue” at the same time!
Washington, DC September 8, 2016 – During its 62nd Annual Conference and Tradeshow in Atlanta this week, the International Downtown Association recognized the Capitol Hill Business Improvement District with a Merit Award for its work and initiatives related to its project titled, “Clean Team Grows Beyond the Boundaries.”
The project, which showcased how the BID contracts its Ready, Willing & Working Clean Team Services to other BIDs and Main Streets, was among nine qualified entries in the category of Downtown Leadership and Management. This category features comprehensive and unique organizational approaches, projects, or programs that improved the effectiveness of downtown management organizations.
“We’re very proud of our ability to provide more work opportunities to homeless and formerly incarcerated individuals through our outside contracts and are thrilled to be recognized by the IDA for this initiative.” Patty Brosmer, President of the Capitol Hill BID and Ready, Willing & Working said.
The Capitol Hill BID’s project received the IDA Merit Award for conducting best practice work in our industry of urban place management,” said David Downey, IDA President and CEO. “The project is a shining example of excellent downtown management delivering real value to the city.”
Through the Ready, Willing & Working program, the Capitol Hill BID has not only been able to make Capitol Hill a cleaner and safer place, but the entire nation’s capital as well. The program benefits other BIDs and also provides meaningful employment and supportive services to those who may not have the opportunity otherwise.
Washington, D.C.-based IDA is the premier organization for urban place professionals who are shaping and activating dynamic city center districts. The Capitol Hill Business Improvement District is the urban place management organization representing the interests of property owners in Washington, DC and is a member of IDA.
Fundraiser to benefit Ready, Willing & Working
Thursday, August 4th, 2016 6:00pm
Hawthorne
1336 U St. NW
Washington, DC 20009
Hawthorne will host Ready, Willing and Working DC’s first happy hour fundraiser for our ninth annual Magic and Miracles Gala: Opportunity Illuminated. A $5 wristband will get you drink specials, as well as going directly to support our benefit. Click here to RSVP!
The benefit will take place November 30th at The Atlas Theatre (1333 H Street, NE, Washington, DC), and promises to be fabulous, featuring a silent auction, live music, delicious food from top local restaurants, and an inspirational video presentation.
Ready, Willing and Working (http://www.rwwdc.org/) is a non-profit organization that empowers individuals to break the cycles of homelessness, welfare dependency and criminal recidivism through a paid-work rehabilitation program. RWW offers a holistic approach and supportive services, including case management, transportation, meal stipends, financial management, relapse prevention, and life-skills training, that allow participants to achieve permanent self-sufficiency.
Our program offers a practical and viable solution to reducing homelessness in DC. While It costs approximately $25,000 to keep a single adult in the District shelter system upwards of $50,000 a year for an inmate to be incarcerated, RWW can house, feed, train, counsel and educate a client for just $17,500. All the members of our team earn a living wage with excellent benefits. 70% of participants remain employed, independently housed, and drug-free after 3 years of entering the program. Most of our participants will never see a shelter or be incarcerated again.
Ready, Willing & Working was recently awarded a $2,500 Spring Grant from the Capitol Hill Community Foundation for RWW’s efforts in helping formerly homeless and incarcerated individuals become productive, contributing members of society through meaningful employment.
The funds will be used to provide supportive services to the “men in blue” you see in Capitol Hill everyday. Supportive services include case management meetings, relapse prevention, Metro fare cards and incentives like meal tickets to restaurants in Union Station.
The Capitol Hill Community Foundation is a community organization funded entirely by contributions from Capitol Hill neighbors and friends. They support activities, projects and groups that enrich the lives of residents and celebrate the history and beauty of the community. Since its founding in 1989, the Foundation has directed more than $6.6 million to a broad range of projects.
Thank you to the Capitol Hill Community Foundation for your continued support of RWW!
The 8th Annual Magic & Miracles benefit for Ready, Willing & Working (RWW) was held last Wednesday, December 2nd at The Atlas Performing Arts Center on H Street, NE.
The event began at 6:00pm with cocktails, live music by the Herb Scott Jazz Quartet and plenty of delicious food provided by Belga Cafe, Trattoria Alberto and Geppetto Catering. Guests mingled and placed bids on over 50 silent auction items from DC’s top local businesses.
Guests were invited into the Sprenger Theater at about 7:30pm, where they were greeted by our “men in blue,” who handed out programs as they entered. Paul Pascal, Vice President of Ready, Willing & Working, introduced Master of Ceremonies Kojo Namdi, who is a radio talk show host for WAMU 88.5 FM. Local 17 year-old singing sensation Adalia Jimenez began the program with the singing of our National Anthem.
Ward 6 Councilmember Charles Allen and Councilmember At Large Vincent Orange each spoke during the presentation, offering their praises and support of the program.
The event continued with a moving video, RWW IS LOVE, which showcased some of the “men in blue” and how the love that Ready, Willing & Working provides has changed their lives for the better. Check out the video here (filmed and produced by Matthew McClain and Pete Couste).
After watching the video presentation, Linda Brekke was honored for her many years of service as Silent Auction Chair of Magic & Miracles. Linda has dedicated countless hours to the event and has an unparalleled eye for design and attention to detail that always makes the silent auction a huge success!
Next, Director of Operations Andrew Lee shared his story of how he rose from pushing the bucket straight out of prison in 2003 to second in command of the entire group. “Today I am a happily married man who enthusiastically goes to work every day, and I’m the kind of father my son can be proud of,” Lee said. “I owe this to the Ready, Willing & Working, the program that not only showed me how to continue to stay clean and sober, but a whole new way of life.”
Some of our “Men in Blue” with Director of Operations Andrew Lee
The evening concluded with Adalia Jimenez singing “Can You Feel the Love Tonight” to honor this year’s theme: “Love changes the world. RWW is love.” Kelly Maslar was also recognized for five years of outstanding service as Marketing Director of the Capitol Hill BID. Kelly’s husband recently accepted a job transfer to Pittsburgh – she will be greatly missed! Thank you to our sponsors, silent auction donors and everyone who attended Magic & Miracles. Click here for more photos from the event!
“Men in Blue” with President Patty Brosmer & Marketing Director Kelly Maslar
