Today is GivingTuesday! GivingTuesday is an all-day global generosity movement that strives to build communities where the catalytic power of generosity is at the heart of the society we build together—unlocking dignity, opportunity, and equity in DC and around the globe. #GivingTuesday is an opportunity for people around the world to stand together in unity⁠⁠—to use their individual power of generosity to remain connected and heal.

Here are some ways to share this special day with Everyone Home DC:

DONATE. Your GivingTuesday gift ensures all people in the District have access to safe, affordable, and comfortable homes and meaningful relationships that connect people with supportive networks. This is even more important during the ongoing global health emergency. Make your year-end #GivingTuesday gift TODAY!

PLACE YOUR BIDS. What do family portraits, a deluxe coffee tasting, and a homemade jar of pesto have in common? All of these (and more!) are the kinds of unique gifts you’ll find in Everyone Home DC’s 2023 Holiday Auction!

GIVE IN-KIND. Everyone Home DC’s Day Center and Street Outreach team urgently need bras, pads, and tampons. Shop from our Feminine Needs Wish List and have items shipped directly to Everyone Home DC. Receiving much-needed items through donations allows Everyone Home DC to keep its operating budget as low as possible. All donated items are distributed free of charge to individuals and families in our programs. Check out Everyone Home DC’s main online Wishlist here. 

BE A GOODNEIGHBOR. Invest monthly in ending homelessness by joining Everyone Home DC’s GoodNeighbor Circle. Members of Everyone Home DC’s GoodNeighbor Circle make monthly small, automatic donations, making it easier for Everyone Home DC to plan long-term, budget more efficiently, and create more life-changing opportunities for individuals and families in our city. 

SHARE YOUR MERRY. Every family deserves a joyful end-of-year experience! Everyone Home DC is committed to ensuring that families have the flexibility to celebrate their winter holiday and experience the joy of giving gifts. Learn more about this year’s approach and share your merry with a family today!

START A HOLIDAY FUNDRAISER. Talk about a snowball effect! By sharing your very own holiday fundraiser with friends and family, you’ll see those early flurries of giving turn into a blizzard of support! It is easy. Create your holiday fundraiser today! 

Thank you for standing alongside Everyone Home DC on #GivingTuesday and always.

This winter holiday season is the perfect time for Everyone Home DC and our amazing network of supporters to provide a little something extra for this special time of year. Everyone Home DC is committed to ensuring that the families we work alongside will have the flexibility to celebrate their winter holiday and experience the joy of giving gifts. This holiday season, Everyone Home DC will distribute debit gift cards throughout our community, allowing each household the opportunity to decide how they spend these funds to create a meaningful holiday for their family.

Based on the family size, Everyone Home DC will provide gift cards valued between $150 and $500. 

We need YOUR help to reach our goal. You can make a monetary donation today here. You can also consider running a drive to collect gift cards with your favorite community or network OR set up a fundraising page and watch your social network support you in reaching your goal! Every little bit helps. Below is more information on how to get started and some of the most preferred gift cards. Thank you for your continued support of Everyone Home DC!

Everyone Home DC plans to distribute gift cards to families in December.

GETTING STARTED

• We want to hear from you if you plan to run a drive or collection! This will support Everyone Home DC’s planning (and budgeting) efforts. Contact Kate Akalonu at akalonu@everyonehomedc.org to discuss what types of gift cards to focus on collecting and to share how many gift cards you plan to contribute. We can also provide any brainstorming support to get the word out to your community and create personalized donation forms to track your progress easily.
• You can also make a monetary donation that will be used to purchase gift cards by program staff and sent electronically to families. Consider donating today!
• Everyone Home DC families most appreciate Visa, Mastercard, Target, Walmart, Old Navy, Amazon.

GETTING CARDS TO EVERYONE HOME DC 

You can skip purchasing gift cards and donate on our Winter Holiday donation page. Program staff will then purchase gift cards and send them electronically to families. Consider donating today!

If purchasing gift cards at a store or online, you can mail them directly to Everyone Home DC’s main headquarters address. Please contact Kate at akalonu@everyonehomedc.org if you have any questions or to discuss dropping the gift cards off.

Mail Gift Cards to:
Everyone Home DC Development
Attn: Holidays
415 2nd Street NE, 3rd Floor
Washington DC, 20002

If you have any questions, do not hesitate to reach out! Thank you for standing with Everyone Home DC now and always. We are so glad you are here.

Please note:

• Any funds received above the goal for this campaign will be redirected to the general fund.
• We will not accept gift cards at our drop-in day center for our guests’ health and safety at Shirley’s Place Day Center. Thank you for understanding.

Thank you for making this year’s September Challenge a historic success! For the fourth year in a row, you showed up for individuals and families at risk of or experiencing homelessness in DC. We raised over $72,000, with nearly 200 donations throughout the Challenge. 

We reached this successful milestone thanks to our AMAZING September Challenge Sponsors, Benefactor Circle, and Committee members, our staff, volunteers, donors, event hosts & participants, fundraisers, online auction partners & participants, and our many social media ambassadors. We know the need to raise critical funds to support people facing homelessness is more urgent than ever. Everyone played a vital role in ensuring this campaign’s success. Thank you.

In addition to the funds raised, check out some of the other highlights of Everyone Home DC’s September Challenge:

• We are incredibly honored to welcome back three Lead Sponsors this year. Please give a lot of love to Christ Church + Washington Parish on Capitol Hill, The Jeanne Phil Meg Team at Compass, and the National Capital Bank.
• In the final weeks, we welcomed five new supporters at the Benefactor Circle and Sponsor levels, raising an additional $5,500. Thanks to Capitol Hill Presbyterian Church, Cheryl Vance, Anthony Amato, Anne & Roy Phillips, Anne Stone, and Geetha & Keith Waehrer joining the Challenge. You can see all of this year’s amazing September Challenge sponsors below, and be on the lookout for our celebration advertisement in the October Hill Rag.
• Everyone Home DC’s online auction raised over $12,000, making it the most successful auction in our history. This year there was a total of 332 bids placed on 100 items. Additionally, we hosted our inaugural Final Countdown auction close-out party and had a blast celebrating the end of the auction with good friends, noisemakers, and bubbly!
• The September Challenge Leaderboard had five active fundraisers that raised nearly $10,000. This year’s top fundraisers were Edith & Mark Sherman, Alison Harwood & Chuck Rohe, Abby Sypek, and Pat Joseph. Thanks to ALL for sharing your time and enthusiasm with this year’s September Challenge!

Thank you for joining Everyone Home DC in this critical month-long campaign supporting our mission to ensure everyone in our city has access to safe, affordable, and comfortable homes. It is the responsibility of each of us to end homelessness in Washington, DC, and build the welcoming and inclusive community we believe is possible. We could not do this work without you, and we are so glad you are here. Thank you!

Everyone Home DC’s Challenge Online is officially closed, and thanks to our fantastic 64 auction supporters, we raised more than $12,000 to support neighbors at risk of or experiencing homelessness in our city! This fundraising milestone will go down in Everyone Home DC history as the most successful auction to date! Congratulations to our winners! We will share photos on our Facebook and Instagram pages in the coming days! Be on the lookout! 

Highlights from this year’s auction included:

• 332 bids being placed on 100 items with a 4-way tie for most # of bids going to a Daru gift card, a custom ReWild flower arrangement, a visit to Hillwood Estate, and In Bocca al Lupo gift card! Our team is hard at work connecting winner bidders to their items. Once your invoice is processed, you will hear from us with the next steps regarding how to get your items. 
• Gathering together for The Final Countdown auction close-out party and celebrating the end of the auction with noisemakers and bubbly!
• Our first-ever celebrity memorabilia being offered with two lucky winners walking away with a signed Taylor Swift Guitar and a signed Friday the 13th Hockey Mask.
• Down to the wire bidding on Signature Theatre tickets and Six Flags tickets, with the winning bids being placed in the last minute of the auction! 

Thank you for all the love and support you showed us this year! We are so lucky to have you in the Everyone Home DC Community! If you’d like to continue supporting our community year-round, we encourage you to become a monthly donor by joining our GoodNeighbor Circle today!

Support Everyone Home DC’s Back to School Initiative to Distribute Gift Cards to Rising Scholars.

With many schools’ summer break now upon us, Everyone Home DC is preparing for 2023/24 school year, which is right around the corner! Each year we begin planning around this time so that when our families start to think about the new school year, Everyone Home DC is ready to provide support with any back-to-school needs. Everyone Home DC is committed to providing flexible monetary support to the families we work alongside, which encourages families to shop together in anticipation of the new school year.

Everyone Home DC is raising funds for the 2023/24 school year to provide gift cards for families to use during back-to-school shopping. We aim to distribute $50 gift cards to each Everyone Home DC scholar, requiring us to obtain 200 gift cards this year. AND we need YOUR help to reach our goal.

Here are some other ways you support Everyone Home DC in reaching our goal:

• Make a donation today towards our fundraising goal.
• Create a fundraising page to share with your community. We are on standby to provide support!
• Host a drive to collect gift cards (Visa, Mastercard, Target, Walmart, and Amazon) at your work, place of worship, or with your favorite people.
• Spread the word and share the need with your friends and family by emailing or posting on your favorite social media platform.

Everyone Home DC plans to begin distributing gift cards to families the week of August 7.

Every little bit helps. Below is more information on how to get started and how to get gift cards or cash gifts to Everyone Home DC.