Summer Is Still in Full Swing—Back-to-School Planning Has Already Begun.

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Summer is still in full swing—with popsicles, pool days, late sunsets, and World Cup watch parties—and school may have just let out. And for families already stretching their budgets, planning for back-to-school often begins now. 

For many parents and caregivers, preparing for a new school year means carefully balancing the cost of school supplies, clothing, transportation, groceries, rent, and other everyday essentials. Every purchase requires thoughtful planning, and every dollar has a job to do.

At Everyone Home DC, we believe families know best what their children need. Since 2020, our community has come together each year to provide flexible financial support during some of the year’s most important moments. Today, we’re bringing those seasonal efforts together through The Choice Fund—a year-round fund that provides flexible financial support, giving people the dignity and flexibility to choose what they need most.

We’re kicking off this year’s Choice Fund with our annual Back-to-School Initiative. Whether it’s a backpack, notebooks, a pair of shoes, or a first-day outfit that helps a young scholar walk into school with confidence, your support gives families something more than financial assistance. It gives them the dignity and flexibility to choose what’s right for their children.

🎒 Our Goal: Distribute approximately 200 gift cards—valued at $50—to scholars in our programs before the school year begins. And we can’t do it without you. Here’s how you can help:

  • Make a donation toward our $10,000 goal. Every $50 donated can help give families the dignity and flexibility to choose the back-to-school items that best meet their children’s needs.
  • Host a gift card drive with friends, coworkers, your book club, or faith community. (Families especially appreciate Visa, Mastercard, Target, Walmart, or Amazon cards.)
  • Start a fundraising page and rally your network! We’ll help you get it going.
  • Spread the word on social media or by email—every share helps!

We’ll begin distributing cards in early August, so now’s the time to get involved. You can donate online and we’ll handle the rest—or mail physical gift cards directly to our office:

Everyone Home DC
Attn: Development, Back-to-School
415 2nd Street NE, 3rd Floor
Washington, DC 20002

💡 Thinking about running a drive or collecting gift cards? Let’s connect! We’d love to hear your plans so we can coordinate and budget accordingly. Reach out to Kate Akalonu at akalonu@everyonehomedc.org to discuss which types of gift cards are most helpful and how many you hope to contribute. We’re also happy to help you brainstorm ways to spread the word and engage your community.

Thank you for helping make sure every scholar starts the year strong.
 We’re so grateful you’re in this with us.

A Partnership Built on Collaboration | Christ Church + Everyone Home DC

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Christ Church Capitol Hill is a thoughtful and consistent community partner to Everyone Home DC. At the beginning of each calendar year, our teams meet to discuss emerging needs across our programs and identify meaningful ways for the congregation to get involved. This ongoing dialogue helps ensure support is responsive, impactful, and aligned with the needs of our community.

Christ Church consistently sponsors our September Challenge and organizes multiple efforts to support guests at our drop-in Day Center. Their congregation donates cases of water during the summer months, assembles hygiene kits for guests, and provides special Thanksgiving treats and sodas to accompany holiday lunches. While each contribution addresses a practical need, together they help create moments of comfort, dignity, and care for people experiencing homelessness.

Like many of our strongest community partnerships, this relationship is built on communication, trust, and a shared commitment to serving our neighbors. Christ Church has consistently shown a willingness to engage, respond to emerging needs, and mobilize its community in support of people experiencing homelessness in the District.

We are grateful for Christ Church Capitol Hill’s ongoing partnership and shared commitment to ensuring that neighbors experiencing homelessness have access to the resources, support, and sense of community they deserve. Through partnerships like this, we can strengthen our programs, respond to immediate needs, and continue working toward a future where everyone has a place to call home.

What Makes a GoodNeighbor? Meet Elizabeth.

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Who on your block would you call a GoodNeighbor?

Maybe it’s the person who is always ready to lend a cup of sugar, or—more likely—the one who went the extra mile to shovel the sidewalk during the most recent winter storms! Maybe it’s the person who always waves hello on their morning walk, or who compliments your new DC flag, flying proudly by your front door.

No matter who they are, where they are from, or how near or far they live, we know a GoodNeighbor is someone who shows their consideration for their community through action. Someone like Elizabeth Kaehler, who, alongside her husband Auden, has been a member of Everyone Home DC’s GoodNeighbor Circle for the past six years. The GoodNeighbor Circle is made up of like-minded supporters of Everyone Home DC who know that their monthly giving translates into steady, reliable funding that our organization can count on in order to continue providing holistic resources to the individuals and families in our programs. When Everyone Home DC can better plan and strategize for the future with support like this, we can truly maximize the impact of these recurring gifts on the lives of those experiencing homelessness in DC.

Read on to learn Elizabeth’s story, in her own words:

What first inspired you to join Everyone Home DC’s GoodNeighbor Circle?

“I was inspired to join the program because I know that giving monthly is easier for budgets —Everyone Home DC’s and mine. I do give to the various other projects (Back-to-School, etc.) if we have it in our budget, but I know this way that Everyone Home DC has a good idea of the basic amount my family is donating.”

What has inspired you to remain a GoodNeighbor for the past six years?

“I have kept giving because I know that there is so much work to be done. DC continues to be an expensive place to live, and I know that the work that Everyone Home DC does helps people in tough situations.”

Why does Everyone Home DC’s mission to end homelessness in DC matter to you personally?

“It matters to me personally because it makes my heart heavy to see people on the street asking for money or living on the street. Everyone deserves the right to be housed and fed. I was taught to care for my neighbors, and that is what Everyone Home DC does.”

What is something about Everyone Home DC’s work you would want to share with someone who has never heard of the organization?

“I would say that Everyone Home DC is a great organization to support because they are making a positive difference in ending homelessness locally throughout the city.”

 And now, a question for you: Will you join Elizabeth in the GoodNeighbor Circle today?

Simply fill out this form with your details and select the monthly amount that makes sense for you. If you have any questions about setting up your GoodNeighbor account, or if you ever need to make any adjustments to it, please reach out to Grace at arenas@everyonehomedc.org.

Everyone Home DC Receives Continued Support from Capitol Hill Community Foundation

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Through its Spring and Fall grant cycles, Capitol Hill Community Foundation provides steady annual support for Everyone Home DC’s Street Outreach Program, Drop-In Day Center, and Day Center Maintenance Fund—along with additional Bill Phillips Grant funding in Fall 2025.

Everyone Home DC is grateful for the Capitol Hill Community Foundation’s continued support of our work with neighbors experiencing homelessness and extreme poverty in Capitol Hill.

Through both its Spring and Fall grant cycles, the Capitol Hill Community Foundation has been a consistent and loyal partner in supporting three core areas of our single adult services: our Street Outreach Program, Drop-In Day Center, and Day Center Maintenance Fund. This recurring support has become an important and dependable part of our annual funding picture, helping us sustain critical services for some of our community’s most vulnerable neighbors.

Each year, the Foundation invests in these programs through both grant cycles, providing support that helps us maintain continuity in outreach, basic needs services, and the upkeep of the physical space that makes our Day Center possible. We now budget $18,000 annually from the Capitol Hill Community Foundation, and we are increasingly dependent on this loyal partnership as we work to meet the community’s growing needs.

We were especially honored in the Fall 2025 cycle to also receive the Bill Phillips Grant for Social Services, a $10,000 award given in memory of Foundation colleague William H. Phillips. This special grant is awarded to support programs that address health care, housing, legal issues, and well-being for Capitol Hill residents. Bill Phillips lived by a simple but powerful rule: “Do good and be a good neighbor.” That spirit resonates deeply with Everyone Home DC’s mission and with the way we seek to walk alongside our neighbors each day.

Support from the Capitol Hill Community Foundation helps make it possible for Everyone Home DC to remain a consistent presence in the community. Through Street Outreach, we engage neighbors experiencing unsheltered homelessness, meet urgent needs, and help connect individuals to benefits, services, and pathways toward permanent housing. Through our Drop-In Day Center, we provide meals, showers, laundry, mail service, essential supplies, and one-on-one support in a safe and welcoming space. With support for our Maintenance Fund, we can preserve and care for the Day Center facility so it remains functional, safe, and ready to serve.

With support for our Maintenance Fund, we can preserve and care for the Day Center facility (an aging row house near the Potomac Ave Metro stop) so it remains functional, safe, and ready to serve. That looks like real, everyday investments—refreshing bathrooms to keep up with the volume of showers our guests rely on, repairing and repainting water-damaged walls, and replacing aging infrastructure like our back gate with something safer and more reliable. It also allows us to take on larger projects, such as supporting a major HVAC upgrade that moved our AC unit off the roof to avoid service disruptions and ensure consistent heating and cooling for years to come, and replacing washers and dryers used constantly by our community.

Everyone Home DC is deeply grateful to the Capitol Hill Community Foundation for its longstanding partnership and steadfast investment in our work. Their support reflects a real commitment to the well-being of Capitol Hill residents and helps ensure that our neighbors can continue accessing safety, dignity, and meaningful pathways toward stability.

Hope for 2026 Starts Here: Your Gift Helps Build a More Just DC

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In the face of rapidly evolving policies, threats, changes, and challenges that Washington, DC has met with throughout 2025, there is one mantra that gives us the strength to continue our work at Everyone Home DC:

It’s not a sprint, it’s a marathon. 

You’ve been a part of this marathon with us; your belief in lasting change keeps us moving forward. We all know that making this kind of change in the lives of our unhoused neighbors is a matter of dedication, not just a reaction to the latest headlines. While there is no denying that these past 12 months have given us plenty to react to, they have not shaken the future we envision for the District of Columbia as a thriving and diverse community where all people can obtain and remain in safe, affordable, and comfortable homes. 

If you share our vision, know that the personally meaningful gift you make today is an investment in bringing about such a future. Your contribution and commitment to Everyone Home DC’s work ensures that we can stay the course and be a reliable, steady resource for the people we work alongside. Not just tomorrow, or next week, or even next year. But for as long as it takes to see them thrive. 

 

This past summer, an executive order was passed that claimed to provide solutions to homelessness and restore public safety. The reality? The policy changes that it called for contradicted time-tested best practices and endangered the well-being of people experiencing homelessness. The language of the order conflated the mere state of being unhoused with being a public safety risk, perpetuating harmful, discriminatory stereotypes. 

 

To many, this order may have been the inspiration to step up and speak out about protecting the rights of our unhoused neighbors: understandably, justifiably, and admirably. However, as Everyone Home DC and our supporters know, advocating for our neighbors through words, deeds, and contributions requires sustained energy and commitment, through the highs, lows, and everything in between.

 

Your tax-deductible year-end gift to Everyone Home DC is action, action that matters for the long haul. Your giving helps us build something that will outlast any single period of our city’s history. 

 

Your support has the power to be transformational. With city funding for housing programs shrinking next year—including the loss of Everyone Home DC’s Rapid Re-Housing program and cuts affecting other organizations across the district—your generosity is what will keep families moving forward toward lasting stability. These reductions put heavy pressure on homelessness prevention programs and the city’s shelter system, both of which are already stretched thin. Without private contributions, families may remain in shelters longer, and people experiencing homelessness will have fewer options to regain stability. Your gift ensures that neighbors don’t fall through the cracks and helps bolster our organization where public funding can no longer reach. Through your support, Everyone Home DC can continue providing the highest quality services to our unhoused neighbors. 

 

These services secure housing and resources for people like Jordan. Jordan, a long-time guest of Everyone Home DC’s drop-in Day Center, Shirley’s Place, worked closely with our Outreach team to apply for and move into a permanent housing program in the District. For years, they arrived at the Day Center right at 8 a.m. each morning to be first in line for a shower. Today, they finally have a place of their own—a space where they can begin each day with comfort, dignity, and peace. When we asked what they were most looking forward to, they said simply: having their own bathroom. It’s the kind of small joy that reminds us why every step in this marathon matters.

  

And Jordan’s story is just one of many. Every day, Everyone Home DC walks alongside families and individuals who are rebuilding their lives. Parents navigating rising rents, immigrants finding safety and stability, and neighbors determined to create a home in the city they love.

 

In this marathon, we have miles to go. But we are so grateful to have you beside us, stride for stride, as we do. Together, let us breathe deeply, find our center, and keep moving forward. 

 

As the year comes to a close, your compassion ensures that our neighbors enter 2026 with hope and stability. Thank you for the love and support you show. 

 

2025 Executive Director Reflection

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Hello, Friend!

Every year around this time, I find myself looking out at our city with a kind of winter clarity. The leaves are thinner, the air is sharper—everything feels a little more exposed. It’s in these moments that I’m reminded how much strength and vulnerability can exist side by side—how a city dotted with cranes and new developments, surrounded by thriving neighborhoods with soaring home prices, can also be a place where far too many of our neighbors are struggling just to stay warm.

And while Washington, DC doesn’t have the towering skyscrapers many cities do, we still have long shadows—cast not by buildings, but by inequities that deepen when the safety nets meant to hold people up begin to fray.

This year, those shadows deepened.

Throughout 2025, we have watched decades of progress in housing and human services threatened—not only by deep and painful funding cuts, but by rhetoric and policy shifts that have left many in our community feeling anxious, unsafe, and devalued. Programs that kept families stably housed have been scaled back. The programs that help people move off the streets and into permanent housing are under-resourced, and the social safety net we’ve spent years strengthening is unraveling—thread by thread—leaving those living outside or in shelters with limited options and perpetual uncertainty.

And this year, our supporters and donors have not been spared. Many of you have lost vocations you spent a lifetime pouring yourselves into—roles that weren’t just jobs, but sources of purpose, service, and identity—along with a sense of financial security and stability. You’ve also witnessed deeply unsettling scenes in our city—from armed troops on sidewalks and Metro platforms to neighbors taken away without warning—that have left many feeling fearful and uncertain about what may come next. And because you are people of deep conscience, the suffering of those around you has been impossible to hold at a distance.

At Everyone Home DC, we’ve felt our share of pain this year, too. We’ve had to make difficult choices, stretch every dollar, and carry the weight of knowing that the people who will bear the consequences of program cuts and regressive policy choices most acutely are those who already have the least. And yet—through it all—we have been buoyed by you, our community, that has met this moment with courage, creativity, and compassion.

This year, despite facing significant challenges and anxieties of your own, you have:

  • increased your financial contributions, helping to sustain critical programs and meet urgent needs,
  • organized supply drives throughout the year that delivered thousands of bottles of water, snacks, and hygiene kits to our unhoused neighbors,
  • turned birthdays, community gatherings, and other events into fundraisers for our programs in record numbers, and
  • And when key decisions threatened housing access and support for people at risk of or experiencing homelessness, you spoke up—sending letters, making calls, and advocating for the care, dignity, and resources our neighbors deserve.

In the face of adversity, our community leans powerfully into its values of compassion, equity, and shared responsibility for our collective well-being. This year has been hard. However, I take heart in knowing that when public systems fail to protect people, our community steps forward.

When systems fail, neighbors step in to help. When safety nets fray, we become the net.

As we settle into the final weeks of 2025, I hope you find moments to connect with traditions that bring you comfort, joy, and ease. May this time of rest and reflection give us the energy and tenacity to continue the fight ahead in the new year. I hope you know how much your partnership means to me, our staff, and our Board—and to every person whose life has been touched by your generosity and care. Together, we’ll continue to demonstrate what’s possible when a city decides that everyone deserves a home.

With love and gratitude,
Karen Cunningham
Everyone Home DC
Executive Director

Community Giving in Action: Whole Foods Market Supports Everyone Home DC

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Everyone Home DC was honored to be selected as a recipient of support through Whole Foods Market’s Community Giving program. Through this initiative, local Whole Foods Market stores invited customers and team members to support organizations working to strengthen their communities—including Everyone Home DC.

Together, shoppers and staff helped raise $3,000 to support our work serving neighbors experiencing homelessness in the District. While the individual contributions may have been small, their collective impact was significant. Flexible funding like this allows us to respond to emerging needs, strengthen our programs, and provide critical services for people experiencing homelessness.

Every day, Everyone Home DC works to connect individuals and families with the resources they need to move toward housing stability. From meals and basic necessities to housing-focused services and supportive relationships, our programs rely on community investment to help make this work possible. Support from Whole Foods Market’s Community Giving program helps ensure we can continue responding to the needs of our neighbors with compassion, dignity, and care.

We are grateful to the Whole Foods Market team, their customers, and the many community members whose generosity made this support possible. Their commitment to giving back demonstrates how local businesses and community members can come together to create meaningful impact right here in Washington, DC.

Rotary Foundation Invests in the Future of Our Day Center

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Everyone Home DC was honored to receive a $20,000 grant from the Rotary Foundation of Washington, D.C. to support critical infrastructure improvements at our Drop-in Day Center, Shirley’s Place. Located on Capitol Hill, the Drop-in Day Center provides nearly 1,000 unhoused neighbors each year with a welcoming space off the streets where they can access meals, showers, laundry, mail services, and connections to housing and social services.

This project is supported by a grant from the Rotary Foundation of Washington, D.C. Rotary’s investment allowed Everyone Home DC to replace the aging HVAC system at the Drop-in Day Center. As part of the project, the air conditioning unit was relocated from the roof to ground level outside the building. This thoughtful improvement will make future maintenance and repairs significantly less disruptive, ensuring that critical spaces inside the Day Center—particularly the shower facilities on the second floor—can remain accessible to guests even when servicing is needed.

For the hundreds of neighbors who rely on the Drop-in Day Center each year, the space offers more than just shelter from the elements. It provides dignity, stability, and a consistent point of connection to the resources and relationships that help people move toward permanent housing.

We are deeply grateful to the Rotary Foundation of Washington, D.C. for investing in the infrastructure that makes this work possible and helping ensure that our Drop-in Day Center, Shirley’s Place, remains a safe and welcoming space for our community for many years to come.

Join Everyone Home DC in Making the Holidays Brighter for Families

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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 have the flexibility to celebrate their winter holidays and experience the joy of giving gifts.

This holiday season, Everyone Home DC will distribute debit gift cards throughout our community, allowing each household to decide how they spend these funds to create a meaningful celebration for their family.

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, as well as some of the most popular 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’d like 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 brainstorming support to help you reach your community and create personalized donation forms to track your progress easily.
  • You can also make a monetary donation, which program staff will use to purchase gift cards and send 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 would like to discuss dropping off the gift cards.

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.

**Any funds received above the goal for this campaign will be redirected to the general fund.**

Give the Gift of a Meaningful Thanksgiving

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As Thanksgiving approaches, Everyone Home DC is once again working to ensure that every family we partner with can celebrate the holiday in their own special way.

This year, more families are feeling the strain of rising costs and limited resources—making it harder to gather around the table or create moments of rest and connection. That’s why we’re raising funds and collecting gift cards to help families purchase the ingredients and items that make their Thanksgiving feel like home—whether that’s a favorite meal, a warm gathering, or simply a peaceful day together. Our goal is to distribute 100 gift cards ($50–$100 each) to families before Thanksgiving. With your help, we can make sure every household has the flexibility and dignity to create their own celebration. Here’s how you can help:

🧡 Make a donation today. Your gift will be used to purchase and electronically distribute grocery and debit gift cards directly to families.

🧡 Host a collection drive. Rally your colleagues, friends, or community group to collect Visa, Mastercard, Safeway, Giant, or Harris Teeter gift cards.

🧡 Set up a fundraising page. Invite your network to join you in making the season brighter for local families.

Every contribution—big or small—brings comfort and joy to our neighbors this holiday season. We’ll begin distributing gift cards in mid-November, so now is the perfect time to get involved. Let’s make Thanksgiving brighter, together. You can make a monetary donation today here. 

For more information or to share your plans to run a drive, contact Kate Akalonu at akalonu@everyonehomedc.org.

Everyone Home DC plans to begin distributing gift cards to families by mid-November.

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