Congratulations to Marquis Smith, who was named a HERO by Allstate Insurance Company for the various community service projects he coordinates. One of those projects is the participation in Sunday Suppers of a group of volunteers from the Howard University School of Education. Way to go, Marquis! Sunday Suppers is proud of you and of our partnership with Howard University. You can read all about it in this Washington Post article from January 14, and see more in these videos:     Video 1      Video 2

On December 9, 2009, the Sunday Suppers Board of Directors met and altered its composition. Congratulations to the new Board!    

Secretary - Tanya Primiani    

Co-Directors of Operations - Will Hawins & Phill Starling

Treasurer - Phill Starling*

Co-Directors of Outreach - Bethany Shaffer & Aaron Killian

Director of Fundraising - Charles deVilmorin

*also serving as Executive Director

Thanks to the key volunteers and Board members who participated in the meeting and especially to the outgoing members of the Board for their service, support and guidance over the years. This is an important step for the organization and I am delighted to be sharing the management of Sunday Suppers with these dedicated individuals. It's going to be a great 2010!

Sunday Suppers raised over $4,000 to support our mission and everyone had a great time!

Thanks to all of you who shared your evening with us. We hope you had as much fun as we did! Thanks also to our sponsors: Left Bank, La Fourchette, Grand Central and Rumba Café.

EVENT PHOTOS: Click here to see our photos from the party!

When the assistant director for Chico State University’s Community Action Volunteers in Education (CAVE). spent 2 days on the streets living as a homeless person, to raise awareness, she wasn't sure what to expect. Coincidentally, she is also the mayor of the city of Chico, California.  Her thoughts: “people just walked past me, didn’t want to make any connection with me, no eye contact, did not look at me like we look at each other,” - click here to read the whole story!

An interesting article from July 9: Homelessness in suburbs, rural areas increases (USAToday.com). What caught my attention was the box of nationwide homelessness statistics on the lower left hand corner. DC's per capita homeless rate is the highest in the nation and is more than DOUBLE that of the states tied for 2nd place.