A great start for Holiday Helpings

Yesterday was our Holiday Helpings kickoff! We provided nearly 200 families with complete holiday meals -- a turkey and all the trimmings. And those were just the early birds. We expect more than 8,000 more families will turn to us in the coming months.

See video of a visit from Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton here. And check out this great photo gallery of the morning, shot by Friend of Bread Steve Goldenberg:

With all this talk about Holiday Helpings, you may be asking, "how can I help?" Well, first and foremost, you can give generously! (Just $29 provides Holiday Helpings to a family of four.)

Also, our volunteer coordinator, Erin Garnaas-Holmes, reminds us that we need volunteers! We need helping hands to pack up and distribute a lot of 8,000 turkey dinners. Says Erin: "Yep, our volunteers are as busy as it gets these days, and they will be all the way through Christmas."

Anyone can help with this effort. Specifically, Bread for the City will need 3-5 volunteers every afternoon from 1:00pm-3:00pm, Monday through Thursday through December 23, in both of our pantries, located at 1525 7th Street NW and 1640 Good Hope Road SE. (Please keep in mind that we are open only during business hours, and operate on the Federal Holiday calendar, so we do not have any volunteer opportunities during the evening, weekends, or holidays, including Thanksgiving and Christmas.)

You can view the days on which we still need volunteers here. To sign up for open slots, please email Erin and specify the days you'd like to come.

Thank you for your support!