Press Releases
Hands on DC 13th Work-a-thon a Success!
Washington, DC, Apr. 28, 2007 Hands on DC Hands (HoDC), an all-volunteer, nonprofit organization conducted their 13th annual, citywide work-a-thon to improve and refurbish Washington, DC public schools, on April 28, 2007. On a beautiful, sunny spring day, over 1,900 volunteers completed projects in 30 schools citywide, and raised over $10,000 in pledge money that will go 100% to scholarship funds.
"Thanks to all our volunteers," said Leigh Egaas, the 2007 co-director of Hands on DC, "we were able to really make a difference in the lives of DC schoolchildren." Projects included painting peeling and cracked walls, installing flower boxes, cleaning up school grounds, painting murals and many other projects. At Bowen Elementary in Southeast, for example, a team from Resources for the Future, one of the gold sponsors for Hands on DC, re-painted lockers that were covered with obscenities, and helped other volunteers re-paint a number of old doors whose paint was cracked and peeling.
The site coordinator at Bunker-Hill Elementary School, Brian Gage, was nearly moved to tears at the energy and drive of his volunteers as they transformed the school into a better place for learning. "You never know how volunteers are going to react when they arrive," said Gage, "but this group was really excited, and we really made a difference in the look and feel of the school, and hopefully the lives of the kids as well."
Putting on a one day work-a-thon, with almost 2000 volunteers at 30 different schools is no easy task. Hundreds of gallons of paint, thousands of paintbrushs and painting supplies, as well as tons of mulch needed to be sorted and moved, as well as coordinating with the district and the school system. "It is not an easy job," said Andrea Gudeon, the other Hands on DC co-director for 2007. "We started planning back in October, and it is a lot of work, but so rewarding when you see the volunteers out there painting and mulching and really making an obvious difference in only a few hours."
Besides the co-directors, there are 10 other members of an executive committee, that oversee a group of about 100 volunteers that organize the fundraising, the meetings with the schools, and the other myriad tasks that must be completed so that the event can be a success. But, it "all starts with the co-directors," said Christina Russell, the president of the Hands on DC and herself a former co-director. "Andrea and Leigh did a great job getting everything oragnized and keeping people motivated and excited for the event. I couldn't be happier with how well this event was run."
While the paint isn't even dry from this year's event, planning has already begun for next year. If you are interested in being a part of Hands on DC 2008, or to see photos from this years event, go to http://www.handsondc.org for more information.
HoDC is an all-volunteer, nonprofit organization that conducts an annual citywide work-a-thon to improve Washington, DC public schools, raise funds to support local college scholarship programs, and encourage greater community involvement in public schools.
For more information contact:
Andrea Gudeon, Co-Director, Hands on DC 2007, andreag@handsondc.org
or Leigh Egaas, Co-Director, Hands on DC 2007, leighe@handsondc.org
