Choose Your Own One Brick Adventure

September 21, 2010 at 2:31 pm | Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

This weekend is a busy one for One Brick! We’ve got a whopping 7 awesome volunteer opportunities scheduled for this Saturday, and we’re absolutely sure that one of them has YOUR name written all over it! Don’t believe us? Check them out for yourself…

Want to help the needy in your community? Take your pick of events!

Are you…

In Virginia?

Head out to Alexandria to help at monthly the ALIVE! food distribution. You’ll be sorting and distributing canned goods as well as fresh produce and meats. This event is loads of fun and typically serves between 250 and 300 families.

RSVP here: http://washingtondc.onebrick.org/event/?eventid=7377

In DC?

There’s no need to cross the river to do some good on a Saturday morning. You can join us at the Capital Area Food Bank in Northeast to sort donations (some of which may even end up at the ALIVE! event next month!). CAFB is an integral hub to food distribution in the DC region, and One Brick volunteers love doing their part to help out.

RSVP here: http://washingtondc.onebrick.org/event/?eventid=7387

In Maryland?

Rockville Interfaith Clothing Center provides clothing, shoes, and household items to more than 15,000 individuals each year. Sign up for one short shift, and you can help provide basic necessities to 5,000 low-income and homeless families, who can then use their financial resources for other pressing needs.

RSVP here: http://washingtondc.onebrick.org/event/?eventid=7413

Looking to get a little dirt under your nails?

Join us at Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens, and you’ll have ample opportunity to help with a variety of park improvement projects. You may find yourself removing invasive species, planting, weeding, or any number of other invigorating outdoor projects.

RSVP here: http://washingtondc.onebrick.org/event/?eventid=7381

Interested in chatting up a ton of new folks in a single day?

Head on out to the first 17th Street Festival, and you could be helping with setup, selling tickets, or pouring drinks in a beer garden! (Bonus: You don’t have to wake up early for either of these shifts!)

RSVP for 1st shift (12-4) here: http://washingtondc.onebrick.org/event/?eventid=8160

RSVP for 2nd shift (4-8) here: http://washingtondc.onebrick.org/event/?eventid=8161

Sign up for a shift at the CitySolve Urban Race, and you’ll be helping with organization, setup and registration.

RSVP for 1st shift (9 a.m. to 12:45) here: http://washingtondc.onebrick.org/event/?eventid=8195

RSVP for 2nd shift (12:30-5) here: http://washingtondc.onebrick.org/event/?eventid=8196

Team Member of the Month: AprilH

September 16, 2010 at 2:35 pm | Posted in people | Leave a comment

AprilH just celebrated her one year anniversary with One Brick. Currently, she is on a mission to try all the recurring monthly events, but she also enjoys volunteering at festivals where she gets to do fun tasks like making snocones or lemonade. She especially enjoyed the Sweet Charity event, because “there was chocolate everywhere!”

Aside from going to events themselves, April is the elf who puts the events on the calendar. “I’m always looking for new events as well that people would be interested in,” she says, “and sometimes the best way to find those is word of mouth from our volunteers, so I am always open to event suggestions and opinions about events to help make an awesome calendar each month!”

When not volunteering, April enjoys cooking, yoga, scrapbooking, and travel. A native Kansan, she loves DC’s “endless restaurant options” and the monuments.

In this photo, she is ready to dispense financial advice to young people in the game of Choices!

September Happy Hour at Modern

September 9, 2010 at 12:47 pm | Posted in happy hour | Leave a comment

Get ready to have a blast at the next One Brick happy hour at Modern, next Thursday, September 16!

This month we’ll be doing things a little differently. We’ve partnered with the 20s & 30s Going Out Group as their designated charity for September, which means we’ll see a whole lot of new faces AND receive 80% of the money raised at the event.

On top of the usual drink specials and some extra giveaways, we’ll be treated to DJ Saam’s loungy, groovy beats. We’ll also be mingling with a diverse crowd from the DC area, so be prepared to chat about why you love One Brick!

If you want to take a more active role than just mingling, Chrissy A is looking for some event managers and coordinators to sign up for short shifts staffing the entrance table. These folks will help greet people, collect donations, and, of course, promote One Brick! If you’re interested, please email Chrissy A as soon as possible.

For more info, check out:

New Event: 17th Street Festival

September 7, 2010 at 9:13 am | Posted in events | 1 Comment

After almost a year of blocked traffic, jackhammers, and general construction hullabaloo, the 17th Street NW is officially Streetscaped (fancy!) and will be going back to business as usual — with much improved transportation, pedestrian, and bicycle safety, that is!

The neighborhood is going to mark the end of construction and celebrate the area’s snazzy new look in style – with a community arts festival, complete with musical performers, artist vendors, a kids zone, a pet zone, a beer garden (which is kind of like an adult zone, if you think about it), an auction, and more!

The 17th Street Festival will be held Saturday, September 25 from 2-6 p.m. in the commercial strip between P Street and Riggs Place. A free movie will be shown at Stead Park at 8 p.m. to round out the day.

“We want this event to highlight our overall community, including businesses, independent entrepreneurs, artists and musicians, and our local public school, Ross Elementary,” said Lee Granados, chair of the 17th Street Festival.

Being that we here at One Brick fancy ourselves big ol’ fans of community and big ol’ fans of fun, we were, as you can imagine, all over this baby. Our events staff agreed to provide – not just one, but two – shifts, with a total of 30 to 50 super awesome One Brick volunteers pitching in at the festival. (That way, everyone who volunteers is sure to have time to enjoy the festival, too! Did we mention there’d be live music? And a Beer Garden?)

Volunteers will help to set-up and break-down tents, tables, and stage.  We’ll be working the beer garden (mmmm…. beer! Sorry, no drinking while serving!), selling tickets, and supporting the artists’ break-down and set-up. Now doesn’t that sound like a rip-roarin’ good time?

The first shift will be from noon to 4 p.m. You can sign up here: http://washingtondc.onebrick.org/event/?eventid=8160. (You know you want to. All the cool kids are doing it.)

The second shift is from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Sign up here: http://washingtondc.onebrick.org/event/?eventid=8161.

Interested in being a sponsor? Attending the festival? Exercising your right to be plain nosey? You can find more details about the festival on its official website, www.17thstreetfestival.org.

One Brick Gets the Ball Rolling at a Local Elementary School

September 3, 2010 at 9:30 am | Posted in events, testimonials | Leave a comment

A few weeks ago ten hard-working One Brick volunteers made their way out to Rolling Terrace Elementary School to help transform a neglected courtyard into a beautiful, green, and inviting place for students to enjoy.

Their tasks for the day included digging a pond, moving rocks into place, and hauling mulch and compost, to name a few. The One Brick team was so motivated about the project that the school’s parents took notice and wanted to get in on the action!

As great as the photos are for volunteers to remember the day, what you don’t know is the power they’ve had in spreading the word about the project. I’ve had multiple parents see the pictures and get excited about volunteering themselves. Thank you so much for adding much needed energy and momentum to the courtyard project. I’d love to set up a standing volunteer day for One Brick at Rolling Terrace. Lord knows we need the help, and you guys are such an inspiration to the kids and the whole community!

Thanks,
Alison

Alison Risso
KaBoom!

Look for upcoming events at Rolling Terrace on the One Brick calendar! In the meantime, you can check out more photos from the event here: http://washingtondc.onebrick.org/photos/?eventid=7992#/file/43793/.

More about Rolling Terrace

The mission of the Rolling Terrace Elementary School is to provide a caring and safe learning environment where all children achieve success. A diverse population of students, parents, and staff hold themselves and each other responsible for student achievement, believing that through teamwork, Rolling Terrace Elementary School will be a high achieving school community. This goal will be achieved through rigorous instruction, collaboration among stakeholders, effective utilization of resources, and trust in one another.

One Brick’s 2010 Annual Report

September 1, 2010 at 9:41 am | Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment
Tags:

About One Brick

One Brick DC is part of a national organization dedicated to strengthening the volunteer base within our communities. Founded in 2001, One Brick is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that brings volunteers together in a friendly and social atmosphere. Our ‘commitment-free volunteering’ allows individuals to choose when to volunteer, rather than having to make commitments for a certain number of volunteer hours, or agree to be available every week at a specific time.

Mission Statement

Volunteering Made Easy!

One Brick provides support to local non-profit and community organization by creating a social and flexible volunteer environment. We enable people to get involved, have an impact and have fun, without the requirements of long-term commitments.

Impact

In 2009, One Brick DC provided more than 8,500 hours to our community. That’s valued by the Independent Sector (at $24.52 per hour in the DC area) at $208,420! We were able to deliver all this support for less than $3 per hour. This is another testament to One Brick’s commitment of being as cost-effective as possible.

Who We Help

Since One Brick DC was founded in the summer of 2006, we have helped over 100 local nonprofit and community-based organizations by providing over 25,000 hours of service through hundreds of events. Several of the organizations we help include:

  • Capital Area Food Bank
  • DC Central Kitchen
  • American Red Cross
  • Hands on DC
  • Bread for the City
  • Thrive DC
  • And many, many more!

How You Can Help

Get Involved

Anyone can make a difference. Sign up for one of our events and see how easy and fun volunteering really is.

Donations

Your gift supports many endeavors including:

  • Outreach to local nonprofits in need
  • Training of our event managers and event coordinators
  • Volunteer appreciation
  • Technological services and support
  • Expanding One Brick to new cities across the country

Your donations keep One Brick going! Click here to donate now!

Click here to download the complete Annual Report.

August Team Member of the Month: Chris T

August 30, 2010 at 8:33 am | Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Chris began his involvement in One Brick on the other side of the country, sorting books with One Brick – San Francisco in 2005. “I was so excited when One Brick opened up here in DC!” he says.

Chris T: Volunteer in Action


From “2006 to 2009 I didn’t volunteer because Vegas doesn’t have a One Brick chapter.  I’ve been at a lot of events this year since I moved back to DC. I spent almost a decade as a Big Brother and loved being in the program.  But since coming back to the DC area I’ve been ready for a lot of changes, and One Brick was perfect because I could volunteer whenever I wanted without any pressure of long-term commitment.  Not that I have a problem with commitment, ladies!“

Chris’s favorite One Brick events involve food: packaging food donations for ALIVE and cooking at DC Central Kitchen.  His funniest One Brick story happened not at event itself but online.  “On the proud day I was granted ‘Event Manager’ status, I was also given a OneBrick email account, which happens to be set up as First Name, Last Initial, @ Onebrick.org. Conveniently, my name is Chris Tam.”

Chris appreciates DC for its smart people, and in his free time, he enjoys reading non-fiction, visiting museums, photography, tennis/racquetball, and cooking.  If he ever started a band, its name would be Terrible but Awesome.

Sign up for CitySolve & Save!

August 27, 2010 at 8:42 am | Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Do you…
…Dream of winning The Amazing Race?
…Mop the floor with your Trivial Pursuit opponents?
…Know the ins and outs of DC’s neighborhoods and tourist spots?
…Need an excuse to don a silly costume and run rampant around the city?
…Have a burning desire to help your favorite volunteer organization while competing for a $300 grand prize?

If so, One Brick has a deal for you!

We’ve partnered with CitySolve Urban Race to offer One Brick supporters a 15% discount on registration for this unique urban race where brains beat brawn!

Teams of two solve clever clues and face fun challenges all while navigating the urban landscape via foot or on public transportation.

Through today, the cost is only $34 per ticket with the discount code onebrick. Each time the onebrick discount code is redeemed, One Brick will receive a donation of 25% of the registration!

Tickets must be prepaid. Register securely via the Eventbrite website.

For more info, visit: http://citysolveurbanrace.com

To join the fun: http://www.citysolveurbanrace.com/2010/washington-dc-urban-adventure-race.html

Check-in starts at 11am. The race starts at noon.

Volunteering Beyond One Brick

August 26, 2010 at 7:15 pm | Posted in people, testimonials | Leave a comment

Earlier this month, Alyson K, one of One Brick DC’s reliable volunteers, read about a need at Ross Elementary and took it upon herself to help out.

While helping teachers prepare for the new school year by sorting books, Alyson made an impression with the organizer and got some great feedback!

I just wanted to reach out again and thank you for your precious time in supporting us! It meant more than you know in terms of helping our teachers get ready. I have received such amazing feedback on how great our volunteers are! I feel extremely lucky to have found One Brick! It truly is the generosity of people like you that prove what can happen when people come together for the common good.

Take care,

Lee Granados
President & Founder
Bridging Worlds Consulting, LLC

Alyson learned of the Ross Elementary event in the Beyond One Brick section of the One Brick DC newsletter. Are you a subscriber? If not, sign up here!

Already registered for our newsletter? Check out other kudos and accolades for One Brick DC and our sister chapters!

As always, you can check for upcoming events on the One Brick Calendar.

One Brick is Sending Gary R to the Movies!

April 26, 2010 at 6:48 pm | Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Congratulations to Gary R, who won our National Volunteer Week raffle. Gary will get four movie tickets and a snazzy One Brick messenger bag.

Thanks to everyone who entered the raffle and everyone who made it out to volunteer with One Brick last week!

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