Meridian International Honors Martin Luther King Jr. with “Warm-Up DC”
January 19, 2015
For Immediate Release
Contact: Monique McSween | (202) 939-5882 | mmcsween@meridian.org
PRESS RELEASE
Washington DC: Meridian International Center will honor the legacy and vision of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. with a day of service, held both in the Washington, DC community and around the world, addressing Dr. King's challenge, "What are you doing for others?"
On Monday, January 19th, Meridian will host the second annual progressive service project to Warm Up, DC with generous support from our lead sponsor, City First Bank. In an effort to bridge the local and global work that Meridian does, volunteers will collect, donate, and share items to be distributed by the International Rescue Committee (IRC) in Silver Spring, which offers education, nutrition, and family support programs to newly arrived refugee families in the Washington, DC metro area. As part of this half-day event, there will be collection sites for much needed items along the U Street corridor, and Meridian's campus will transform into a "dream lab" matching skilled volunteers to engage with members of the community. All accompanying activities are outlined below.
Overview of Activities
Service Day Kick-off Celebration and 3rd Annual Knit-in(BYOY*)
Sponsored by City First Bank
9:30am-10:30am Busboys and Poets - 2021 14th Street, NW
Warm Up, DC will be officially kicked off at Busboys and Poets and will include all of our neighborhood partners. With civic-minded poetry and speakers as a fitting back-drop at this community institution, participants for the "knit-in" will create hats and scarves to be donated to IRC to help those hit hardest by winter weather.
*Bring Your Own Yarn
"I Have a Dream" Lab
11:00am-3:00pm Meridian's White-Meyer House - 1624 Crescent Place, NW
Join Meridian, along with DC Social Innovation Project and IMPACT DC, for a multi-faceted pro-bono volunteer lab, which will bring together skilled volunteers, sponsors, community members and local organizations for a day of impact. Whether pairing for mock interviews or learning how to network more effectively for your latest big idea, the "I Have a Dream Lab" is the perfect setting. Register here.
GSL Virtual "Perfect Your Pitch" Lab
11:00am-1:30pm Meridian's White-Meyer House - 1624 Crescent Place, NW
Parallel to the Dream Lab, Meridian's Global Service Leaders' international membership will benefit from one-on-one virtual consulting sessions to fine tune their organization's "pitches."
Warm Up, DC Junior
11:30am-1:30pm Meridian International Center - 1624/1630 Crescent Place, NW
Kids can contribute to the day's volunteer activities, too! We'll have activities for small hands (and big hearts) on-site.
Bicycle Collection & Safety Check
12:00pm-3:00pm Meridian International Center - 1624 Crescent Place, NW (Parking Lot)
Put your unused bicycle (or bike parts) to good use and help someone get to work and school in 2015 and beyond. Working with partners in every corner of the globe, Bikes for the World collects, reconditions, and ships bicycles to distribute to those in need of this viable transportation option. Bring working bicycles by for a safety check.
A $ 10.00 donation per bike is suggested to defray costs of shipping overseas.
Back-to-Class-Backpack Stuffathon
Sponsored by City First Bank
1:30pm-2:30pm Meridian's White-Meyer House - 1624 Crescent Place, NW
With a goal of packing and personalizing 100 backpacks - complete with all the supplies necessary for success in school - we welcome all to join us for the Stuffathon.
Service Day Closing Ceremony
3:00pm Meridian's White-Meyer House - 1624 Crescent Place, NW
Join fellow volunteers in a hot chocolate toast and close to a rewarding day of service.
Donation Destinations
Throughout the day, participating neighborhood businesses and organizations will serve as drop-off sites for donated items, to benefit IRC, complete with one-per-customer Karmic Bonuses. These include:
- Cake Love
Donations accepted: Gently used sweaters
Karmic Bonus: Free mini-cupcake w/ donation. - The Press
Donations accepted: Gently used coats
Karmic Bonus: 15% off dry cleaning order with each donation. - Twice As Warm
Karmic Bonus: Wear One, Give One. Buy a hat, gloves, or scarf and Twice As Warm will match your purchase with a donation to IRC.
*Exact timing subject to change. Please check www.meridian.org for most up-to-date information.
To volunteer to Warm Up, DC: Please contact mpoole@meridian.org
