"socialize in a socially conscious fashion"

Washington Blade

 

"Hot Web Site" - Digital Queeries

The Advocate

 

"your best bet may be the

Burgundy Crescent Volunteers"

Women's Monthly

 

"An excellent way to meet new people"

Metro Weekly

 

"making an impact since 2001"

Washington Post

Founded in February, 2001,

BCV now has over 3,400 members

and we have provided

over 60,000 volunteer hours

to the community:

 

Washington, DC

Maryland

Virginia

 

Calendar of Volunteer Opportunities (this includes only our recurring monthly events; for our special events, sign up for our weekly email newsletter by clicking on Membership):

Because our activities tend to fill up, please sign up beforehand for each activity you'd like to join.  Otherwise, we may end up overwhelming the organizations we are trying to help.  We'll send you the address and directions in a reminder email a few days beforehand.  Need more specific directions to a volunteer or social venue?  Try www.wmata.com or www.stationmasters.com for Metro and walking directions and www.mapquest.com for driving or walking directions.

If you'd like to see member reviews of some of these activities, go to Member Reviews of Activities and Photos.

Saturday, May 3, 2008
8:00-10:00am (women and men)
Food and Friends. We will help with food preparation (chopping veggies) and packing groceries. F&F helps feed more than 1100 people living with AIDS in the Washington area. They have NEW facilities near the Fort Totten Metro Station (Red and Green Line). Metro opens now at 7am on weekends. There is a fenced Parking Lot for those who drive.  Group size is limited to 10 per shift and this popular activity will fill quickly. Donuts and coffee will be provided starting at 8am; we will begin working no later than 8:15am. If you are interested in volunteering, please email jonathan@burgundycrescent.org

Saturday, May 3, 2008
12:00pm to 3:00pm
PETSMART - Seven Corners, 6100 Arlington Blvd., Falls Church, VA (inside the beltway). The Lost Dog and Cat Rescue Foundation is looking for dog-handlers for their adoption events. Recently, 14 BCV members volunteered as a group and helped LDCRF have their most successful weekend ever, with over 45 pets adopted. You can participate in this magic, where you'll have lots of fun playing with your "pet-for-the-day" and socializing with the other BCV members. When you show up, they'll hand you a dog (which you can choose yourself), tell you some basic information (sex, approximate age, what they know about its temperament [good w/kids, other dogs, high energy, couch potato], whether he's a stray, owner give-up), and offer some advice/information in case you need to know more about the dog if someone expresses interest in him/her. You will have the dog on a leash, wander around or outside the store, and people will ask you about the dog if they're interested. You will be paired with an experienced handler until you are comfortable flying solo, unless you are comfortable and prefer starting out on your own. There will also be other volunteers there to answer any of your questions. You get to have a good time and do a good thing at the same time. They bring a number of dogs based on the number of volunteers that sign up. They recommend very casual clothes. Volunteers are welcome (in fact encouraged) to ask for a different dog if the ones they're handling are hard for them to control. The Lost Dog & Cat Rescue Foundation, a 501 c (3) non-profit organization, is a highly dedicated group of volunteers that rescues abandoned or displaced dogs and cats from the threat of euthanasia by area shelters or other at-risk situations. Once in their care, these companion animals are fully vaccinated and spayed or neutered. They also provide for those animals who need additional time and medical care before going to a new home. While awaiting placement in permanent, loving homes, these animals stay either at their boarding facility, the Lost Dog Ranch (on 61 acres in Sumerduck, VA, which you can take a virtual tour of on the Web site), or in foster homes.  If you would like to volunteer, please email jonathan@burgundycrescent.org 

 

Thursday, May 8, 2008
6:00pm to 8:00pm
Men's Evening at Food and Friends. We will help with food preparation (chopping veggies) and packing groceries. F&F helps feed more than 1100 people living with AIDS in the Washington area. They have NEW facilities near the Fort Totten Metro Station (Red and Green Line).  There is a Parking Lot for those who drive.  Group size is limited to 12 per shift and this popular activity will fill quickly. If you are interested in volunteering, please email
jonathan@burgundycrescent.org

 

Sunday, May 11, 2008
9:00am to 12noon
LOVE TO COOK? In a 10,000 square foot professional kitchen? Then come play chef with BCV at the DC Central Kitchen (DCCK), and help fight hunger in the Washington DC area. BCV members will help cook, working alongside chefs who are graduates of DCCK's job training program. No previous experience is required -- just an interest in cooking! One quarter of the food produced in restaurants, businesses, and our own homes is wasted, yet in DC alone, thousands of men, women, and children go without food daily. The DCCK, a nationally recognized pioneer in the food rescue/community kitchens movement, was founded on the premise that waste is wrong -- be it food, money, or the potential for productive lives. DCCK provides job skills by using rescued and donated ingredients to teach unemployed and homeless individuals how to cook, and then turns this food into free meal services 365 days a year for 3,000 individuals and over 150 homeless shelters, community centers, children's and senior citizens' programs, and other non-profit agencies throughout DC, MD, and VA. DCCK is conveniently located near the Judiciary Square Metro station on the Red line, and free parking is also available.  This activity is limited to 15 BCV members. If you are interested in volunteering, please email
jonathan@burgundycrescent.org 

 

Saturday, May 17, 2008
11:45pm to 3:00pm
PETSMART - Seven Corners, 6100 Arlington Blvd., Falls Church, VA (inside the beltway).  The Lost Dog and Cat Rescue Foundation is looking for dog-handlers for their adoption events. Recently, 14 BCV members volunteered as a group and helped LDCRF have their most successful weekend ever, with over 45 pets adopted. You can participate in this magic, where you'll have lots of fun playing with your "pet-for-the-day" and socializing with the other BCV members. When you show up, they'll hand you a dog (which you can choose yourself), tell you some basic information (sex, approximate age, what they know about its temperament [good w/kids, other dogs, high energy, couch potato], whether he's a stray, owner give-up), and offer some advice/information in case you need to know more about the dog if someone expresses interest in him/her. You will have the dog on a leash, wander around or outside the store, and people will ask you about the dog if they're interested. You will be paired with an experienced handler until you are comfortable flying solo, unless you are comfortable and prefer starting out on your own. There will also be other volunteers there to answer any of your questions. You get to have a good time and do a good thing at the same time. They bring a number of dogs based on the number of volunteers that sign up. They recommend very casual clothes. Volunteers are welcome (in fact encouraged) to ask for a different dog if the ones they're handling are hard for them to control. The Lost Dog & Cat Rescue Foundation, a 501 c (3) non-profit organization, is a highly dedicated group of volunteers that rescues abandoned or displaced dogs and cats from the threat of euthanasia by area shelters or other at-risk situations. Once in their care, these companion animals are fully vaccinated and spayed or neutered. They also provide for those animals that need additional time and medical care before going to a new home. While awaiting placement in permanent, loving homes, these animals stay either at their boarding facility, the Lost Dog Ranch (on 61 acres in Sumerduck, VA, which you can take a virtual tour of on the Web site), or in foster homes.  If you would like to volunteer, please email
jonathan@burgundycrescent.org

 

Saturday, May 24, 2008
8:00am to 10:00am (men's shift)
9:45am to noon (women & men)
Food and Friends. We will help with food preparation (chopping veggies) and packing groceries. F&F helps feed more than 1100 people living with AIDS in the Washington area. They have a NEW facilities near the Fort Totten Metro station (Red and Green Line; Metro now opens at 7am on weekends). There is a fenced Parking Lot for those who drive.  Group size is limited to 10 per shift and this popular activity will fill quickly. Donuts and coffee will be provided starting at 8am; we will begin working no later than 8:15am. If you are interested in volunteering, please email jonathan@burgundycrescent.org