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Join us for our Annual Interfaith Thanksgiving Celebration this Sunday, November 23rd

Capitol Hill Group Ministry will be hosting its 11th Annual Thanksgiving Interfaith Service on Sunday, November 23rd, 4-5 pm, at Mount Moriah Baptist Church (1636 East Capitol Street NE). Come together with our diverse community of support to celebrate CHGM's ever expanding services to our neighbors in need, the Capitol Hill community, and many of the congregations and volunteers that help make our neighborhood such a wonderful place to call home.

In addition to performances from local congregations and our own clients, CHGM is excited to present the annual Ruth Rappaport Wisdom Award to Sig Cohen, a prominent and involved member of the Capitol Hill Community. CHGM will also present two new awards at this year's service: The "Premier Partner Award" to Emory Beacon of Light for their leadership with our congregational shelter program, and the "Champion Award" to Marijo Cosmas, our committed volunteer of the year. Please join us in honoring all of them for their generous support of our homeless neighbors. 

New HERT Volunteers Deploy!
Just in time for the arrival of bitterly cold winter weather, and thanks in part to support from the Capitol Hill Community Foundation, CHGM trained more than twenty volunteers for our new Hypothermia Emergency Response Team ( HERT).

HERT volunteers are trained to engage effectively with homeless neighbors and offer basic emergency services to those in need. They will be on-call this winter to canvass the streets on hypothermia alert nights, days when the government closes due to the cold, and on weekends. In addition to offering blankets, cold weather gear, snacks, and hot beverages, HERT volunteers will also assess unsheltered individuals for signs of hypothermia, encourage them to move indoors, and call for assistance with anyone at risk.

HERT volunteers have already proven to be an incredible new resource. Each time the city issued hypothermia alerts this past week, our volunteers deployed in pairs throughout Capitol Hill to provide critical care.In addition to the valuable service HERT volunteers are providing to our homeless clients, their support is providing relief to our overstretched outreach staff and facilitating data collection that CHGM will use to target services to our most populated night-time areas. 

It's not too late to become a HERT volunteer! If you'd like to join the team, please contact Whitney Parnell at parnell@chgm.net or 202-544-0631.
Time to Adopt-A-Family This Holiday Season
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It's hard to believe that the holiday season is already upon us. Thanksgiving is a week away, and soon it will be time to prepare for the joy of Christmas and the lights of Chanukah. For many of you, part of the joy of the season comes from sharing your blessings with your less fortunate neighbors through CHGM's Adopt-A-Family Program. 
 
Our annual Adopt-A-Family Program allows generous sponsors to bring joy to the hearts of homeless and low-income children and families by providing holiday gifts they would otherwise be unable to purchase or enjoy. Each sponsor is paired with a family in need and can either purchase presents from the family's wish list of clothing, toys, books, and household items, or make a cash donation to CHGM toward the purchase of the gifts.
  

Last year, CHGM provided more than 628 individuals with holiday gifts, and we hope to make the holidays special for a similar number this year.  To become a sponsor or for additional information about our annual Adopt-A-Family Christmas Program please contact Shelah Wilcox at Wilcox@chgm.net or 202-544-3150.

Upcoming Events: Mark Your Calendars!
11th Annual Interfaith Service, (Mount Moriah Baptist Church), 11/23, 4pm - Celebrate CHGM's ever expanding services to our neighbors in need, the Capitol Hill community, and many of the congregations and volunteers that help make our neighborhood such a wonderful place to call home.

Thanksgiving Basket Distribution (Shirley's Place), 11/24, 10am - 12pm -  Families who have signed up to receive Thanksgiving baskets can retrieve their items at Shirley's Place

Sock Hop (Community Night), 12/9, 6pm - 7:30pm - Celebrate the holiday season by attending this fun 50's themed gathering, and bring some socks to donate to our unsheltered neighbors during the winter season, 

Adopt-A-Family Gift Distribution (Shirley's Place), 12/15 -12/21 - Volunteers who are participating in our Adopt-A-Family program can drop off their items for families to receive.
  CFC- #36006 UW-NCA #8859 
"Serving the Community, One Neighbor at a Time"