By Max Grossman and Carlee Brown
The Southwest Fall Food Drive was a huge SUCCESS!!! Ward 6 Mutual Aid (W6MA) and Christ United Methodist Church (CUMC) would like to thank all our neighbors who generously supported the Southwest D.C. Fall Food Drive! With your help we collected over 120 large boxes of food and supplies – enough to assist 120 families over the next few months.
A special thanks goes out to the residents of River Park, Tiber Inland, and VIO who gave so generously. In addition to the food supplies, we raised $630 dollars that will be used for coats and food for our unhoused neighbors.
We’d also like to acknowledge that thanks to your support, W6MA has been awarded the “Civic Pride” award at Charles Allen’s Office’s 2020 Brickies http://bit.ly/w6ma_brickies. Thank you all!
Interested in ways to help? There are several ways to show your support:
- Donate groceries and supplies. Donations of groceries, cleaning supplies, and toiletries can be brought to the courtyard entrance of CUMC at 900 4th St. SW on Wednesdays and Fridays from 4-6 p.m., and Saturdays from 11 a.m.-2 p.m.
- Help make sure every student can access the online classroom. W6MA is working to bridge the digital divide, providing devices and school supplies to students to make sure that D.C.’s virtual school year is a success. Alongside our partner organization Serve Your City, we are providing digital devices to local students. Please fill out the form at https://bit.ly/w6ma_laptops if you have a device to donate.
- Volunteer. The Southwest Pod of W6MA is also seeking volunteers to help staff our local food pantry and help with food distribution. If you are interested in getting involved, please contact karenlmcmanus@gmail.com.
- Give online at https://www.serveyourcitydc.org/donate.
W6MA and CUMC have a number of ways you can get the support you need:
- If you or someone you know has a critical need, call the Ward 6 Mutual Aid Hotline at 202-683-9962. You can request food, masks, cleaning supplies, and other goods for delivery.
- Obtain fresh produce from W6MA’s community drive on 1st and 3rd Saturday of the month at 1 p.m. at the Christ United Methodist Church (900 4th St. SW; use the courtyard entrance near the library).
- Obtain groceries from the Christ United Methodist Church’s 5000 Ministry Food Pantry on the 1st and 3rd Saturdays of the month at 1 p.m. (courtyard entrance). If you can not come to the church due to health or mobility issues, call 202-554-9117 to request a delivery.
W6MA is an all-volunteer grassroots group working with Black and Brown grassroots organizations to help keep our communities safe. The Southwest Pod of W6MA is partnering with CUMC on a community food and supply drive to serve our neighbors in response to COVID-19.