What’s sweeter than chocolate this Valentine’s Day? Supporting your favorite community nonprofits by making a donation, following them on social media, attending an event, or volunteering!

Check out what some of your favorite Catalogue charities have been up to this week in our #whatsupwednesday video below, and visit their Catalogue pages to see how you can get involved.

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DC SCORES
Last week, DC SCORES students from Lincoln Middle School got to visit the White House for the L.A. Galaxy and L.A. Kings’ championships ceremony!

Girls on the Run – DC
Want a Sneak Peek at the fun in store for the Girls on the Run – DC Sneaker Soiree fundraiser coming up on Thursday, February 26th? Find your GOTR-style sneakers to wear for the evening & win “best dressed with sneakers”…..There’ll be a reception, fun prizes, special guest speakers, and more. Help support girls all across DC who want to participate in the program and rely on program scholarships in order to do so. The Sneaker Soiree is Thursday, February 26th from 6 – 8:30 pm at the Pepco Edison Place Gallery. Ticket information:http://bit.ly/1zPTIod

Turning the Page
In honor of Black History Month, Turning the Page received new books. Kids and parents get to choose from these books and more at every Community Night!

Community Ministries of Rockville
One is never too old to learn new things and yesterday’s workshop on Heart Healthy Nutrition for seniors was proof of that. Organized by the Elderly Ministries Program of Community Ministries of Rockville, the workshop featured a presentation by Lindsey Seegers, the Nutrition Educator from Manna Food Center. Both CMR and Manna are Catalogue non-profits. Elderly guests were given some simple tips on how to improve their diets by reading labels and avoiding foods rich in sodium, sugar and saturated fats, eating fresh and frozen rather than canned foods….and how to be aware of misleading food labels. Interpreters were on hand to help Chinese speaking guests and Manna brought headsets that interpreted for Spanish attendees. No matter what language you speak, no matter how old you are, the message was plain…eat healthy for your heart.

From musical performances to photography, writing, or creating informative campaign videos, Catalogue nonprofits were busy highlighting their projects and important work in the community this week.

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Catalogue for Philanthropy charities found many creative ways to celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a day “ON” to give back to the community and reflect on Dr. King’s important work. In addition to highlighting Catalogue charities’ volunteer efforts, one of our charities is also celebrating a wonderful partnership this week! See below the video for details.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twa1LFyfK0c]

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As organizations across the DC Metro region prepare for the harsh winter season, our charities are getting ahead of the game with successful hunger-awareness campaigns, winter coat drives, and MORE (details after the video)!

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“What’s Up” this week?

• Good Shepherd Housing and Family Services distributed coats to clients in advance of the upcoming winter chill. As you can see in the video, today an adorable little one (and his mom) stopped by.

• Girls on the Run DC learned that “It Takes Courage” – The girls learned the importance of standing up for themselves and using appropriate assertive behavior as well as practice these skills. They were also understanding the importance of using one’s own voice and constructively expressing their feelings, wants, and needs.

• Our Daily Bread and Food for Others celebrated food, art and fun! Both organizations gathered more than 1,000 community members in Fairfax City on Sunday at Complete the Circle FoodRaiser 2014. They created a cool Art For The Sky photo, enjoyed live music, food and kids’ activities and raised $15,300 worth of food, grocery gift cards and cash donations to help neighbors in need throughout the Fairfax County area.

• …and also, Parkinson Foundation of the National Capital Area helped others fight off Parkinson’s Disease through exercise!

Still waiting for the 2014-2015 Catalogue for Philanthropy to arrive in your mailbox? If you haven’t already previewed our digital edition, we’ve put together a small sneak peek for you here.

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So, what’s new in this year’s Catalogue for Philanthropy (aside from 78 hardworking, inspiring charities)? A few things!

• More details about our vetting and selecting process: This year, we’re giving readers a closer look at the vetting and selecting process that takes places each year, from January (when charities are invited to apply) to May (when we announce our final selections). You can also learn more on our website, here.
• Easier access our charities: Find a charity that interests you? No need to search for it online — simply use the web address at the end of their Catalogue write-up (ex: cfp-dc.org/riverkeeper) to go to that charity’s Catalogue page to donate, find volunteer opportunities, or connect via social media.
• The ability to take the Catalogue “on the go” with you: The Catalogue for Philanthropy is now fully mobile! In addition to our mobile/tablet-friendly website, you can also access a digital edition of the Catalogue that looks just like the copy you received in the mail. Simply send a text message to 51555 with Cataloguerequest in the body of the message. From there, you’ll receive a link to the Catalogue!

 
We hope you’ll become inspired not only by the organizations you find in this year’s Catalogue, but also the 331 on our website. The Catalogue is the only guide to giving that uses local experts to evaluate and identify the best small charities across our region, so you can feel confident that your support will always make a real impact — here, where you live.

And we promise — We’ll be back to our regularly-scheduled “Whats Up Wednesday” programming next week!