So Others Might Eat ranks as WTOP's Top 10 charity
Friday - 7/27/2012, 10:49am ET
WASHINGTON - D.C. is home to many national charities, but who takes care of those living in the District?
More than 6,500 District residents - over one-third of them in families - find themselves homeless or poor in the nation's capital.
One of the charities that helps those in need is So Others Might Eat (SOME), named this year's top charity in WTOP's Top 10 competition.
Founded in 1970 by an interfaith group of priests, ministers and lay persons as a soup kitchen in the basement of St. Aloysius Church on North Capitol Street, it later became apparent that more services were needed to help the poor in D.C.
SOME added staff and volunteers through the years. The group wanted to give hope by offering affordable housing, job training, addiction treatment and counseling, to the poor, senior citizens and individuals with mental illness.
"Our goal is to work with people to help them regain their dignity, independence and stability so they can function on their own," says SOME Development Associate Megan Gannon.
Here are just some of the statistics for SOME's work for 2011:
- SOME served 389,420 meals.
- SOME gave homeless men and women 22,306 free sets of clothing and showers.
- The medical clinic served an average of 28 ill, homeless individuals a day.
- The dental clinic provided 7,113 procedures to homeless men and women.
SOME also provides opportunities for volunteer work. Volunteers can serve breakfast or lunch in the dining room, or get their companies or organizations involved by bringing in food to prepare.
Tutors are needed for after-school programs for homeless children, as well as for adults who are entering the work force.
SOME is taking registrations for its "Thanksgiving Day Turkey Trot for Hunger."
Here's how the rest of the charities ranked in WTOP's Top 10:
- So Others Might Eat
- Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (National Capital Chapter)
- KEEN of Greater Washington
- Life With Cancer
- Homeless Animal Rescue Team (HART)
- Bridges from School to Work
- Fairfax Pets on Wheels
- Friends of Homeless Animals (FOHA)
- ASHA for Women
- Prevention of Blindness Society of Metropolitan Washington
Voting for WTOP's Top 10 was open to WTOP listeners, and was conducted through WTOP.com and the WTOP Facebook page.
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WTOP's Randi Martin and Lacey Mason contributed to this report. Follow Lacey and WTOP on Twitter.
(Copyright 2012 by WTOP. All Rights Reserved.)
