Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
AMIZADE
care for the homeless
WASHINGTON, D.C.
After ten days of service, education, sightseeing, and interaction with trip
members, I have watched my stereotypes on homelessness crumble. And I
have made a difference—a small one, but a difference all the same.
—Rose Mutiso, Amizade volunteer
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With more than 3.5 million homeless people in America, you can easily volunteer at a
soup kitchen right in your own neighborhood. But if you'd like to spend a whole week chal-
lenging your preexisting stereotypes, consider a volunteer vacation with Amizade, an interna-
tional agency that organizes dozens of volunteer programs in 11 countries.
Although Amizade's volunteer programs vary widely—from renovating a health clinic in
the Bolivian Andes to building a community center in Australia to tutoring kids on a Navajo
reservation—the purpose for all of them remains the same: to bridge cultures and make the
world a better place.
At each project site, Amizade teams with a community partner, a group or nonprofit that
is just as committed to sustainable development and poverty-elimination projects as it is. In
Washington, D.C., that community partner is the D.C. Central Kitchen (DCCK), which, among
other things, runs the world's largest entirely volunteer-run homeless shelter. It's the national
model for more than 60 community kitchens in the United States.
During this unique program, conducted three times a year in the nation's capital, you'll
learn about the root causes of homelessness, hear guest speakers, and participate in discussions
and reflection sessions about what can be done. Prepare to push your comfort zone.
Every day, DCCK recovers nearly 3,000 pounds of food—its motto is “Waste is wrong,
be it food, money, or potential”—and provides 4,000 meals. Besides offering street-level meal
service, DCCK also has a catering project, a campus kitchens project, and a nationally recog-
nized culinary school. The culinary school has graduated more than 500 chefs, most of them
men and women whose résumés were limited to drug addictions, prison, and lengthy jobless-
ness. For many, their completion certificate represents the first success of their lives.
