Here’s your PSA of the week: Be a do-gooder and sign up for the Help the Homeless Walkathon, held this Saturday, Nov. 22. (You can also donate to the cause if you’re busy this Saturday or, you know, if you’re lazy.)
In its 21st year, the annual fundraiser has fallen onto some hard times as of late. Which is depressing, since, you know, the fundraiser is held to help other people who have fallen onto hard times (a.k.a. the D.C. metro area’s 12,000 homeless residents). But alas, everyone’s favorite economic crisis is quite closely linked to the walkathon—Fannie Mae sponsors the event.
Starting and ending on the mall, the 5K walkathon route circles the Jefferson Memorial and is actually a pretty cool way to experience what’s otherwise tourist territory. Registration only costs $15 for those 25 and under and $25 for everyone else (or $30 the day of). Last year, more than 90,000 D.C. residents participated (us included). In total, the effort raised more than $7 million for 175 Washington area homeless service providers.
At the risk of getting preachy, consider this: The walkathon’s numbers are rumored to be way down this year, and with fallen giant Fannie Mae as its big corporate sponsor, the future is said to be grim. That’s bad news for a lot of the area’s homeless shelters, who depend on the Walkathon for a big chunk of their yearly budgets. So in other words, the event needs all the help it can get. Homelessness is a sad reality of D.C., but unlike so many other injustices, it’s one where we can actually pitch in and do our part to help.
P.S. If you’re looking for a team to sponsor or join, might I suggest N Street Village? It’s an amazing woman’s shelter here in Logan Circle—if you don’t believe me, just ask the Dalai Lama.
