CAIF

Normally we would prepare a meal and serve it at Calvary and eat with the women. Due to social distancing, we each prepared part in our own home, and one person delivered it to staff outside (at a social distance). We are looking forward to a time when we can share a meal together again. In the meantime, Calvary relies on volunteers and donations for all weekend meals so if you want to help, go to https://www.calvaryservices.org/meal-volunteer/

CAIF had a great time participating in the MLK Day of Service at Washington Hebrew Congregation. CAIF led a project for kids to make  and decorate activity bags for kids at hospitals and shelters and aslo packed trail mix bags for the homeless. We made over 650 activity bags and packed over 1000 snack bags. 

CAIF worked with a Girl Scout Tropp from the ADAMS (All Dulles Area Muslim Society) Center to set up a KindWorks Refugee Apartment.  It was done in record time!

Capital Area Interfaith Friends - CAIF - CAIF has a wonderful evening helping prepare a KindWorks Welcome Dinner for 2 arriving refugee families from Afghanistan last night. We made Chicken Lawang and Afghan salad (recipes from a wonderful blog in comments below) and Afghan fudge. This was CAIF's contribution to the Interfaith Council of Metropolitan Washington Day of Unity. A good time was had by all including the teens who had never chopped so many onions before and some hilarity ensued with the related crying. The food was packed with love in lovely donated serving dishes which the families will keep.

CAIF helped with KindWorks aparment set up. "This weekend, we set up our first apartment for a woman who had escaped a domestic violence situation, and her three young boys. Our new friend and her kids, ages 6, 4, and 2, moved out of the shelter and into a 2-bedroom apt about a week ago; they didn't have any furniture. But they do now :-) A real home to nest in, as they await their newest arrival - a baby girl, in April! Our friend was overwhelmed with the 20+ group of volunteers who gathered to help set up, and with all the various items that had been collected, from beds and dressers to toiletries and towels, to toys and books, to a black panther comforter that was a huge hit -- and the most adorable pink onesies! She wanted to share a message with all of us: "You think you're alone; but you're not. Look at all these people; look how much they care. I just want to thank you all so much.""

CAIF had a blast participating in the Washington Hebrew Congregation MLK Day of Service. We ran a station that packed 560 goodie bags with playing cards, fidget spinners, stamps, gel pens and other fun stuff for kids at local elementary schools. We also participated in various food packing projects for the hungry and homeless and blanket making. What an amazing day! Thank you WHC for making it so easy and fun to make a difference.

As always CAIF has a wonderful time preparing and eating a meal with the women at Calvary Women’s Shelter in DC. Talking over dinner is the highlight. We talked about our families, favorite foods, where we go to school, our plans for when we growup. 

CAIF helped pack 12,000 meals for the hungry in the DC area at Washington Hebrew Congregation.

 

On Sunday CAIF went to the Unity Walk! Co-leader Julia was filmed asking a Jewish faith leader questions about their faith for an IFC project. We visited a Jewish Synagogue, Sikh Gurdwara, Buddhist temple, Russian Orthodox Church and the Islamic center this year and saw many old friends and made some new ones too. It was neat seeing the Interfaith hospitality—the Russian priest greeting Muslim visitors with “Salaam Alaikum” and the Mormon Elders greeting at the Islamic Center where we saw an interfaith choir perform and visited the sanctuary. At the Buddhist Temple, Interfaith Power and Light was providing tree seedlings to plant to help the environment.