The District of Columbia Association of Financial Aid Administrators is working with the Covenant House of Washington, DC to provide toiletries and other necessary supplies to the adolescent homeless shelter and social services agency as a part of our annual community service initiative. The Covenant House is the largest privately funded, nonprofit childcare agency in the United States providing food, shelter, emergency and support services to at-risk, homeless, throwaway and runaway youth. Located in SE Washington, DC, the Covenant House not only houses at-risk youth, ages 16 to 21, but their children as well. Young mothers and fathers have access to education and employment training while trying to protect and raise their children.

We reached out to our members and vendor partners during this busy conference season to donate the personal-sized toiletries collected during their stays at various hotels and clogging the shelves of linen closets and guest rooms at home around the Tristate. The response was overwhelming with EDFUND donating more than 25 pounds of lotion, soap, shampoo and conditioner. We extended the donation window to include the Tristate Spring Conference, but if you would like to donate and did not get the chance, please do not hesitate to contact Precious Smith, DC President, at psmith@ifsb.com. In addition to toiletries, there is a need for infant and toddler t-shirts, socks, diapers, wipes and any other baby 'needs'. The adults can also use socks, t-shirts, bras, underwear and anything else that you can spare. We are committed to our relationship with Covenant House and will partner with them throughout the year, so if you missed your chance this spring, there is always next time.

We are asking our colleagues to provide any brochures, pamphlets or admission materials to the DC Committee for the packets that we give to the Covenant House. There is an active and vibrant programming arm attached to the necessary housing services provided by the agency. DC ASFAA will be participating in financial aid literacy programming and helping the residents of Covenant House better understand the educational opportunities open to them in the coming months. We are committed to serving the under-served populations in the District of Columbia; if there are suggestions for more opportunities to serve, please contact the DC Committee, or volunteer to help us in the coming year.