GET INVOLVED
Homelessness is Growing and So Must We.
Help HCPP Serve 500 Children This Year!
Help us reach our goal to raise $50,000 this year in individual donations to keep our program running. There are many easy ways to give, including mailing a check to the address below or giving online.
HCPP is funded exclusively by small individual contributions and family foundation grants. We need your support as we expand to meet the growing need for our services.
Give the Gift of Play Online!
“All of you are truly special people; it is a real privilege to participate in the magic you have created. Each one of us must live her or his own dreams, but you provide the experience, memories and hope for each of the children to dream and, one day, to see those dreams come true. Thank you.” - Scott Gilbert, Partner, Gilbert Randolph LLP
You can now support HCPP with a secure online donation through Network for Good! Just click the “Donate Now” icon below and follow the simple steps that even give you the option to give the gift of play to someone you love. Your donations will directly impact the lives of children who live in five DC shelters and participate in playtime each week. Help us reach our goal to raise $30,000 from individual donations this year!
Volunteer!
If you are interested in volunteering with HCPP, please email Program Assistant Lana Tilley at lana.hcpp(at)gmail.com. Dedicated volunteers who have experience with children and an interest in social justice are encouraged to apply to volunteer with HCPP. Consistency and trust is often lacking in the lives of children who are homeless, so volunteers should be prepared to make a weekly commitment to the program.
Volunteers are also required to undergo a background check and attend a training session which lasts about 4 hours and are offered monthly. In return, this position offers an exciting opportunity to build meaningful relationships with children, become immersed in the community, and get involved in advocacy work around issues effecting homeless families in the District.
Thank you for your interest in giving of your time, the most valuable gift of all!
IMPORTANT: Please do not show up at any of our site locations without prior approval from our Program Coordinator or Site Coordinators. The privacy of shelter residents and program rules must be respected. Thank you for your cooperation!
Gift Registries
Select a toy from our online gift registry on target.com! We have selected the items that our playrooms most need. Log into the Target Gift Registry here: target.com/lists/find and enter Playtime Project or our list ID# 01239910131433 to see our wish list.
Inkind Donations to HCPP
There are a variety of ways that individuals or groups can contribute to our program! Please email playtimeproject(at)gmail.com if you are interested in organizing a drive to benefit the children and families in our program. Due to storage limitations and the volunteer nature of our organization, please ask us if we have a need for what you are interested in donating before dropping off your treasures.
What we need
* Gift cards: Giant, Safeway and Target are what we need most to purchase weekly fresh snacks and supplies for each of our seven programs
* Sports equipment: basketballs, wiffle balls and bats, kickballs, footballs
* Art supplies: paper, markers, drawing paper, workbooks, art project kits, coloring books
* Costumes: Dress-up clothes and hats
* Board Games: Chutes & Ladders, Memory, Candy Land, Bingo, educational games
* Furniture: Plastic storage tubs, throw rug and pillows for reading corner, play kitchen and play dishes and food, small bookshelves or carts
* "Boy Toys:" Transformers, matchbox cars and trucks, trains and train tracks, kinetic building toys
* Other Items: Musical Instruments for kids, puppet theater and puppets (people of color or animals), toddler toys, books, educational projects to teach skills like reading and math, science, telling time, etc.
What we do not need
* Used stuffed animals
* Broken or worn toys or clothes
* Dolls that are caucasian and do not reflect our population of children
* If you are interested donating children's toys for the holidays, please contact jamila.hcpp(at)gmail.com for more information on opportunities to give toys to children who may not receive any otherwise.
Lawrence Bentley of Plano, Texas reads the Washington Post online each morning. When he read about the Playtime Project in a 2005 column, he started sending regular donations to support our work and set an example for his son. He has since become our largest individual donor. How can we possibly thank him? "Just keep being there for the kids," he says. Thanks, Lawrence for being there for us!
"Wednesday nights really are my favorite part of the week, and even though I'm exhausted when I'm done, it's totally worth it just to see them having a good time. I definitely get five times as much out of play time as I put in." - HCPP Volunteer
HCPP Expands to DASH
Domestic violence is a common reason families become homeless and the District Alliance for Safe Housing (DASH) is responding by creating a new 48-unit housing program for survivors of domestic violence in D.C.
The children who accompany their mothers into the program have experienced one of the most damaging forms of trauma a child can experience: witnessing the violence between the two people they love the most. Children often display signs of anxiety, depression, anger and temperament problems. The trauma they experience can show up in emotional, behavioral, social and physical disturbances that effect their development in serious and potentially long-lasting ways.
“I would like nothing more than to provide the children in the families we serve with the time, space, and support they need to heal from these experiences through the provision of a children’s program that the Playtime Project could provide,” said Peg Hacskalo, Executive Director of DASH. “Our children will really benefit from the healing power of play.” DASH staff will work together with HCPP to provide a specialized training on domestic violence for the new Playtime Project volunteers. “With HCPP providing weekly children’s programming, we will be able to offer concurrent services for parents ond provide them with valuable time off to take a rare break. We have never been able to do this before and it will make a tremendous difference!”
To help bring Playtime to DASH, donate here or sign up to volunteer here!
Workplace Giving, Matching Gifts, Bequests or Memorial Gifts
Our generous donors have honored loved ones to mark such occassions as the birth of a child, a wedding, the loss of a loved one, a friend's birthday or other special events. Donations in honor of or memory of a family member or friend are acknowledged in specific accord with the donor's wishes. If your workplace conducts an annual charitable gift drive or has a matching gift program, consider designating HCPP. The Homeless Children's Playtime Project also welcomes bequests and special gifts as a means of ensuring that our mission and programs continue into the future. As a 501(c)3 organization, HCPP can be named as a full or partial beneficiary in a will, life insurance policy, retirement plan, annuity or trust fund. We welcome the opportunity to discuss these giving options and provide copies of the necessary documentation to facilicate such a gift. Please contact jamila.hcpp(at)gmail.com for more information.
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Homeless Children's Playtime Project (HCPP) Inc.
1525 Newton Street NW
Washington, DC 20010
playtimeproject(at)gmail.com
www.playtimeproject.net
Photo Credits: Tony Brunswick © 2007
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