Love for CoHi: Tree Lighting and Coat Drive

December often moves at a sprint in Washington. On December 5, we hope to slow the pace with our fifth annual Tree Lighting Extravaganza. For the first time at the event, we’ll also be running a coat drive for local nonprofit Thrive DC.

From 16th to Sherman, residents have watched for decades their patch of the world undergo seismic transformation, while other residents have swiftly come and gone. Whatever your roots in the neighborhood, it can be easy to gloss over the true face of the Columbia Heights of today when scarfing down a Chipotle burrito, zipping through Target, or hunting for deals at DSW. No doubt those activities have their place. But at this year’s tree lighting, we’re laying commerce aside for an afternoon to get to know each other. To connect.

“At Columbia Heights Initiative, our mission is to take the steps we can to enrich the quality of life in our community,” says Executive Director Brianne Dornbush. “We’re planning more events this year, partnering with more nonprofits, and mobilizing more businesses because we want Columbia Heights to flourish. We want to build something special.”

Partnering with Thrive DC is a practical way we can help improve the quality of life in our neighborhood. Alicia Horton, Executive Director at the local nonprofit, says: “Our clients need some warmth this year in the form of coats, hats, scarves, gloves, and blankets, because too many of the vulnerable individuals we serve have suffered over the years from cold and harsh DC winters.”

Tragically, seven of their clients died last winter, in part, from the punishing temperatures. To help Alicia and her team fight the cold for their clients, we’ll be collecting in-kind donations on Saturday. So bring extra coats, blankets, sleeping bags, and any warm things down to the plaza. Bring what you can!

Your contributions will help more than 7,300 DC homeless people survive this winter. For example, Brock and Leslie, a newly homeless couple, are two people who’ve benefited from local donations.* While bundling warm gear they recently got at a Thrive DC coat drive, they explained that they’re not allowed to sleep in the same homeless shelter. According to shelter policy, they don’t qualify as a family because they don’t have children. Thus, they have to stay in separate shelters: Brock in the men’s and Leslie in the women’s. Rather than spend their nights apart, they chose to stick together and sleep out in the cold.

Our aim for this year’s tree lighting is make it more than just another drop-in December event. We want it to be an event rooted in love for the Columbia Heights community. 

By Matt DeLaney

*Names changed for anonymity.