Ashley Cecil

Jump to Comments

8″ x 10″ oil on canvas, $220 ($50 donated to Bread for the City
SOLD
See all paintings available for sale.

Kudos to all the nonprofits selflessly molding the world into better place, one issue at a time. Typically, a single monumental dilemma is addressed per organization. Although, on my recent visit to Washington DC, I had the privilege of touring a nonprofit efficiently juggling a conglomerate of problems facing DC’s vulnerable residents. The Bread for the City

center I visited was teeming with staff and volunteers providing clients with assistance ranging from legal aid to medical services.

Bread for the City offers their clients an expansive list of services including:

• food pantry
• legal aid
• social services
• medical clinic
• clothing room
• representative payee program

Founded in 1976 by five neighborhood churches, the organization has grown fruitfully, adding new services, full-time professional staff, and a second DC location. The office I passed through was filled with a hustling staff so engrossed in their work that I, the unfamiliar girl poking around with a camera and asking questions, was hardly given a first glance. Clients waiting to see a doctor, picking up a Christmas dinner, or receiving legal assistance seemed more suspicious of my presence.

Bread for the City’s entire list of offerings is housed in two nearly adjoining buildings within DC’s urban center. I passed through a fully stocked clothing store, a long hall of social workers’ offices, a food pantry with industrial crates of goods and a walk-in freezer, a legal aid office of over 100 legal expertise volunteers, and a medical center larger than many private practices. Even those of us fortunate enough to afford these services ourselves never find them so conveniently consolidated into one location. It’s truly a unique operation that serves the DC community.

8\" x 10\" oil on canvas, $220 ($50 donated to Bread for the City SOLD See all paintings available for sale. Kudos to all the nonprofits selflessly molding the world into better place, one issue at a time. Typically, a single monumental dilemma is addressed per organization. Although, on my recent visit ...