Nov
13

Are you ready to help a community thrive?

This week’s CFC Cause of the Week is Community Improvement. These efforts come in all shapes and sizes to address the direct needs of residents. CFC charities bring community members together and highlight their culture and diversity through local theaters, recreational parks, farmers’ markets, seasonal events, and community gardens.

CFC Banner for Community Improvement featuring children in a garden

Charities help communities in other ways as well by connecting members with accessible resources for legal and financial aid, providing loans and grants to entrepreneurs looking to start small businesses, and expanding access to broadband internet services. These investments lead to long-term improvements. Harnessing the power of community can enhance communications and alleviate racial and gender biases and inequalities. Here is just one examples of how a CFC-participating charity improved a community in a big way:

Jean is a father and a pastor in Haiti. He is so grateful for the CFC-participating charity that installed a life-changing water pump in his community. “In the past, we had to walk 60 minutes to the nearest river to get water,” he said. That water was not safe. Animals drank in it; people bathed and did laundry in it. Now, more than a thousand people in Jean’s village have clean, safe water. People even come from neighboring areas to get water.

Are you ready to help a community thrive? Donate today. (Please make sure that you list 20560 for the Smithsonian Zip Code when donating.)

Here are a few more examples of how your CFC donations can help:

  • Install basketball courts, baseball fields, tennis courts, or other play areas for children and adults to enjoy while getting exercise and staying healthy.
  • Host donor registration drives to encourage everyone to have a voice.
  • Plant community gardens to provide fresh vegetables to residents and beautify the neighborhood.

Learn more about Community Improvement and visit the Virtual Charity Fair.

Thank you for your continued support of the causes that matter to you and willingness to change the world through the CFC!

 

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Posted: 13 November 2023
About the Author:

Alex di Giovanni is primarily responsible for "other duties as assigned" in the Office of Communications and External Affairs. She has been with the Smithsonian since 2006 and plans to be interred in the Smithson crypt.