Celebrate Earth Day at Bread for the City!

WHEN:   Monday, April 23rd
5:00pm – 7:00pm

WHERE:     Bread for the City Northwest Center Rooftop Garden
1525 Seventh Street, NW, WDC 20001

WHAT:     Food, drink and friends on our roof!

WHY:      As a THANK YOU for all your help with City Orchard, Glean for the City, our   rooftop gardens, and farmers markets.

COST:     FREE!

RSVP:     Contact Emily Schneider at ESchneider@BreadfortheCity.org or 202.480.8908

Some additional helpful deets:

• Stairs are required to access our rooftop garden.
• Shaw/Howard Metro on the yellow/green line is the closest stop.
• We do have a small parking lot, but at 5pm it’s still pretty full. There is metered street parking available.
• Upon arrival, use our main entrance and the greeter will direct you where to go. (Hint: Up!)
• Dress is whatever.

We hope to see you on Monday!

You read that right — more job openings at Bread!

Bread for the City is looking to hire a Finance and Development Associate to do a whole bunch of database work, as well as a Development Associate to write a whole bunch of stuff for donors and media and folks like that. These are both full-time jobs and are based at Bread’s Northwest Center.

We’re also still looking for a Domestic Violence Legal Services Staff Attorney, RPP Accounting Analyst, and a Medical Assistant. And if you’re cool with not getting paid yet learning lots of really cool stuff and meeting really cool people, we have internship openings in the development office and medical clinic.

Whew! That’s a lot.

Please help us spread the word to great candidates. We need people who are smart, hard working, and committed to our mission.

Another job opening at Bread!!

Bread for the City seeks a full-time Medical Assistant to work at our Northwest Center.

Background:
Bread for the City provides free medical care, social services, legal counsel, food and clothing to low-income residents of the District of Columbia.  This position works in the lab as part of the medical clinic.  There are also many administrative responsibilities.

 Responsibilities:

• Work in lab drawing blood and  handling specimens
• Clean and restock exam rooms daily
• Order supplies for lab, exam room, and other general clinic supplies
• Maintain the quality control logs in the lab to be overseen by the medical director.
• Maintain medical equipment through annual check and as needed for broken equipment.
• Trouble shoot problems as they arise between lab and EHR(electronic health record)
• Handle medical records requests to be provided to outside sources.
• Oversee ordering of immunizations
• Oversee ordering medications for dispensary and patient assistance programs
• Oversee needle exchange program

 Requirements:

• Commitment to working with low-income residents of DC
• Strong interpersonal skills, and an ability to work well with a wide variety of people
• Strong organizational skills with attention to detail
• Flexibility, optimism, and a cooperative spirit in the face of hectic working conditions
• Efficient, hard working, and punctual
• Familiar with excel, word, data loading.  Experience with electronic medical record a plus
• Collaboration among staff is essential and creative problem solving strongly encouraged.

To apply please email a cover letter that addresses your interest, qualifications and resume to Human Resources at HR@breadforthecity.org with medical assistant in the subject line.

Bread for the City is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, national origin, ancestry, age, marital status, sexual orientation, family responsibility, physical or mental disability, medical condition, status as a veteran, or any other category protected by applicable federal, state, or local law, except where a bona fide occupational qualification applies.

Are you good with numbers and details and want to make a difference?  Join the RPP team as our Accounting Analyst.  This is a full-time position with a competitive salary and benefits. (We’ve blogged about this program before.)

The Accounting Analyst is responsible for coordinating a variety of data management activities and maintaining the individual account records for consumers of the Representative Payee Program, which provides Representative Payee Services to clients with chronic mental illness.  Provision of Representative Payee Services involves receipt of disability benefits on behalf of clients who are unable to manage their own funds, disbursal of funds according to a preset budget plan created in cooperation with mental health providers, and various other budgeting and money management activities that will allow clients to maintain a stable living situation.  Our ideal candidate is a highly motivated and organized individual who has the ability to juggle multiple projects and set priorities to meet deadlines.

Responsibilities:

• Use Microsoft Access and Excel to execute regular queries and reports in order to analyze client and financial data
• Use the Client Account Management database to maintain individual consumer accounts for each individual enrolled in the Representative Payee Program
• Post deposits into individual consumer accounts
• Process budget plans, changes, and additional disbursement requests received from external case managers and other RPP staff, including follow-up when clarification is needed
• Process payments to clients and vendors in a timely manner
• Interface with bank to implement fraud protection and other banking technology
• Work with RPP team members to address payment issues including lost checks, stop payments, voided and outstanding checks, etc.
• Monitor consumer accounts for accuracy and compliance with Social Security Administration regulations
• Complete annual reports on clients’ expenditures for Social Security Administration
• Collaborate with RPP Program Accountant to facilitate account reconciliation and follow-up on outstanding issues

Requirements:

• Commitment to providing services within an atmosphere of dignity and respect
• Associates degree in accounting or relevant experience

• Outstanding computer skills, including the capacity to use Microsoft Access and Excel to manage and manipulate data and the capacity learn other programs; familiarity with Black Baud’s Financial Edge is a plus
• Proven ability to manage and analyze high volumes of detailed information
• Accounts receivable/payable experience
• The ability to work independently and solve problems creatively
• The aptitude to develop an understanding of the eligibility criteria and policies related to various federal and local public benefit programs
• Strong interpersonal skills
• Attention to detail a must!
• Strong written and oral communication skills

All staff members of the Bread for the City work as part of an energetic and innovative team, in order to provide the highest level of service possible to our consumers.  Collaboration among team members is essential, and creative problem solving is strongly encouraged. This is a salaried position with benefits including health and dental, vacation and sick leave.

To apply please email a cover letter that speaks to your interest, qualifications and interest and a resume to Human Resources at hr@breadforthecity.org with Accounting Analyst in the subject line.  No phone calls, please.

Bread for the City is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, national origin, ancestry, age, marital status, sexual orientation, family responsibility, physical or mental disability, medical condition, status as a veteran, or any other category protected by applicable federal, state, or local law, except where a bona fide occupational qualification applies.

We did it! City Orchard is now a reality!

As the weekend concluded, we wiped the sweat off our brows and surveyed with satisfaction the fruits of our labor. What was once an empty field is now home to 1,000 young apple, Asian pear, and persimmon trees along with blueberry and blackberry bushes — all of which will help nourish the District’s poor for years to come.

Board President Paul Taskier Getting to Work.

Another round of applause and thanks to Casey Trees and UDC for their knowledge and land that made City Orchard possible. We’d also like to thank the dozens of volunteers who helped us plant this weekend, especially our friends at the Washington Hebrew Congregation, ICF International, Avalere Health, Sutherland, WilmerHale, Gilt City, Kilpatrick Townsend, and Dickstein Shapiro. We hope you all had a nice nap after your labor. We certainly did.

You too can get involved with City Orchard by adopting a tree today. Just $35 covers the maintenance costs for one tree for one year. Please give today!

We also invite you to celebrate City Orchard, as well as Bread’s rooftop gardens, farmers markets, and gleaning efforts at an Earth Day Happy Hour. Join us Monday, April 23rd from 5pm-7pm at our Northwest Center Rooftop Garden (1525 7th Street) for some food and drink and communing with Mother Nature. (Our Mother Nature is Jeffrey Wankel. We’re an open minded people.)  Earth Day Happy Hour is totally free and open to the public– we just need you to RSVP by sending Emily an email by April 20th. Eschneider@BreadfortheCity.org.

You should also check out our orchard photos. They’re so great!

Go Earth!

On Tuesday, March 27^th I returned to Bread for the City after a 3 month sabbatical away from the organization where I’ve served as Executive Director for the past sixteen years.

View in Costa Rica

When I mentioned to my staff, nonprofit colleagues and friends that the Bread for the City Board had granted my request for a 3 month leave of absence, some of them asked me if I was burnt-out. A few people even wondered aloud if I was physically ill. The truth is that I was not tired of, or from, work at all. In fact, I was feeling as good about Bread for the City as I ever have. Led by the Board and staff, the agency has experienced exponential growth.

I became Executive Director in January of 1996, when we had a $1.2 million budget, staff of 30, and a single Northwest DC location. By the start of my sabbatical, BFC had a $6.5 million budget, two center locations, and a staff of 76. This expansion, combined with the consistent leadership of my talented colleagues, has allowed the agency to serve more low-income DC residents than any time in its 38 year history.

Just prior to the start of my sabbatical, in December 2011, BFC was in the final stages of completing a three to five year strategic plan. This intensive planning process engaged our Board of Directors, program managers, staff members, clients, and patients for the better part of a year as we outlined the next phase of the agency. The Board approved the plan during its January 2012 meeting.

It was on the heels of all this is that led me to believe that it was the ideal time to take a break from the action and do some things that I had long imagined doing – things that a two week vacation would not sufficiently accommodate.

It was probably the old football player in me that caused me to think of my first 16 years at Bread as being the end of the first half and the sabbatical as, metaphorically speaking, a kind of halftime.  A halftime that would allow me to return fully prepared to lead the agency through the next chapter—a time I view as an even more exciting and fulfilling second half of my career here.

As for the sabbatical itself, in three words: “it was amazing.” It included the perfect mix of personal development activities, cultural exploration and good old fashion fun.

The Jones Family in New Mexico

I began my leave on December 23^rd and spent the first week like I’m sure many did, spending time with my wife and four kids enjoying the holidays. On December 27^th, my wife Carol and I spent two days in Manhattan, celebrating our 13th wedding anniversary. There we saw the Broadway play “Mountain Top,” the stage play about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s last night before his assassination. The play marked the beginning of a fantastic series of events, activities and experiences for me.

On December 31^st, I flew to Costa Rica where I fulfilled a longtime dream of completing a Spanish Immersion program. Though my grasp of the Spanish language is still rudimentary at best, the intensive classes and the cultural experiences (volcano tour, exotic animal sightings, wonderful beaches, and the foods) all made for a great trip.

After returning from Costa Rica, I spent two weeks driving across the US with two of my brothers and my cousin, via the southern half of the country. We had a ball, stopping for two days in New Orleans, two days in New Boston, Texas to see my youngest sister and her two daughters, a day in Albuquerque, NM, a stop off at the majestic Grand Canyon, two nights in Las Vegas, and four days in Los Angeles, CA. Afterwards, we left the car rental in LA and caught flights back to the east coast. It was a fun filled bonding experience for all of us.

The Jones Family in Vegas. (What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas!)

I spent the last month in North Carolina and Georgia attending about ten March Madness basketball games.  I even got to see Kentucky, the eventual National Champion, play a Sweet Sixteen game at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta.

In a stroke of poetic justice, I spent my last day in Atlanta touring The Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change. My visit there included a 30 minute film chronicling Dr. King’s evolution as a civil rights leader, and a guided tour of Reverend King’s childhood home that has been beautifully preserved, making it easy to imagine the young King and his older sister and younger brother.

My visit to the King Center Complex ended with a self directed tour of the original Ebenezer Baptist Church that King attended as a child, and where he ultimately served as the Senior Pastor up to the time of his assassination.  The 100-year-old church was also well preserved, and while walking through the Church’s sanctuary I was moved as an audio recording of one of Dr. King’s actual sermons played in the background, resonating that powerful, melodic voice that captured a nation’s imagination over 40 years ago. It is the voice of a man whose life, as much as anything captured my imagination as a youth, inspired me to commit myself to a life of service to those living in poverty and in search of the justice for which King ultimately gave his life.

I returned to Bread for the City just in time for our 22^nd Annual Art with a Heart Gala on March 29^th. The event was the most successful one we have ever had, raising over $430,000. Art with a Heart’s success was just one of example of the excellence exhibited by the BFC Board and staff during my absence. A testament to the confidence I placed in them as I took my break. But now, I’m back and ready for the everyday challenge that goes with our work. Ready and excited to try to answer a question that Dr. King posed in the title of his 1967 book about the next phase in the struggle for social justice, “Where Do We Go from Here?”

Stacey Smith, George Jones and Lynda Brown at the 22nd Art with a Heart

Bread for the City lost a friend this week, David Krohn. David provided hundreds of hours of pro bono assistance to Bread, and I am so grateful for his dedication, intelligence and patience. I will miss him.

In honor of David, we wanted to re-run a blog post from 2009. We do this as an extension of our heartfelt condolences to David’s family and friends.

################

Volunteer Spotlight — DLA Piper

David Krohn

I am constantly inspired by all of Bread for the City’s volunteers. But in the past year especially, I have been struck by how inspirational—even heroic—corporate tax assistance can be.

Two years ago, I phoned DLA Piper partner, David Krohn, to discuss Bread for the City’s longtime plan of expanding our Northwest Center. (At 9500 square feet, it can just barely accommodate the 2,500 families who come each month to our Northwest Center seeking food, medical, legal, and social services.) I shared with David our vision of an expanded center — more than twice our current size, with modernized facilities and improved common spaces. I explained that we had already secured a $5,000,000 grant from the DC Primary Care Association. However, the project would cost $6,800,000 altogether. We still needed additional capital.

David began exploring. Through his diligent work, we discovered that a new kind of federal tax credits, the so-called New Market Tax Credits, could be the answer to that $1.8 million gap. The New Markets Tax Credit Program is a federal program that provides tax credits for private investment in economically distressed communities.

Given that Bread for the City’s expansion will nearly triple our capacity to provide medical care to the uninsured and underinsured of our community, this project qualified for the program. And with tremendously generous effort on David’s part, that has made all the difference in securing the additional funding that we required.

I am thrilled that construction on our building is only weeks away. Our vision is finally coming to fruition. It is with tremendous pride and gratitude that I say it would not have been possible without the assistance and generosity of David Krohn and DLA Piper.

The 22nd annual Art with a Heart this past Thursday was nothing short of astonishing. Thanks to the outstanding turnout and event sponsors, we raised a total of $432,000!  That’s $94,000 more than last year — amazing!

To see a slideshow of photos from the event, click here. A big thanks to Jessica Del Vecchio Photography for volunteering her services again this year.

Not only did we have over 400 attendees (seriously!), but we reached a new level of success during my favorite part of the event, All in a Day’s Work. Our goal was to raise $80,000– enough to pay for three days of Bread for the City. (We know that’s a bit ambitious, but hey, why not aim high?)

You can’t imagine the feeling we got when the bidding tipped the scale at over $95,000!!!

Even if you were unable to attend, you can still support our work by making a contribution. Help make All in a Day’s Work even more special by getting us to $100,000! Do you think we can do it?
A HUGE thanks to our Art with a Heart planning committee, including event chair Cynthia Krus, for supporting the growth of Art with a Heart. Thanks to all the sponsors, volunteers, staff, client and supporters who helped make the 22nd Art with a Heart a real success. We look forward to seeing you all again this time next year!

Bread for the City is seeking a full-time Domestic Violence Legal Services Staff Attorney to work from our Southeast Center.

Position Description
The Legal Clinic at Bread for the City seeks a full-time attorney with 0-2 years of experience for our family law practice. Specifically, we seek an attorney to work in our Domestic Violence Community Legal Services Project. The attorney will provide advice and representation to survivors of domestic violence in civil protection order cases, as well as custody, child support, and divorce matters. The attorney will also conduct advocacy, education and other outreach activities.

Qualifications
A J.D. degree, excellent research and writing skills, outstanding oral communication skills, strong organizational skills, a high degree of flexibility, an ability to work collaboratively with other staff, as well as self-motivation. Must have knowledge of or experience in domestic violence law. Must be adept at interacting with a wide variety of people and comfortable working in a busy, open work environment, with no private offices for staff. A demonstrated commitment to social and economic justice is also a must, as well as a sense of humor. Prior experience in a public interest setting is highly desirable. Strong Spanish language skills (i.e., ability to speak, understand, read, and write) is preferred, but not required, for this position. Candidates are expected to be a member of the D.C. Bar or eligible to waive into the D.C. Bar.

Background
Bread for the City is a non-profit organization that takes a comprehensive approach to addressing the needs of low-income individuals and families in Washington, DC, providing a range of free services including supplemental food, clothing, medical care, legal assistance, and social services.  Bread for the City’s Legal Clinic seeks to ensure better access to justice for low-income individuals in our nation’s capital. The Legal Clinic provides front-line civil legal services primarily in three areas of law:  housing, family, and public benefits.

Compensation: $44,500+ depending on experience.  Bread for the City also offers a generous benefits package.

Equal Opportunity Employer
Bread for the City is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, national origin, ancestry, age, marital status, sexual orientation, family responsibility, physical or mental disability, medical condition, status as a veteran, or any other category protected by applicable federal, state, or local law, except where a bona fide occupational qualification applies.

To Apply
Please submit a letter of interest and resume to FamilyLawJobs@breadforthecity.org. In the letter of interest, we encourage you to include information about your experience working directly with clients, any court or court-like experience you have, and a discussion of any history of public interest work.  Additionally, as Bread for the City actively seeks to maintain a diverse workforce in every way, we encourage you to include a brief discussion of how you may add to the diversity of the legal clinic and/or what different perspectives you might be able to bring to the job.

Job available as of May 1, 2012. Applications will be reviewed as they are submitted.  The position remains open until filled. No phone inquiries, please.

Our award-winning CFO!

Bread for the City is proud to announce that our Chief Financial Officer, Koe Murphy, was recently awarded the SmartCXO Award for Chief Financial Officer at a non-profit! The SmartCXO Award is presented by SmartCEO, a regional magazine devoted to highlighting the work of small business owners and managers.  And, in our entirely un-biased opinion, they couldn’t have picked a better CFO to honor during the awards ceremony on March 28^th. Koe has played a major role in making Bread for the City a stronger agency, and it’s no exaggeration to say that, in many ways, his work is a significant factor in our recent successes.

When Koe joined our management team in March 2010, the financial outlook at Bread for the City was complicated, to say the least. In light of the previous year’s economic crash, our board had just voted to reduce staff salaries and service hours in order to prepare for projected revenue losses in the coming year. Meanwhile, we were beginning construction on the 11,000 square foot expansion of our Northwest Center facility, an $8.6 million project. And, of course, we still had a $5.3 million operating budget and 63 member staff to manage.

Now, two years down the road with our Northwest Center Expansion Project complete, we’re in a different position, and it’s almost hard to remember how much uncertainty we were experiencing as an organization when Koe first came on-board. The staff and Board members who work with him, however, know that the reason we have not only survived this difficult period but thrived despite those challenges lies in part with Koe’s work as CFO.  Within months of joining Bread for the City, Koe restructured our finance department, automated key processes, reduced banking fees, increased interest revenue, and developed a passive income strategy—all of which improved the effectiveness and efficiency of our organization. Amazingly, by the end of his first fiscal year at Bread for the City we had actually developed a significant financial surplus—allowing us to restore the staff hours and salaries that had been cut when the recession began in 2009.  And as any of you who have visited our beautiful expanded Northwest Center can attest, our new building was completed without a hitch.

As our Executive Director George A. Jones sums up, “Not only did I quickly realize what a highly competent CFO Koe is, but over the first several months I consistently heard from Bread for the City managers and staff that he was extremely easy to work with and that he provided program staff the kind of financial information and support they needed. Koe is willing to allow me to focus on the big picture associated with leading Bread, while he and his staff provide the timely and accurate financial data I need to inform those decisions.” With years of experience in financial management, Koe could have easily stayed in the far-more-profitable private sector—but despite the economic challenges of running a non-profit during a recession, Koe decided to forego the higher compensation his experience could have commanded in the business world so that he could align with Bread for the City, an organization that held a deeper purpose for him: helping people. Congratulations on your SmartCXO Award, Koe, from all of us who have benefited from your great work and wonderful personality over the last 2 years!