Last year Washington Quaker Workcamp led a New Orleans Workcamp with 12 volunteers, who sorted more than 300 boxes of donated books, landscaped the garden around a soon-to-reopen branch of the New Orleans Public Library, provided a caring presence to the people with whom they worked and interacted, and listened to dozens of New Orleanians spontaneously tell their stories. Again, we are putting together a workcamp for this summer for about 15 volunteers. If you are interested and need more information, call or email Felix Unogwu, Program Coordinator
Washington Quaker Workcamps
Email: felix@wiiliampennhouse.org
Tel: 202-543-5560
Fax: 202-543-3014

The ministry of Washington Quaker Workcamps continues to grow in exciting new directions. This school year we provided spirit-centered service-learning experiences for three times as many young people as last year. New partnerships with service organizations have expanded and deepened our work projects, and new groups of young people have joined our circle. But through all these exciting changes, our work remains grounded in the spirit that has guided Quaker workcamps for nearly a century-the understanding that 'work is love made visible' and the belief that service is an essential part of our spiritual development.

We continue to support the work of Friends' schools by providing extra-curricular service-learning programs grounded in Quaker faith and practice, thereby reinforcing the work in the classroom. This year, we led workcamps for groups from Tandem Friends School (Charlottesville, Virginia), Sandy Spring Friends School, Sidwell Friends School, and Oakwood Friends School (Poughkeepsie, New York).

We also continue to lead workcamps for other religious and secular groups across a wide spectrum. This year we worked with Georgetown Day School (Washington, DC), Norwood School (Bethesda, MD), and a youth group from White Memorial Presbyterian Church (Raleigh, NC). Our workcamps support the service-learning goals of these groups and introduce these young people to Quaker values.

This year, for the first time, we partnered with the Christmas in April program to renovate the home of a disabled senior citizen. The immediacy of working directly with a very warm-hearted woman with simple needs proved deeply moving for both workcampers and leaders. The impact of our cleaning, painting and repair work was dramatic.

This year has also seen a deepening of our relationship with William Penn House. Cooperating with William Penn House has enabled us to use its residential facilities for our own workcampers and also to offer service programs for groups who come to stay at William Penn House while they are in Washington.

Last fall, the Boards of the two organizations decided to strengthen the bond even further by placing Washington Quaker Workcamps formally under the care of William Penn House. Washington Quaker Workcamps will continue to lead powerful workcamps and service-learning programs, but it will have the additional security of being backed by the resources of William Penn House. Under the care of William Penn House, Washington Quaker Workcamps will have lower overhead and administrative expenses, while it enjoys much greater access to young people coming from outside of Washington who can benefit from workcamp experiences.

Our work would not be possible without the support of Friends who volunteer as Board members, workcamper leaders, consultants, and who help spread the word about our programs. Please hold our ministry in the light, and please contact Director Andrei Israel to learn how you can be part of this exciting work.

Andrei Israel, Director