Frequently Asked Questions

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General Information

What is Hands on DC?

Hands on DC is an all-volunteer, nonprofit organization that improves the physical condition of Washington, DC, public schools; raises funds for college scholarship for DCPS graduates; and encourages greater community involvement in the public schools. The signature event for Hands on DC is our annual citywide work-a-thon in which nearly 2,000 volunteers work in dozens of DC public schools (DCPS) to improve the learning environment for DCPS students. Hands on DC was founded by volunteers and remains run entirely by them; we have no paid staff.

What is the Hands on DC work-a-thon?

Hands on DC's main event is a one-day work-a-thon held every spring. During the work-a-thon, more than 2,000 volunteers spend the day at one of about 30 to 40 DC public schools. Their work typically involves projects such as painting, cleaning, or landscaping. Other projects require greater skills and resources, such as repairing bathrooms, laying carpet, building tree boxes or wiring classrooms for Internet access.

Creating a better environment for learning is just one of the ways volunteers help local students. They also raise money to fund college scholarships administered by local tutoring and mentoring organizations, and they learn about the condition of and the people involved in the schools. That knowledge helps build support for public education.

When is the Hands on DC Work-a-Thon?

The 15th annual Hands on DC Work-a-Thon is Saturday, April 25, 2009.

What types of projects do you do?

There are many different types of projects that can be done to improve the learning environment of schools. We work with the school principal and staff to determine the needs of the school and how we can best devise projects to address those needs. Typical projects may include painting classrooms, hallways, and stairwells; building planter boxes and planting flowers; cleaning and reorganizating classrooms; creating murals around the school; building shelves and stocking them with books; picking up trashing around the school grounds; creating games and making repairs to playgrounds; building benches and picnic tables; etc.

How does Hands on DC select the work-a-thon schools?

Public schools (and public charter schools) throughout the District of Columbia express an interest in being involved with Hands on DC on an annual basis. Members of the Hands on DC 'Sites Committee' then visits schools and determine which schools will be a part of our Spring Work-a-Thon. This selection is based primarily on the school's need and the appropriateness of the work for volunteer labor.

Does Hands on DC have other events throughout the year?

Hands on DC holds social, fund raising, and volunteer project events throughout the year. Visit our main website at http://www.handsondc.org to learn more about our activities.

Volunteering

How do I volunteer?

To volunteer for the April 25th Work-a-Thon, you'll need to register on this website. When registering, you may choose to start a new team (thereby making you a team leader) or you may choose to join an existing team. In mid-April, Team Leaders will be contacted and notified of the school to which their team has been assigned to work on April 25th.

Where do your volunteers come from?

The volunteers for the work-a-thon come from across metropolitan Washington. We recruit from government offices, federal agencies, local businesses, universities, and churches, as well as encouraging participation from the city's public school students.

How and when do I get assigned to a school?

All volunteers register for the Work-a-Thon as part of a team. In mid-April, each team is assigned to a specific school at which they'll be serving on April 25th. Event Sponsors are given priority in terms of selecting the school site at which they will serve. Hands on DC will try as best as possible to place the remaining teams at schools that meet their preferences. These preferences are specified by the team leader when they first register their team online and include options such as metro assessibility, placement with a specific school Site Coordinator (who runs the projects at a given school), placement with a specific neighborhood, placement at projects appropriate for youth team members, etc. Hands on DC will communicate team placements directly to the team leaders, who is then responsible for communicating the information to their team members.

Fund Raising

How does Hands on DC fund its activities?

As with all our activities, the annual fundraising program is run entirely by volunteers; the organization does not use professional fundraisers or consultants. The Fundraising Committee works with the Board of Directors and a committee of other volunteers to raise the $115,000 needed to run our projects and support our scholarship funds each year. This money comes from corporations, foundations, individuals, and pledges raised by volunteers through our Work-a-Thon. It goes toward the purchase of supplies for our projects as well as to provide college scholarships through College Bound, a local mentoring and tutoring organization dedicated to supporting DC public schools students who want to attend college.

How does Hands on DC use donations?

We use donations to purchase the materials our volunteers use. Some are durable goods, such as paint rollers, brushes, rakes, shovels, and edgers. Some are disposable supplies, such as paint and mulch. Contributions also pay for the materials needed to publicize the event, such as posters, recruiting brochures and pledge forms, which help us recruit an ample supply of volunteers to complete the projects at the schools and to raise scholarship funds. In addition, Hands on DC's Board of Directors makes an annual gift of about $32,000 to College Bound to support their scholarship program.

Last year, out of each dollar raised, 42¢ was spent on painting, landscaping and special project supplies, both to be used in the schools. 34¢ was spent on contributions to scholarships for graduating DC public schools students. In addition, Hands on DC spent 10¢ of each dollar on publicity to attract volunteers and tools to manage volunteers. The remaining amount was spent on volunteer insurance (6¢) and unavoidable administrative expenses such as accounting fees (5¢), fund raising (2¢), and office supplies (1¢).

Do I have to raise money to participate in the Work-a-Thon?

Raising money through our new online system is easy. You don't have the awkwardness of approaching people face-to-face to ask for donations. You can easily ask friends and family around the country to support your efforts and donate online with a credit card, paypal, etc. Though we certainly encourage volunteers to collect donations (even if it's just a few donations), we do not require volunteers to raise money in order to participate in the Work-a-Thon.

How can I help raise money?

The easiest way is by using our Kintera online system. When you register for the Work-a-Thon, you are e-mailed a user name and password. When you return to the event homepage (http://handsondc.kintera.org ), click the 'main login' link to login to your 'headquarters.' Here you will be able to select a template e-mail or draft your own email to send to friends and families. They will be directed back to your personal Kintera page where they can donate on your behalf. It only takes a few minutes and makes a huge difference!!

Does money I raise as an individual go toward my team being a Hands on DC sponsor?

A company or organization 'sponsoring' Hands on DC is different from the individual and team fund raising efforts related to our Work-a-Thon. Sponsorship comes from an organization (typically as one check) and entitles that organization to certain recognition based on their giving level. However, the donations that are collected by individuals and teams entitle those individuals and teams to win special prizes and recognition on this website.

Day of Event Information

What is the schedule for the event day?

We encourage volunteers to show up at 9am at their schools. After a brief introduction and explaination of the day, volunteers will be assigned to specific projects and begin their work. Volunteers will break for lunch around noon. Following lunch they will return to and complete their projects. Volunteers will help clean-up the project area once their projects are complete and will leave the school around 2:00 - 3:00pm. At 8:00pm, a celebration party will take place at a location to be determined.

What should I bring to my project?

In the two weeks before the event, once your team has been assigned to a school, you will begin to hear more regularly from your team leader and from the Site Coordinator that runs the projects at your particular school. They will communicate with you regarding what to wear, what to do for food, directions/parking, and any extra tools or skills we need for the project. Also, if you collected any cash or check donations for Hands on DC, be sure to bring those with you to your school. If you register at the last minute, be sure to contact your team leader to get any details you may have missed previously.

Can I bring checks and cash donations on the day of the event?

Yes. Though we encourage you to raise money online, you can definitely bring any cash or checks you have collected with you to your school on the day of the event. Turn this money over to the Site Registrar as you sign-in at your school that morning.

How can I get details about the projects at my assigned school?

In the two weeks before the event, once your team has been assigned to a school, you will begin to hear more regularly from your team leader and from the Site Coordinator that runs the projects at your particular school. Your Site Coordinator will communicate to your team leader about the types of projects at your school and any special skills that may be needed from volunteers. Your team leader is responsible for communicating this information the volunteers on their team. If you register at the last minute, be sure to contact your team leader to get any details you may have missed previously.

Scholarship Info

What is College Bound and how it affiliated with Hands on DC?

College Bound (www.CollegeBound.org) is a mentoring and tutoring program that prepares DC public school students to enter college and earn their degree. To be eligible, students must be:

enrolled in a DC Metro area public or public charter school,
in 8th-12th grade, and
dedicated to enrolling in and completing a college education.

Among the programs offered to eligible students are academic mentoring, college and SAT-prep programs, a financial literacy program to teach students basic financial and money management skills and a scholarship program.

College Bound students and mentors participate in the Hands on DC event and Hands on DC volunteers often work as College Bound mentors.

How does Hands on DC distribute its scholarships?

Because corporate and foundation contributions pay for the event itself, all of the pledges raised by the work-a-thon volunteers go directly to college scholarships. When corporate donations have exceeded project costs, we further increased the amount in the scholarship fund. Over the past 14 years, more than $570,000 in scholarship funds has been distributed through local organizations.

Since 2002, Hands on DC has worked exclusively with College Bound. However, Hands on DC has awarded over $430,000 in scholarships to DC public school students participating in College Bound since 1995.

Special Thanks to: