Commons Learning Project

Ongoing Updates About our Hours and Operations

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Thursday, September 11, 2014 at 11:16 AM

Commons Learning Project

I. THE COMMONS AT STANTON SQUARE

Martha’s Table believes everyone deserves dignity and opportunity and is committed to supporting a community where all families in DC thrive.

In May 2014, the Horning Family Fund selected Martha’s Table to take the lead in developing and managing the early childhood and other parenting-support components of “The Commons at Stanton Square,” a community-services campus to be established near the intersection of Stanton and Elvans Roads in Ward 8. In collaboration with the Horning Family Fund, Horning Brothers, and Community of Hope, we will be working in the coming months to understand the assets and challenges facing the Hillsdale neighborhood and to gather community feedback to ensure a mix of programs that will spur a healthy start and strengthen health and well-being for all families.

II. MARTHA’S TABLE IN WARD 8: DEEPENING OUR COMMITMENT TO THE WARD 8 COMMUNITY

If you have been in the downtown Anacostia recently, you may have seen Martha’s Table’s Community Store on Martin Luther King, Jr. Avenue near the intersection of W Street.

Located at 2204 Martin Luther King, Jr. Avenue, Martha’s Outfitters recently celebrated its 1-year anniversary.

Every month, hundreds of our neighbors are provided with clothing at no cost and hundreds more shop at low prices. We’ve been getting rave reviews for the quality of our clothes and housewares and the great Martha’s Table service. Please stop by and get to know us there.

As folks in the Congress Heights neighborhood know, every month for the past three years, Martha’s Table has been rolling up to Hendley Elementary School with a truck load of fresh, nutritious produce and groceries for the school’s students and families. For the summer, we expanded our “Martha’s Markets” so that the great fresh foods of the season would be available every week.

Our connection to Wards 7 and 8 is long and strong. For many years, families of those communities have been bringing their infants and toddlers to our Northwest facility. Today, thirty families from Wards 7 and 8 send their children to our 14th Street Early Childhood Development Center. And, we have long relied on employees and volunteers from Ward 8 to bring their skills and strength to our various programs. Families, teens and seniors from east of the river have completed their community service requirements, joined their church groups, or dedicated their free time to prepare meals for the homeless, read books to children, or sort clothing for the community.

III. THE LEARNING PROJECT

We are now in the learning stage of our collaboration. We are reaching out to residents, community leaders, educators, homeowners, shop keepers and local organizations. We are sharing our vision for Martha’s Table at The Commons – A Healthy Start for every child and family in Hillsdale. Our Healthy Start approach is designed to provide an array of programs and support for infants and toddlers, expectant mothers, and parents living in and around The Commons at Stanton Square. We believe that with quality education and nutritious food as the focus of our programs we can support children’s school success, family success, economic stability, and community enrichment. With the feedback we receive from you and your neighbors, we will better know how our vision aligns with yours and what role Martha’s Table might play in making a vision for the Hillsdale community a reality.