12 ways to build a better D.C. this week

ONGOING

Street Sense Media pre-winter donation drive
Our friends at D.C.'s street newspaper are collecting items to prepare their vendors and clients for the cold season. They're looking for clothing items like T-shirts, hoodies, and jackets; personal care items including soap, shampoo, and toothpaste; and other essentials including hand warmers, blankets, towels, umbrellas, laundry detergent, and gift cards. You can mail your donation to 1317 G St. NW, or drop it off there yourself!

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 27

Call Me, Beep Me: Phonebanking 101
⏰ 7 - 8:30 p.m.
📍 Virtual
You there? At this training on the fundamentals of phone banking, you'll learn how to have one-on-one conversations that convince people to take action IRL. Harriet's Wildest Dreams will be leading the session, which will also include a brief training on tabling. RSVP here.

Film screening: Bootstraps
⏰ 6 p.m. doors, 6:30 p.m. screening
📍 Angelika Pop-Up at Union Market (550 Penn St.NE)
The D.C. Guaranteed Income Coalition is celebrating its sixth anniversary with a screening of a documentary that follows 11 households through a multi-year basic income experiment. The screening, the final installment of the organization's Demanding Dignity Film Series, will be followed by a conversation with co-creator Conrad Shaw. Tickets are free (so are the popcorn and drinks!) and seating is first-come, first-served.

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 28

Tenant Town Hall
⏰ 5:30 - 8 p.m.
📍 People's Congregational Church (4704 13th St. NW)
Democratic nominee for mayor Janeese Lewis George wants to hear from D.C. tenants: What do you think could bring down the cost of rent, or otherwise help people afford theirs? How can D.C. improve its services and resources for renters? This is a chance to share your concerns and ideas with our likely next mayor — and hold our leaders accountable. Sign up to attend here.

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 29

Defining Love Community Salon
⏰ 6:30 - 8:30 p.m.
📍 Busboys and Poets (2004 Martin Luther King Junior Ave. SE)
D.C. filmmaker Zoë Poindexter is rounding out the Defining Love Community Salon series with a special conversation on Black love in all forms. Speakers include Mama Ayo Handy-Kendi, who founded Black Love Day in D.C. in 1993, and D.C. romance novelist Nikki Payne. The agenda is packed with a film screening, reading, conversation, audience Q&A, and more. Reserve a free spot here.

Halloween Fundraiser
⏰ 5 - 8 p.m.
📍 The Wonderland Ballroom (1101 Kenyon St. NW)
District Bridges is hosting a benefit and send-off for their outgoing executive director at the famed Columbia Heights watering hole. There will be specialty Halloween drinks, costumes, raffle prizes, and more. Tickets are $10.

Election protection training
⏰ 7 - 8 p.m.
📍 Virtual
Led by a bevy of different activist and legal groups, from Free DC to the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, this training will teach you how to play a key role in elections — being present at voting locations, assisting voters who have questions, and resolving issues as they arise. The training is required for people who signed up to be a DC Election Protection volunteer, but is open to everyone. RSVP here.

Teach-in: Guard Out of Our Schools & Communities
⏰ 8 - 9 p.m.
📍 Virtual
Since the start of the school year, National Guard troops have been patrolling near D.C. schools — notably Wheatley Education Campus, Bruce-Monroe Elementary School, and Bard Early College High School, according to organizers from Free DC. They'll be hosting a teach-in to strategize about how neighbors can push back on soldiers' presence. RSVP here.

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 30

Ward 1 Mutual Aid fundraiser
⏰ 6 - 12 a.m.
📍 14th and Quincy St. NW
A trio of beloved spots on Columbia Heights' 14th Street are banding together for a fundraiser; stop by Lyman's Tavern, Little Coco's, and Toro Bar for a drink, grab a punch card, and fill it up to enter the costume contest, taking place at Lyman's at 11:30 p.m.!

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 31

Holiday Harvest Festival
⏰ 9 a.m. - 12 p.m.
📍 Bread for the City Southeast Center (1700 Marion Barry Ave. SE)
Help local nonprofit Bread for the City prepare for Holiday Helpings, their annual food distribution program, by packing food bags for families across the city. Together, volunteers will pack more than 4,000 holiday food bags for the upcoming season. The day will also feature trick-or-treating, fall-themed decor, and costumes (so long as they're family- and volunteering-friendly!). Closed-toe shoes and water bottles are encouraged. Sign up here.

Potomac Monster Trash Bash
⏰ 9 - 11 a.m.
📍 Poplar Point / Anacostia Park (1900 Anacostia Dr. SE)
You know what's scary? Polluted waterways! Help the Potomac Conservancy to keep our rivers clean with a morning of cleaning and trash pickup. All supplies will be provided, but it's encouraged to bring your own if you have them. You can reserve your spot here.

Pupusa Party
⏰ 1 - 11:30 p.m. (b
📍 Rides meet at the Female Union Band Society Cemetery (2501 Mill Rd. NW), party at The Dew Drop Inn (2801 8th St. NE)
Need we explain more? An alley-cat-style bike race (starting at 1 p.m.) or 9-mile group bike ride (starting at 2 p.m.) will end at Dew Drop Inn, where the pupusa party starts at 5 p.m. and live music at 7 p.m., all raising funds for Voices on the Border's campaign towards a school bus in El Salvador. The event will also feature a community altar for Día de los Muertos.