Charities We Support
The Chorale annually selects a local 501(c)3 to be the beneficiary of our Spring concert. Over the history of the Georgetown Chorale we have donated over $300,000 to various local organizations.
On May 4, 2024, the Georgetown Chorale will present its annual Spring Concert in support of Girls, Inc.
Girls Inc. of the Washington, DC Metropolitan Area (Girls Inc. DC): Our mission is to inspire all girls in the DC Metropolitan Area to be strong, smart and bold.
Girls Inc. DC empowers girls ages 9+ to succeed by providing trusting mentoring relationships, a girls-only environment, and research-based, hands-on programming. Three critical goals drive our programming: to help girls achieve healthy lives (strong), succeed academically (smart), and acquire the life skills needed to prepare them for adulthood (bold). We work to ensure that girls participate in programs and activities that support and expand on their school-based learning and engagement. It is also important that girls are motivated to set and achieve educational and career goals, particularly in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM).
Our programs focus on girls in middle and high schools. We prioritize under-resourced communities providing free summer STEM Leadership camps and out-of-school time programming.
Girls Inc. DC is committed to advancing the rights and opportunities of girls and young women, with a particular focus on the needs of who face multiple, intersectional challenges. Informed by the voices of girls themselves, we advocate to break through the barriers girls face and to reform systems that impede their success.
To learn more about us, visit us at www.girlsincdc.org or follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram or X (formerly Twitter). Or to donate directly, go to https://www.girlsincdc.org/donate
On May 6, 2023, the Georgetown Chorale performed the annual Spring Concert this year in support of the Refugee Ministry of Grace Episcopal Church in Silver Spring, MD.
The Refugee Ministry of Grace Episcopal Church in Silver Spring, Maryland, provides protection and assistance to people forced to flee their homes and seek asylum outside their countries of origin. It serves refugees, including Afghan refugees, resettled in the U.S. and helps meet the needs of migrants who seek protection in the U.S., most of whom are from Central America and Venezuela.
Founded in 2018 as an outgrowth of their commitment to welcome the stranger, Grace Episcopal Church’s Refugee Ministry exists to uplift and support refugee and migrant communities in meaningful ways. Since 2019, the Ministry has had the privilege of providing support to a family of seven resettled in Silver Spring from Afghanistan. In 2023, the Ministry plans to provide resources such as food, clothing, and employment training to refugee and migrant populations in our community.
Anne Frank House in Washington, DC is an independent non-profit organization that provides long-term supportive housing to 12 formerly homeless men and women with chronic mental illness. Its clients move from living on the streets in danger and degradation to living on their own in comfortable apartments they can call home. Its name honors the iconic figure in Jewish history, who along with millions of others, perished or were made homeless during the Holocaust. “Most of all, I long for a home of my own,” Anne Frank wrote, in her famous diary, on July 23, 1943. Anne Frank House, an all-volunteer, board-led organization with no paid staff, makes that possible for its clients. More than 90 percent of the funds Anne Frank House raises go directly to helping the people they serve.
Anne Frank House is deeply honored to have been selected by The Chorale as its 2022 recipient.
Yachad - Building Bridges by Building Communities
In the Spring of 2019, the Chorale performed the Sacred Service (Avodath Hakodesh) of Ernest Bloch in support of Yachad.
"Sacred Service (Avodath Hakodesh) by Jewish composer Ernest Bloch, was the perfect performance piece for the 2019 spring concert where Yachad, a Jewish non-profit housing group, was selected as the 2019 beneficiary. Proceeds from the concert were used to repair houses of lower income DC residents, creating healthier and more functional homes for years to come. We consider this work as “sacred service” too. Everyone at Yachad was delighted to be chosen and honored for our work."
--Audrey Lyon ( Executive Director, Yachad)
Southeast Ministry
In the Spring of 2018, the Chorale performed Edward Elgar’s The Music Makers in support of Southeast Ministry. Tenor John Hagood is a board member.
“The Chorale’s splendid cash gift in 2018 enabled Ward 8’s Southeast Ministry to place up-to-date information technology in its classrooms – computers, tablets, and communication tools that enhance adult learning. Each year, SEM serves dozens of citizens venturing into new work lives after bouts of incarceration, addiction, violence, or inadequate education. Literacy and job skills position SEM’s learners to move out of poverty, crime, and illness. Not least, the spirit of learning and curiosity the clients carry home extends to their children, families, and neighbors.
How fitting that such generosity grows each year out of the breathtaking healing and cohesiveness that music lends us when we raise our hearts, minds, and voices together. The sense of empowerment and beauty we find in making music has taken new root among the learners of Southeast Ministry – which even now has endured the pandemic and stands poised to continue its work into the coming years. With lasting thanks, here’s to the Chorale’s remarkable spirit of willingness to take on new projects, to learn new things, to grow together, and to share its gifts with our larger community.”
—John Hagood (member of the Board of Southeast Ministry)
Other Recent Beneficiaries
Micah House
Sergeant Sullivan Fund of National Jewish Health
First Star Greater Washington Academy
Washington School for Girls
Cultural Academy for Excellence (CAFE)
Hospitality High School of Washington, D.C.
So Others Might Eat (SOME)