On Sunday, we had nice, sunny weather for our first ever Kayaking and Picnic Cluster Meeting at Bladensburg Waterfront Park. Many au pairs went kayaking and canoeing on the scenic Anacostia River. Some stayed back to enjoy the views and conversations with other au pairs.
Bladensburg Waterfront Park offers some of the most reasonably priced kayak and canoe rentals in the DC area. I would definitely recommend it, if you want to try kayaking or canoeing.
We had a cluster birthday party for our March meeting. We played birthday party games, sang Happy Birthday and enjoyed cupcakes. We also completed a service project. Everyone brought supplies to create birthday bags to donate to the local food pantry. Each bag contained a cake mix, frosting, candles, and other birthday party supplies.
Last weekend, we volunteered at the Capital Area Food Bank in DC. We were tasked with filling boxes that will be distributed to families in need. Our group made up more than half of the afternoon volunteer shift that filled 900 boxes!
The boxes go around on a conveyor belt and each pair of volunteers adds it’s designated food can or package. The boxes sped up as the group gets better at filling them. We never quite got to I Love Lucy speed, but there were a few intense moments. It was a great experience and several of the au pairs said that they would be interested in going back and volunteering on their own. If you are interested in helping the Capital Area Food Bank, check out their Volunteer Information Page.
What is Galentine’s Day? This “girlfriend holiday” dates back to 2010 when it was created by a fictional character named Leslie on a show called Parks and Recreation. During an episode (called “Galentine’s Day”), Leslie gathers a group of her closest gal pals for a brunch full of waffles and love and proclaimed “Every February 13, my lady friends and I leave our husbands and our boyfriends at home and we just come and kick it, breakfast style.” Thus, this holiday of “ladies celebrating ladies” was born.
For our February cluster meeting, we had our own Galentine’s Day celebration with sweet treats, an art project, bingo with prizes, and of course an opportunity to make friends.
For our May cluster meeting we did a tour inside of the Washington Monument. This was our first Washington Monument tour since before the pandemic! We were very happy to have a great turnout and gorgeous weather.
We had a beautiful day for our April cluster meeting at the U.S. Botanic Garden.
Established by Congress in 1820, the U.S. Botanic Garden is the oldest continuously operating botanic garden in the United States. Admission is free and it is located in view of the U.S. Capitol. For more information visit their website here: https://www.usbg.gov.
These are the lovely au pairs who participated. This was our first in-person meeting since March 2020! For most of these au pairs it was there first in-person cluster meeting they ever attended. It was so great to finally meet people we have been communicating with online for all this time.
Here are the ladies on the winning team!
They were the first ones back and completed every item on the hunt!
A scavenger hunt is a game where you are given a list of questions, things to look for and photographs to take. You will work together as a team to complete as many as you can in an hour.
More than 700 au pairs from 30 DC/MD/VA area Au Pair in America clusters came together on Saturday, March 9 to tour the U.S. Capitol. We were joined by Au Pair in America director, Ruth Ferry. We had a wonderful time and got some great photos.
Au pairs from the DC/MD/VA area, their community counselors and APIA director, Ruth Ferry
If you have never toured the U.S. Capitol, I highly recommend it. The Visitor Center offers free online tickets and a limited number of same day tickets. The tour starts off with a brief yet engaging video with some history on the Capitol Building and the U.S. in general. The tour guides are knowledgeable and you get to some very iconic places in the building. The view looking up at the Capitol dome is breathtaking.
Our cluster in front of the U.S. Capitol
Our cluster being silly on our way to the Capitol Visitor Center
Our cluster volunteered at the Greater DC Diaper Bank as part of International Exchange Day, also know as J-Day.
We collected donations from some of our host families and au pairs. We learned about the great work they do and spent a few hours packaging up diapers for distribution to families in need throughout the greater DC area.
If you’d like to find out more about this organization, and ways to support them, check out their wish list here.
Here is a post on the Au Pair in America Blog about us and other clusters across the country making a difference in our communities.
Back in May, we announced that our cluster would be celebrating Au Pair in America’s 30th anniversary year with 30 Hours of Service in 2016. We are counting the time preparing for and carrying out the volunteer projects.
We have done these project so far:
April 10 – Making Sandwiches for the Homeless (5 hours of service)
July 31 – J-Day Shoe Donation (3 hours)
August 9 – Storm Drain Project (6 hours)
September – Preparing for International Festival (4 hours)
And at our November 27 cluster meeting – Making cards for Sending Smiles (2 hours)
Still to come:
December – Holiday Global Awareness presentation for Cub Scouts, buying and wrapping gifts for needy kids, making scarves and volunteering at a school Santa shop.
