Weekly Village News November 21, 2025

From Frank...

This particular Thanksgiving, I am really trying to focus on things I am thankful for, and not letting challenges, disappointments, or negativity erode the importance of pausing, being grateful, and counting my many blessings. One way that I am staying positive is writing a gratitude list about our great community, the Village. Here are some things for which I am truly grateful:

• By the end of the year, our volunteers will likely have provided more than 1,800 acts of kindness to their older neighbors.

  
  

• Each of those acts of kindness (such as a drive to a medical appointment, delivery of groceries, or running an errand) is so much more than a transaction. Rather, it’s an opportunity to connect, exchange some friendly banter, and brighten one another’s day.

  
  

• The Village will have sponsored nearly 400 events this year, including concerts, Tuesday Talks, walks, Sunday Suppers, virtual stretching classes, cultural outings of all sorts, a robust roster of talks for Older Americans Month, and so much more.

  
  

• Friendships form among members, volunteers, and even among staff! I can personally say that despite living in Woodley Park for two decades, I’ve never known as many of my neighbors as I do now. It’s a rare day that I walk to the office in Cleveland Park and don’t run into someone that I’ve met through the Village.

  
  

• We have a strong relationship with the greater community including local businesses, the library, the Main Street program, community associations, the ANCs and other governmental partners, other community-based non-profit organizations, and the many faith communities in our area. We share information for one another, find common areas in which to collaborate to achieve greater impact, and generally support one another to build up our community.245 people are members of our Village – the highest ever. We’ve added 26 new members so far this year. So, our community continues to consistently grow. We provided 30 free memberships to those with limited finances and our board authorized an additional 20 free social memberships so that we can continue to expand, regardless of one’s ability to pay.

  
  

• For the second year in a row, our Village received a Founders Award from the Washington Area Village Exchange for an innovative program or project which reflected the founders’ values of inclusivity; collaboration; creative problem-solving; and positive impact on villages, their communities, and the larger village movement. Our powerful “We are Your Neighbors” exhibits at the library and Maret won the award! 

  
  

I find that I’m almost hard-wired to press forward and try to overcome the next obstacle or achieve some new goal. And yet, there’s power in stopping for a bit, reflecting on those things for which we can be grateful. It allows us the space to really feel the impact of how we show up for our fellow community members. It’s powerful in its depth and breadth and for me personally, gives me renewed passion to do the next good thing, however hard it may be. 

Thank you for being a part of this Village community as a member, volunteer, donor, sponsor supporter, or community participant. I wish everyone a wonderful Thanksgiving week.

All the events and programs in the Village News can be found here.

— Frank Finamore, Executive Director

P.S. Our volunteers are busy planning Thanksgiving meals for those that would like one delivered on Thanksgiving morning, between 11 and 12. If you’d like a meal, we need to know by Monday at noon. Just call the office at 202-615-5853 or email us at info@cwpv.org.