Softening Economy Doesn't Harden Hearts

Just as impressive, however, were the efforts of Weschler's Auctioneers and Appraisers and developer PN Hoffman on behalf of the Dinner Program for Homeless Women that's been serving the Penn Quarter area since 1979. Weschler sisters Margaret and Virginia took it upon themselves to organize a fundraising dinner and auction for the program that raised $20,000 for the program. Monty Hoffman and his colleagues not only spent countless hours in the agency's kitchen, but put the arm on suppliers and contractors to participate in a golf-tournament at Whiskey Creek that raised $50,000, including a $10,000 cash donation from Hoffman.

This month, after The Post reported that cupboards at local food banks were getting bare, the employees of local Whole Foods Markets sprung into action, with each store sending $1,000 to a nearby food bank. That's on top of the regular weekly donations of meat, fruits, vegetables, milk and other perishables to the food banks and shelters that are hard-wired into the Whole Foods operations.

Giant and Safeway, of course, have long had similar programs. But the folks at the Falls Church Community Service Council are particularly appreciative to the Trader Joe's on Leesburg Pike for providing a reliable supply of perishables for its food pantry.

The Capital Area Food Bank, meanwhile, is thrilled with the $1 million worth of solar panels donated by BP Solar in Frederick, that will reduce its carbon footprint and shave 20 percent off its electric bills.

Amid all the gentrification going on in Adams Morgan, the Jubilee Housing project has been trying to develop five buildings for affordable rental housing. Two are complete. None of it would have been possible without the financing, volunteer time and more than $100,000 in grants from the bankers at PNC.

Meanwhile, in another transitional neighborhood, along the U Street corridor, eight local retailers -- Nana, Caramel, GoodWood, RCKNDY, Moojoo Ken, Junction, Simply Home and Wild Women Wear Red-- recently donated 10 percent of their sales on a special holiday shopping night to benefit the Patricia M. Sitar Center for the Arts, which provides after school, weekend and summer programs for at-risk kids.

In the same spirit, the El Golfo restaurant in Silver Spring has regularly designated special nights when 25 percent of each tab is donated to the PTA at one of the nearby public schools.

The National Center for Children and Families in Bethesda has been providing services to children in need since 1915, thanks to many generous donors. But none has been more reliable that Smokey Glen Farm, which has hosted the kids, volunteers and supporters each year for a day-long barbecue at its company picnic venue in Gaithersburg.

Across the river, Northern Virginia Family Service says it couldn't do all the good it does without the cash ($25,000 a year or more), in-kind support and volunteer hours provided by the consultants at Booz Allen Hamilton and the real estate whizzes at Peterson Co.

Booz and Peterson are the Zeligs of corporate philanthropy in Northern Virginia -- every time you turn around, they're there. But special note should be taken of the partnership Booz has with the ALS Association (which fights Lou Gehrig's disease) and Peterson's relentless fundraising for Inova Health System's Life with Cancer program in Arlington.

There isn't a newspaper column long enough to list all the longer-term partnerships that exist between local companies and local nonprofit organizations. But at the risk of offending those left out, and giving short shrift to those that are included, here are a few that came to my attention this year:

Washington Gas and the Washington Area Fuel Fund; Starbucks and the Modest Needs Foundation; Pulte Homes and the Ronald McDonald House; Cox Communications and the Fairfax Boys & Girls Club; SAIC and Alternative House; Marriott International and Habitat for Humanity; Thrivent Financial for Lutherans and Habitat for Humanity; Cassidy & Pinkard Colliers and the Robert V. Murray Boys & Girls Club in the District; Kirkland & Ellis and Everybody Wins; the Bivings Group and the Washington Area Women's Foundation; publisher BNA and For Love of Children; Capital One and NPower, a nonprofit organization that provides technical support to other nonprofits.