Fannie Mae’s DC Help the Homeless Walkathon

Across the United States, about 660,000 people are homeless on any given night. Over the course of a year, 2.5 to 3.5 million people nationwide will experience at least one night of homelessness. As of January 27, 2010, 11,774 people throughout the metropolitan Washington region indicated that they were homeless – a 1.7 percent decrease from 2009[1]. The DLT Foundation and the Reston Youth Association (RYA) are doing their part to further decrease that number. The DLT Foundation sponsored the RYA Seahawks 85 National Team for the 23rd Annual Fannie Mae DC Help the Homeless Walkathon on November 20. Fannie Mae’s DC Help the Homeless Walkathon is a part of Fannie Mae’s Help the Homeless Program, a community-wide program to raise funds and awareness in support of Beneficiary Organizations that work to prevent and end homelessness. This Program, spanning several months and culminating with Help the Homeless Walkathon on the National Mall, has grown into the nation’s largest fundraising event benefiting the homeless. In 2009, funds raised through the Help the Homeless Program enabled community organizations to serve the homeless and people at risk of becoming homeless by providing emergency care and shelter or creating permanent supportive housing. The RYA Seahawks, a Washington DC-area youth football team, made the 3K walk around the National Mall all in the name of helping raise money for the homeless. RYA believes it is our responsibility to be positive role models by giving back to our youth and continually strive to build a healthy positive community. They did a great job of leading by example. RYA is a volunteer organization at all levels, from the coaches to the board members to the officials.  A number of DLT’s employees are even involved with the RYA Seahawks as coaches or refs. In the end, the Seahawks finished their 2010 season with a 4-4 record.  They were beaten in the first playoff game by the team, Lee Franconia, that eventually won the championship. [1] All of the above information provided by The 2010 Count of Homeless Persons in Metropolitan Washington report prepared by the Metropolitan Washington Council of Government’s Homeless Services Planning and Coordinating Committee, May 2010 and provided by the National Alliance to End Homelessness and the Community Partnership for the Prevention of Homelessness, Washington, D.C.