On summer break from my teaching at Georgetown University, I decided I wanted to volunteer at a nonprofit whose work really matters to me. I got lucky. I found Mary's Center for Maternal & Child Care, Inc. I've started working on communications with that organization, and it is a wonderful group. I have spent time in the clinics, photographing the staff as they attend to infants and children, and I see the very caring way in which the clients are regarded. I visited a dental clinic yesterday, again with the camera, and the dentist was so kind, so cheerful and reassuring to the children whose teeth he was examining. I am proud to be a volunteer at Mary's Center. I see that they are making a HUGE difference in the lives of so many people living in Washington, D.C. At at a time when the economy is ravaged, and people are losing health care, and we are generally worried about our future, it is reassuring to see that a non-profit like Mary's can be such a source of comfort, health and security. And something else: they are in so many ways, a family to the newly arrived immigrants in the community, I too am a newcomer to DC, and I'm living at a distance from family and friends. I too have been welcomed with open arms by Maria Gomez and her amazing staff. And I am grateful, and so happy that I can do a few things to help this wonderful cause!