Community Service

Mission and Purpose

Public service is a fundamental part of CSIS. While the focus of our work is foreign policy, we also seek to have a positive impact locally. 
 
The mission of the CSIS Service Committee is to give back to our community. We do this by creating opportunities for our staff to volunteer in the Washington D.C. area. 
 
Below, you can find some of our past events, ranging from food, clothing, and blood drives to park cleanups and school renovations. We partner with a wide range of nonprofits and are always looking for new ways to engage with our community. If you have ideas, please feel free to reach out to us at volunteer@csis.org.

Past CSIS Service Events

November 2023:
Tidal Basin Urban Forest Project: CSIS partnered with the National Park Service to spread wood chips around the cherry blossom trees along the Tidal Basin. These wood chips are beneficial to the surrounding ecosystem, including insects, pollinators, soil microbes, and in turn, the trees. This service event supported an ongoing effort to develop an urban forest around the Tidal Basin/Washington Monument Grounds.

June 2023: 
DC Pride Festival Bucket Brigade: The CSIS Service Committee and the LGBTQIA+ Employee Resource Group joined together to volunteer at Washington DC's Pride Festival in support of the Capital Pride Alliance, the organizer of annual DC pride festivities. 

May 2023:
National Mall Clean Up: In preparation for Memorial Day, CSIS staff and interns volunteered to support the National Park Service in picking up trash and recyclables around some of the nation's most iconic memorials.

May 2022:
Jug Bay Sunflower Field: CSIS staff members and their families gathered for a day of service at Jug Bay Wildlife Sanctuary in Lothian, MD, where they planted a field of sunflowers to help protect bees. The mission of Jug Bay Wildlife Sanctuary is to increase awareness, understanding, and appreciation of estuarine and other natural ecosystems and their conservation through outdoor education, research, stewardship, and volunteering.

March 2022:
Cultivate the City at Plants Alive!: CSIS staff members and their families gathered for a day of service at Plants Alive! in Silver Spring, MD, where they helped prepare their garden for spring, including pulling weeds and planting strawberries. The mission of Cultivate the City is to inspire healthy and sustainable living by empowering communities with tools and training for urban agriculture.

Camera Donation: CSIS donated 6 camcorders to a DC based organization, Don’t Shoot Guns Shoot Cameras, which offers an immersive 2-week camp for Washington D.C's underserved youth that explores every aspect of creative writing, videography, and film production.

February 2022:
CSIS Presidents' Day - Day of Service: 11 CSIS staff members and their friends gathered for a day of service at Carpenter's Shelter in Alexandria, VA, building shelves for and organizing their storage space, and preparing and serving lunch for families residing in the shelter.

Afghan Refugee Home Set-up: CSIS staff members held a furniture and home goods collection drive to assist Afghan refugees who desperately need housing. Two teams of CSIS volunteers then delivered and set up furniture and home goods in these refugees’ new homes. This outreach was coordinated with the Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service and NOVA Raft.

January 2022:
Annual Holiday Fundraiser: CSIS staff raised nearly $10,000 for Ayuda, a local organization that provides legal, social, and language services to help low-income immigrants in DC neighborhoods access justice and transform their lives.

September 2021:
Afghanistan Refugee Winter Clothing Drive: CSIS staff donated ~25 large bags of winter clothing and supplies to the Catholic Charities Diocese of Arlington for distribution to the Afghan refugees coming to the DC, Maryland, Virginia area.

August 2021:
Akridge School Supply Drive: CSIS joined Akridge, our building management partner, for their network wide back to school drive for children’s school supplies.

January 2021:
Shepherd’s Table Fundraiser: CSIS staff raised $7,595 for Shepherd’s Table in our annual holiday fundraiser.

March 2020:
Shepherd’s Table: Volunteers went to Shepherd's Table to help serve dinner.

January 2020:
Australian Wildfires Fundraiser: CSIS raised $2,964.65—3,859 Australian dollars—which was donated to the New South Wales Fire Service to help with the wildfire relief efforts.

January 2020:
CSIS MLK Day of Service: A group of CSIS employees and their family members joined the Student Conservation Association and National Park Service and worked to restore the Anacostia River Park through garbage collection and disposal.

September 2019:
Red Cross - Bahamas Relief Fundraiser: CSIS raised and donated $1,345 to the Bahamas Red Cross Society to help with hurricane relief efforts.

July 2019:
Food and Friends - Food Packing Event: 6 volunteers spent half a day preparing and packaging food.

Capital Area Food Bank - Thanksgiving in July Food Drive: CSIS raised over $360 in cash and food donations for the Capital Area Food Bank.

June 2019:
Fundraising for the Walk for Alzheimer’s: CSIS raised $770 for the Alzheimer’s Walk to raise awareness and funds for Alzheimer’s care, support, and research.

Red Cross - Blood Drive: Volunteers donated blood to the Red Cross.
 
May 2019:
Food and Friends - Food Packing Event: 10 volunteers spent half a day preparing and packaging food.

A Wider Circle - Professional Clothing Drive: CSIS delivered a full rack and several bags of clothes to A Wider Circle.
 
March 2019:
Food and Friends - Food Packing Event: 7 volunteers spent half a day preparing and packaging food.

Food and Friends - Annual CSIS International Potluck: The 39th annual CSIS international potluck raised money for Food and Friends.

Shepherd’s Table – Lunch & Dinner Trips: Volunteers went to Shepherd's Table to help serve lunch and dinner.

February 2019:
Red Cross - Blood Drive: 29 volunteers donated blood to the Red Cross.
 
January 2019:
Mary’s Center - Hygiene Bag Drive: CSIS hosted a week-long toiletries drive and packed 20 hygiene bags to be donated to Mary's Center.

CSIS MLK Day of Service: 8 volunteers spent their morning painting a school in Northeast Washington with a larger group of City Year volunteers.

December 2018:
Food and Friends - International Security Program Day of Service: 21 volunteers from our International Security Program went to Food and Friends to help with food packing.

Shepherd’s Table - Holiday Party Raffle Fundraiser: Raised over $2,200 for Shepherd's Table.

Mary’s Center - Toy Drive: CSIS hosted its annual pre-holiday toy drive.

Shepherd’s Table - Dinner Trip: 5 volunteers went to Shepherd's Table to help serve dinner.
 
November 2018:
CSIS Heart Walk Challenge: 45 volunteers walked nearly 6 million steps in a center wide walking challenge to raise awareness about cardiovascular health.
 
October 2018:
Walk for Alzheimer’s: CSIS raised $500 for Alzheimer’s and had 6 people participate in the walk.

Red Cross - Blood Drive: 23 volunteers donated blood to the Red Cross.
 
August 2018:
Shepherd's Table - Dinner Trip: 5 volunteers went to Shepherd's Table to help serve dinner.
 
July 2018:
Shepherd’s Table - Lunch Trip: 5 volunteers went to Shepherd's Table to help serve lunch.

Capital Area Food Bank - Thanksgiving in July Food Drive: CSIS raised over $3,000 in cash and food donations for the Capital Area Food Bank.

June 2018:
Year Up - Mentorship and Interview Day: CSIS hosted over 50 young adults to tour CSIS, hear from a panel, and practice interviews with 50 CSIS volunteers.

Red Cross - Blood Drive: 39 individuals donated blood to the Red Cross.
 
May 2018:
Food and Friends - Food Packing Event: 16 volunteers spent half a day preparing and packaging food.

A Wider Circle - Professional Clothing Drive: CSIS delivered a full rack and several bags of clothes to A Wider Circle.

March 2018:
Red Cross - Blood Drive: 30 volunteers donated blood to the Red Cross.

Food and Friends - Annual CSIS International Potluck: The 38th annual CSIS international potluck raised money for Food and Friends.

February 2018:
Food and Friends - Food Packing Event: 9 volunteers went to Food and Friends to pack meals.

January 2018:
Arlington Cemetery Wreath Cleanup: 5 volunteers went to Arlington cemetery to help support a morning wreath cleanup.

MLK Day Rock Creek Conservancy Park Cleanup: 8 volunteers helped the Rock Creek Conservancy clear garbage in Rock Creek and the surrounding area.

December 2017:
Shepherd’s Table - Holiday Party Raffle Fundraiser: CSIS raised $3,660 for Shepherd's Table.

Mary’s Center - Toy Drive: CSIS hosted its annual pre-holiday toy drive and raised $1,110.
 
November 2017:
Food and Friends - Food Packing Event: 5 volunteers went to Food and Friends to pack meals.

October/November 2017:
American Heart Association - Walking Challenge: Over 80 volunteers participated in a month long walking challenge to raise awareness about cardiovascular health.
 
October 2017:
Red Cross - Blood Drive: 34 volunteers donated blood to the Red Cross, which can save up to 57 lives.

Shepherd’s Table - Clothing Sorting and Food Prep: 5 volunteers served 200 lunches served to people in need at Shepherd’s Table.
 
September 2017:
Food and Friends - Food Packing Event: 9 volunteers went to Food and Friends to pack meals.

August/September 2017:
Hurricane Harvey/Irma Disaster Relief: CSIS raised $700 for hurricane relief.
 
August 2017:
Shepherd’s Table - Clothing Sorting and Food Prep: Volunteers served 140 lunches to people in need at Shepherd’s Table.

Rock Creek Conservancy Event: 10 volunteers helped remove invasive vines from Rock Creek Park.

July 2017:
Mary’s Center - Thanksgiving in July Food Drive: CSIS raised $2,400, enough to provide food for 80 families.

June 2017:
Red Cross - Blood Drive: 35 volunteers donated blood to the Red Cross, which can save 58 lives.
 
May 2017:
Shepherd’s Table - Annual CSIS International Potluck: CSIS raised $620 for Shepherd’s Table.

April 2017:
Food and Friends Food Packing Event: 16 volunteers went to Food and Friends to pack meals.

A Wider Circle Professional Clothing Drive: 60 items of professional clothing were collected and donated to A Wider Circle.
 
February 2017:
Volunteer Fair: CSIS invited 6 volunteer organizations to come CSIS to talk about their work.

December 2017:
A Wider Circle - Holiday Party Raffle Fundraiser: CSIS raised $3,200 for A Wider Circle.

Mary’s Center - Toy Drive: CSIS hosted its annual pre-holiday toy drive.