Main Street Connect

Enjoy the latest issue of our newsletter, The Monthly Connect, which features the inspiring story of Main Street's artist-in-residence Denise Zatcoff Feldman!

Main Street Monthly Connect - December 2023 Inside: An Artist's Story, The Conversation Continues, Granny's Game Night, News from Soulfull and more

We've had a busy (and awesome) few days. Thank you to everyone who came out for Sips, Tips & Gifts on Thursday evening and ZooLights at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute last night!

SIPS, TIPS, AND GIFTS: Join us on Thursday for this "Bake with Sharon" holiday special with an interactive night of mingling and gift-making! Come sip on wine while enjoying a guided tutorial on how to make and decoratively pack food gifts as a special holiday treat for you or a loved one! We'll share a festive evening together at Main Street and everyone will leave with delicious, easy and thoughtful treats to share. Register here:

Sips, Tips, and Gifts for the Holiday Season Professional & Featured Events Members = ✓ | Plus = $10 | Core = $15 | Non-Members = $20 Register Here Join us for this Bake with Sharon holiday special with an interactive night of mingling and gift-making! Come sip on wine while enjoying a guided tutorial on how to make and decoratively

OUR NEXT ARTIST WORKSHOP IS JUST A FEW WEEKS AWAY!! Main Street's artist-in-residence, Denise Feldman, will be leading a workshop on Saturday, December 16 from 1-3pm. (Our artist workshops are the BEST, and everyone always leaves with a wonderful piece of art.) Denise is a mixed media artist who leads journeys in healing through art, creates altered book art, and works with fabric, paper, words, found bits of nature and other materials to create unique pieces that tell a story. Playing off the theme “Look for the Lighthouse,” Denise will guide participants in creating a hand-knotted mixed-media symbol of their own to use as their “lighthouse” of hope. Using ribbon, yarn, string, beads and feathers, participants will choose their own colorful items to tie around a small tree branch that can be hung in their homes or given as gifts of hope to others.

Please join us for this awesome event on December 16! And if you've never been to Main Street, this is a perfect opportunity to come and see what we're all about. Register here: https://mainstreetconnect.org/event/look-for-the-lighthouse-artist-workshop-by-denise-feldman/

Happy World Kindness Day!

We're thrilled to welcome Denise Feldman as our latest featured artist at Main Street! Denise is a mixed media artist who leads journeys in healing through art; creates altered book art; and works with fabric, paper, words, found bits of nature and other materials to create unique pieces that tell a story. Join us THIS FRIDAY, November 10 from 5-7pm for an in-depth look at her exhibit, "Pockets of Hope," as well as a conversation about her inspirations and journey as an artist! Register here:
https://mainstreetconnect.org/event/friday-vibes-denise-feldman-art-exhibit-opening/

Journal making was awesome! What will we write in these journals? What stories will we tell? The possibilities are endless. We're so grateful for Main Street's Saturday Creativity Club!

Great costumes, great company, great cause. Thank you Truman Charities for hosting last night's awesome Halloween Bash to benefit Main Street!!! We had a blast at Tommy Joe's Bar + Grill with Rob Mercer and the Truman team! We are so, so grateful!!

There's still time to get tickets to the Truman Charities Halloween Bash benefiting Main Street! We hope to see you on Saturday night at Tommy Joe's Bar + Grill in Bethesda!

Purchase your tickets here: https://mainstreetconnect.org/truman-charities-halloween-bash-for-main-street/

Truman Charities Halloween Bash Benefiting Main Street SPONSOR | ATTEND | RAFFLE When good people get together, great things happen. That's what the founders of Truman Charities believe. Their mission is to bring the community together through philanthropic individuals and organizations to help grassroots and national charities. This year, they have sel...

We are just four days away from the Truman Charities Halloween Bash benefiting Main Street Connect!! Today we'll find out who won the special sponsor raffle prize (a two-night stay in Atlantic City)! Can't wait to see everyone on Saturday at Tommy Joe's Bar + Grill!

$40,000 has already been raised for our Halloween Event because of all our generous sponsors. My little Babe Ruth's are excited to let you know that our Special Sponsor Raffle prize is....
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THE OCEAN Casino Resort | Atlantic City
Accommodations for a 2 Night Stay. $100 Dinner Credit.
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To be apart of this raffle all sponsors must have their contributions in by Monday October 23rd! Depending on your sponsor level will depend on how many tickets you will receive into this special raffle.
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To register as a sponsor please go to www.trumancharities.com. We cannot wait to see everyone's costumes next week! Dominic & Antonio will pull our winner Tuesday of next week.

Looking forward to Coffee with a Cop with Rockville City Police Department at Soulfull Cafe tomorrow at 11am! Hope to see you there!

Stop by tomorrow for Coffee with a Cop at Soulfull Cafe from 11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. to visit with officers and get a treat from the Cafe! Hope to see you there.

Join us THIS Wednesday, October 25, from 9:00 - 10:30 am for a Parent Connect Coffee at Main Street! This is a great opportunity to chat with other parents in the community. This month's discussion topic: What’s Working and What’s Next.

Please bring any tips, tricks, resources and/or suggestions to share with others. This event is open to all parents; it's $5 to register. Sign up here: https://mainstreetconnect.org/event/parent-connect-coffee-2/

A Note from Main Street:
We know there is a lot of darkness in the world right now, and at Main Street we try to spread light. If you are looking for some light and connection in a place that promotes inclusion and kindness, please consider joining us for this event on Thursday evening.

Did you know that many cocktails, mocktails and ciders achieve their well-loved flavors from herbs and spices? On Thursday, October 19 from 6:00-7:30pm, come spice things up with FARM + MUSE and a hands-on cocktail-making experience where you’ll use vibrant, fall-approved ingredients such as crisp apple, warming cinnamon and irresistible ginger to create delectable cocktail creations. (Think Apple Cider Mimosa, Pomegranate Gin Punch or a Caramel Apple Martini.) All ingredients are included. This event is a great opportunity to connect with familiar faces and meet new friends! See you at Main Street! Register here: https://mainstreetconnect.org/event/cocktails-mocktails-with-farm-muse/

It's Tuesday morning...THE perfect time to start thinking about your Halloween plans. And costumes. Join us for the Truman Charities Halloween Bash benefiting Main Street on October 28 at Tommy Joe's Bar + Grill in Bethesda!! Click here for details: https://mainstreetconnect.org/truman-charities-halloween-bash-for-main-street/. Now is the time to get your tickets...Halloween is creeping up on us!

Today is Ethan's 13th birthday...and he's celebrating with lunch at Soulfull Cafe. Everyone at Main Street loves meeting new people, so of course our residents and members welcomed Ethan and his family and asked what they were having to eat. It turns out Ethan's brother is a fan of the new Philly Steak & Arugula sandwich. That's been a big hit! Happy Birthday, Ethan! 🥳 🥳

Main Street's 4th Annual Golf Outing on Monday was an incredible day filled with great energy, positivity, connection, competition and FUN! We are so grateful to our sponsors, donors and volunteers who made this day possible—and make it possible for Main Street to offer a space of belonging. Thank you all for being a part of this movement of inclusion! Enjoy photos from this memorable day here: https://mainstreetconnect.org/4th-annual-golf-outing-photo-gallery/

Bethesda Magazine & Bethesda Beat, EagleBank, CBG Building Company, Foundation Housing, Lord Aeck & Sargent Inc., Monday Properties, Sandy Spring Bank, Sherwood Farm, Wealthspire Advisors, Hercules Fence, Melwood, RPM Construction, VIKA Maryland, LLC, ABE Networks, WPAH, Bohler, Cresa, First Communities, Goodman-Gable-Gould/Adjusters International, Palmer Brothers Painting & General Contractors, Shulman Rogers, Telligent Masonry, LLC, Tribalco, VWG Wealth Management, Willco.

Our 4th Annual Golf Outing at Woodmont Country Club yesterday was AMAZING. One of the best things about it was that Tristan, who works at Soulfull Cafe, and Grianny, a work-study student at Don Bosco Cristo Rey High School, spoke at the cocktail party...in front of about 200 people. We are so grateful for the two of them, and for this incredible Main Street community. It's hard to explain sometimes—you need to come and experience Main Street to really understand it—but we often say it's a feeling. It really is.

Here's part of Tristan's speech:

"So they asked me what inclusion means to me. Inclusion means feeling that you’re a part of a bigger whole. I started at Soulfull Cafe feeling very shy, not very social, and focusing on only getting the job done, as I would like to say. But over time, that began to change. I met more and more residents from Main Street, I learned more skills as a barista, and eventually I met Grianny, my dearest friend of all time. ...Eventually I realized that the community at Main Street was really understanding toward me, and that I felt a sense of belonging."

After the speeches, Tristan told a Main Street staff member, "This is the best day of my life. I feel accomplished."

What's YOUR favorite new sandwich, salad or smoothie at Soulfull Cafe? If you don't know about Main Street's cozy cafe yet, you really need to come in!!! Check out the menu: www.thesoulfullcafe.com.

Fall is here, and so are our new menu items! Our Soulfull community has been enjoying our fresh new salads, sandwiches and smoothies. Some of our favorites? One of our team members, Evan, is a big fan of the Soulfull Caprese Sandwich and Soulfull Sunrise smoothie. "The Caprese is my go-to lunch order at Soulfull," Evan says. "And the Sunrise Smoothie is always the perfect morning pick-me-up for whenever I am feeling groggy!"

Haven't had a chance to try out any of our new items? Order online from today through October 14 using code NEWMENU23 to receive 10% off your purchase of any of our new options!

Order here: https://thesoulfullcafe.square.site/

Our Move & Groove Yoga class at The Met Rockville starts TONIGHT! Instructor Sarah Schain of Somobreathe is a certified yoga therapist, breath coach and sound practitioner with over 20 years of experience. She's awesome! This five-week series will meet in the lobby at The Met from 7:00 to 8:15 pm on Wednesdays from September 27 through October 25. If you can't make it tonight for the start of the series, you can drop in for a later session for $15! Register here: https://mainstreetconnect.org/event/yoga-at-the-met/2023-09-27/

Have you heard of The September 26th Project? The September 26th Project wants to help you prepare for emergencies. September 26 is the anniversary of the tragedy that took the lives of autism advocate Feda Almaliti and her son Muhammed. This is an annual reminder to complete the emergency preparedness checklists found at www.september26.org. Please click below and take a few moments to watch the videos, and please share with others in the special needs and autism communities.

September 26th Project The annual emergency preparedness checkup for autism and special needs families.Watch our 2022 video: Watch our 2021 introduction video: Learn the story of Feda and Muhammad Almaliti, the inspiration behind The September 26th Project.   10 minutes every 365 days can save lives. Fire Safety Checklis...

SAVE THE DATE! Main Street's annual Golf Outing is Monday, October 2, and all are invited to "swing by" our Cocktail Party after golf (around 4:00 pm)! Enjoy heavy hors d’oeuvres, cocktails, live music and time to connect with the Main Street community! This is a great time to introduce a new friend to Main Street. Spread the word and encourage others to join us for this feel-good event at Woodmont Country Club...a great way to spice up a Monday afternoon! Register here: https://mainstreetconnect.org/event/golf-outing-2023-cocktail-party/

Did you know the fear of speaking in public is the most common phobia, ahead of death, spiders or heights? "Public speaking is the single most feared situation among U.S. adults," says management consultant Jon Garcia. "Glossophobia, as it's known, affects people from all walks of life." Jon has worked with hundreds of senior business and other leaders to improve their confidence and presentation skills, and on Thursday, September 28, he's coming to Main Street to share his helpful tips and strategies! You don't want to miss this! Register here (this is a hybrid event): https://mainstreetconnect.org/event/communicating-for-impact/.

We are so grateful for the opportunity to share our mission with the National Down Syndrome Congress and to discuss the Visitable Inclusive Tax Credits for Accessible Living (VITAL) Act and the importance of advocating for more inclusive, affordable, accessible housing.

A huge thank you to everyone who stopped by Main Street last week to help us welcome our new Deputy Director, Sadija A. Smiley. Her last name is literally perfect for her. We are so excited to have her on the team!

One of our colleagues lost her 11-year-old nephew, Rodney, on September 11, 2001. She had taken Rodney to Dulles airport that morning. “See you soon,” she said as she waved goodbye. It was his first time flying. He’d been selected to be part of a trip to California where he would study with researchers from the National Geographic Society. Rodney was a quiet, loving child who made the honor roll every semester, she told us. He loved WWF wrestling, and he made sure he found his sister and brother every day after school so they could all walk home together. “I always tell people: Love on your children,” she says. “Just love on your children.”

SAVE THE DATE: A PRO EVENT WITH JON GARCIA ON SEPT. 28!

Do you have a fear of speaking in public? You're not alone. Public speaking is often named as the single most common phobia. Over the past three decades, Jon Garcia has worked with hundreds of senior business and other leaders to improve their confidence and presentation skills. On Thursday, September 28, from 7:00 - 8:30 pm, Jon will join us for a Pro Event at Main Street! Jon's talk will include practical advice on how to be more effective in presentations, using gestures and movement, good vocal habits, tricks for gaining confidence and more! Learn more and register here: https://mainstreetconnect.org/event/communicating-for-impact/. This is a hybrid event: Please share with friends and colleagues!!

Join us at Main Street on Monday, September 11, a Day of Remembrance, for a viewing of the documentary "No Responders Left Behind," followed by a discussion about the importance of advocacy for 9/11 victims and first responders. Students who participate will be eligible for up to two Student Service Learning (SSL) hours. Learn more and register here: https://mainstreetconnect.org/event/september-11-dayofremembrance/