Best Volunteer Organization: So Others Might Eat

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CELEBRATING ITS 40TH anniversary this year, So Others Might Eat prides itself on being the only interfaith, community-based organization in Washington offering a holistic approach to caring for the homeless. This means providing not only food but also doctors, job training, rehabilitation and a place to live. "Just because people are poor, we don't treat them poorly," says Father John Adams, SOME's president. "We offer them a handshake and a smile, and welcome people in a nonjudgmental kind of way."

You Probably Didn't Know: About 20 percent of SOME's more-than 270 full- and part-time employees are formerly homeless, Adams says.

»So Others Might Eat, 71 O St. NW; 202-797-8806; Some.org

» Explore a full list of the year's winners at the Best of 2009 index.

Photo by Linda Davidson/The Washington Post