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July 8, 1950. “Scott Circle, NW, looking northeast from Rhode Island Avenue with statue of Gen. Winfield Scott; note glass street sign under globe.” DDOT DC Historic Photograph Collection. (Google Street View.)

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An absolutely golden eleven minutes for the Godfather of Soul at the T.A.M.I. Show in 1964. If you're intimidated by the length, skip to 8:27 and you will not be disappointed. 

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CAUSE Tunesday || Seven tracks to get you through your next seven days. 

This week's tunes honor the hazy daze of summertime. 

Click here to listen to all of our previous Tunesday selections in one magnificent playlist. 

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Sunday Brunch @ CAUSE

CAUSE is redefining "boozy brunch" with their booze-infused menu and bottomless drinks. It's even socially acceptable for adults to eat cereal again, which means, at the very least, Jason Segel will be pumped. 

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Start Something That Matters -- and help CAUSE win $50k!!

GOOD and Blake Mycoskie, founder of TOMS and the Start Something That Matters Foundation, have teamed up to help budding social entrepreneurs launch an idea with the power to change the world for good. The Start Something That Matters Challenge will award $50,000 to help one enterprising individual launch his or her plan for driving social impact.

CAUSE is proud to be a Start Something That Matters finalist, and now we need YOUR help to win $50,000! Please click here and vote for us... 

Here are the plans for the winnings: 

It would help us to scale our business model more quickly. We will use half of the funds to add additional square footage onto our DC location, helping us ramp up our donations more quickly, proving the model. We will use the second half of the money to pursue one of the many second locations that we have been contacted about. Right now, Baltimore is looking like a great opportunity, with a committed partner, willing to contribute the building for CAUSE Baltimore.

Thank you for all of your love and support!

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CAUSE Tunesday || Seven tracks to get you through your next seven days. 

Click here to listen to all of our previous Tunesday selections in one magnificent playlist. 

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(Photo by Abbas Sabur)

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Where in the world is Carmen Sandiego CAUSE?

...Checking out the horizon in Alaska!

Check out our map to see other places CAUSE has been. 

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CAUSE Tunesday || Seven tracks to get you through your next seven days. 

Click here to listen to all of our previous Tunesday selections. 

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KC & The Sunshine Band- Give It Up 

Once upon a time in 1983, this happened. Happy Saturday, kids. 

(h/t to EHo)

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Sunday brunch at CAUSE: MAKE YO MAMA PROUD

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TONIGHT: Turtle Recall is back at CAUSE! 

Live music, no cover, but lots of awesome covers. Check out this turtle-powered take on The Lumineers' Ho Hey from the last time they were at CAUSE, then come party with us tonight. 

You can also check out their original tunes on Spotify. 

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(From NPR's she-works Tumblr, part of a special series from NPR on the Changing Lives of Women.)

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CAUSE and Life Pieces to Masterpieces

This concludes this week's series exploring the work and impact of Life Pieces to Masterpieces, one of CAUSE’s featured organizations for 2013 Q2. 

As you already know, CAUSE donates 100% of its profits after expenses to its featured organizations. This means that all of those Madibas you guzzled while you jumped around on Old School Hip Hop Saturday nights-- heck, even those tootsee rolls you're trying to forget-- go to a truly meaningful place. 

In early April, several representatives from LPTM stopped in for a happy hour to chat with patrons about their organization and its relationship with CAUSE.

Here's what CAUSE founder Nick Vilelle had to say about Life Pieces to Masterpieces:

In my eyes, Life Pieces To Masterpieces is a fantastic organization for multiple reasons.  First, if you have had a chance to visit their campus as I have, you can't help but be overpowered by the impact that they are having on the kids they work with.  It is truly inspiring to see the work they are doing, and the care with which they do it.  I could go on and on about this element, but this is not the only element that makes Life Pieces To Masterpieces a forward thinking kind of organization.  

I have been very impressed with Life Pieces' plan for growth, how they hope to scale up to reach more kids through different programs, and how they are focused on their own sustainability.  This last piece is one that shows the heart and mind working in unison.  Seeing the staff members at Life Pieces strategically plan to develop revenue streams from their Corporate Art Program and the sales of the art work shows that they are focused on all aspects of how they can create impact, and do it into the future.  Life Pieces' recognizes that helping one child for one year is important, but more important is having sustained impact on this generation of children and thus helping to break the cycle for the next generation.  

Learn more about them - you can't help but be inspired.    

Like all featured organizations, LPTM was selected through CAUSE's application process and then vetted by the advisory board. CAUSE's profits from this quarter will be donated to help further the work of Life Pieces to Masterpieces, as well as the two other organizations One Acre Fund  and Year Up. 

In between working on your hammer dance in the coming weeks, be on the lookout for more information and profiles on this quarter's other featured organizations. 

(Photos at CAUSE by Abbas Sabur)

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LPTM: Lorenzo's story

This week we are exploring the work and impact of Life Pieces to Masterpieces, one of CAUSE’s featured organizations for 2013 Q2. 

Lorenzo grew up in the Kennilworth projects. At 13 years old, when he first came to Life Pieces To Masterpieces, he was a young man with a great deal of responsibility on his plate. His parents had split up, his mother was battling addiction, and he had eight brothers and sisters to help raise, with the ninth sibling about to be released from jail. 

Photo by Liza Harbison

“It was hard because I had to grow up fast and be the man of the house making sure the kids did their school work, getting them their food. He was introduced to Life Pieces To Masterpieces and it became a home away from home. 

“I loved the family atmosphere,” Lorenzo says. “I got a sense of family I didn’t always get at home.” Lorenzo particularly loved learning that there was a world larger than DC – with trips to Delaware and Virginia, performances. He even got to meet President Obama at the White House. 

Now twenty, Lorenzo is working at Life Pieces To Masterpieces as a teacher and mentor and pursuing a degree in broadcast journalism at Bowie State University. 

He’s also a father of Lorenzo, Jr., who will be old enough to be at Life Pieces next year. “The way I discipline my son, the way I react to him, the way I teach him – all of that comes from the Life Pieces values we learned. I use almost all of the eight values every day as guidance.” 

He credits Life Pieces for “aggressively pursuing education” and for the importance it places on getting the best grades possible. As a sophomore he’s maintaining a solid 3.0 average. Life Pieces’ staff helped him with the application process and with picking a school that was a good fit for him. 

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Where in the world is Carmen Sandiego CAUSE?

... Atop... a... whale skull...? Alrighty, then. 

Check out our map to see the more sensical places CAUSE has been