Banding Together
Banding Together is an annual battle of the bands fundraising event pitting members of D.C.’s legal community in competition to inspire the audience to donate to their favorite act. The money raised by Banding Together filters directly to goods and services for D.C.’s homeless community. The music goes from 7 to about midnight when the winner is crowned.
Banding Together 2018 Results
Gifts for the Homeless Raises Over $240,000 for D.C. Homeless at Fifteenth Annual “Banding Together” Concert
The Unnamed Party Named Champion in Charity’s “Battle of the Bands” Competition Among Sixteen Participating Bands from the D.C. Legal Community
Gifts for the Homeless, Inc. (GFTH) is excited to announce that returning champion The Unnamed Party again claimed the top prize at the 2018 Banding Together contest! Performing on the “Esquire Stage” at the historic Black Cat, The Unnamed Party took the top honors at the 15th annual battle-of-the-law-firm-bands competition held June 14, where sixteen different bands helped raise more than $240,000 to provide clothing to the area homeless.
The Unnamed Party’s music rocked a full house at the Black Cat, alone contributing more than $40,000 to the total raised. The band is comprised of members from law firms Fried Frank, Paul Hastings LLP, Arent Fox LLP, and Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP. The Unnamed Party includes GFTH Deputy Chair V. Gerald Comizio and GFTH Board Member Tony Fabic.
Coming in first place on the “Discovery Stage” was Total B/S. Made up of musicians from Buckley Sandler, Total B/S raised more than $6,400 to help Gifts for the Homeless provide clothing for the D.C. area homeless.
Honorable mentions also go to the second and third place finishers on each stage. Attractive Nuisance, with members from Steptoe & Johnson LLP, was the runner-up on the Esquire Stage, giving an incredible performance and raising more than $22,600.
Michael Allan accepts for Attractive Nuisance, sponsored by Steptoe and Johnson
In third place on the Esquire Stage was Solely in the Interest, with members from Groom Law Group and a total fundraising of more than $11,000.
Solely in the Interest in concert
On the Discovery Stage, the runner up was Redacted, with members from Finnegan, and a fundraising total of more than $3,800.
Michael Flibbert and Brandon Korch accept for Redacted, sponsored by Finnegan
Law firm Morgan Lewis’s band, Bockius, took third place on the Discovery Stage and raised more than $2,300.
Alex Reid accepts for Bockius, sponsored by Morgan Lewis
Celebrity Emcees DeMaurice “De” Smith from the NFL Players Association and Camden Walker and Jason Samenow from The Washington Post’s Capital Weather Gang introduced the bands and kept the crowd entertained between sets throughout the evening. Walker, meteorologist with the Capital Weather Gang, said: “Capital Weather Gang congratulates Gifts for the Homeless on raising hundreds of thousands of dollars to help our region’s homeless population. This event is not only a highlight for our community each year, but also provides a proactive way to collect bulk winter clothes for dozens of homeless shelters to be ready for distribution come November.”
In all, Banding Together 2018 was a resounding success once again, raising $241,685 while 16 bands from throughout the D.C. legal community rocked the Black Cat’s packed crowd on June 14, 2018. As always, 100 percent of these funds will go toward purchasing clothing and other essential items for the DC-area’s homeless population. GFTH, a non-profit comprised mostly of DC-area legal professionals, supplies new and used clothing to over 70 homeless shelters and other organizations in the D.C. area.
Bart Epstein, president of Gifts for the Homeless said: “It’s an honor to work with such dedicated members of the DC legal community to not only put on an incredible show, but also to raise money for a worthy cause. Our fifteenth anniversary was nothing short of amazing, and it’s humbling to see so many people come together to show off their musical talent and compassion for our region’s homeless population. With the help of the legal community, volunteers, sponsors and donors, we raised over $240,000! We will be using every penny raised to buy warm clothing and blankets at wholesale bulk prices to meet the needs of dozens of area homeless shelters.”
GFTH wishes to thank all who made Banding Together a fun, memorable and successful night for all of the attendees. In particular, GFTH would like to thank our 2018 sponsors:
Legends Sponsors
Barbara and Arthur Bushkin
Rock Royalty Sponsors
Hogan Lovells
Superstar Sponsors
Ernst & Young LLP
Kirkland & Ellis LLP
Hall of Fame Sponsors
Cooley LLP
Driven Inc.
Eversheds Sutherland
Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP
Groom Law Group
Perkins Coie LLP
Steptoe & Johnson LLP
Walsh, Colucci, Lubeley & Walsh, PC
Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP
Wilson-Epes Printing Inc.
Platinum Record Sponsors
Buckley Sandler LLP
Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner, LLP
Fried Frank
HITT Contracting Inc.
Kenealy Vaidya LLP
Morgan Lewis
Paul Hastings LLP
Williams & Connolly LLP
Gold Record Sponsors
Consilio + Advanced Discovery
Epiq
ERM
Foley & Lardner LLP
Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP
The Midtown Group
Peabody Office Furniture
Ramboll Environ
rand* construction
Special Thanks
Black Cat
Bell Visuals
Capital Weather Gang
Clyde Group
Josh Weiner – Videography
Marissa Sams Events
Gifts for the Homeless, Inc. (GFTH) is a non-profit corporation comprised of lawyers and staff from area law firms and other legal organizations that volunteer in their spare time and that has been serving the homeless of Washington, DC since 1986. GFTH holds a used clothing drive each December and holds a battle of the law firm bands charity concert each summer to serve area shelters and also raises money used to purchase new clothing for homeless men, women and children. Every dollar GFTH receives from the public through donations is used to purchase and distribute essential clothing for the homeless in the DC metropolitan area.
Banding Together 2017
“Banding Together” Battle of the Law Firm Bands Concert Raises Over $325,000 for D.C. Homeless
The Unnamed Party Named Champion in Fourteenth Annual Charity Concert Competition
Banding Together ’17 Champ Unnamed Party — collectively from law firms Fried Frank, Paul Hastings LLP, Arent Fox LLP, and Hunton & Williams LLP — rocked a full house at the Black Cat in DC and alone contributed $44,000+ to the total raised to clothe the DC area homeless and less fortunate.
Gifts for the Homeless, Inc. (GFTH) is pleased to announce that The Unnamed Party is the champion of the 2017 Banding Together contest! The Unnamed Party took the top honors on the Esquire Stage at the 14th annual battle-of-the-law-firm-bands competition, held last night at the Black Cat, where over $325,000 was raised to provide clothing to the area homeless.
The Unnamed Party is comprised of members from law firms Fried Frank, Paul Hastings LLP, Arent Fox LLP, and Hunton & Williams LLP. The Unnamed Party’s music rocked a full house at the Black Cat, alone contributing over $44,000 to the total raised.
Coming in first place on the downstairs Discovery Stage at the Black Cat was Solely in the Interest. Made up of musicians from Groom Law Group, Solely in the Interest raised over $11,500 to help Gifts for the Homeless provide clothing for the D.C. area homeless.
Celebrity Emcees from the Washington Post’s Capital Weather Gang kept the crowd entertained between sets and introduced bands throughout the evening. Justin Grieser with the Capital Weather Gang said: “The Capital Weather Gang was honored to again be part of another rocking Banding Together event–for the sixth straight year. The performers at Banding Together put on an awesome show for a fantastic cause, as always. We are thrilled to see the highest-ever amount raised. Congrats on this huge success!” Meteorologist Camden Walker added: “Plus, we love how weather-smart Gifts for the Homeless continues to be. It makes economic sense to stretch further each dollar raised by buying the bulk winter clothing during the warm summer months when prices are lowest!”
Honorable mentions also go to the second and third place finishers on each stage. The Porch Lights, with members from Hogan Lovells, was the runner-up on the upstairs Esquire stage after an incredible showing, raising over $23,500. In third place on the Esquire Stage was Attractive Nuisance, with members from Steptoe & Johnson LLP and a total fundraising of $19,600. On the Discovery Stage, the runner up was Buffalo Creek Disaster, with members from Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer LLP, and a fundraising total of over $9,700. Taking third place on the Discovery Stage was Buckley Sandler LLP’s band, Total B/S, which raised nearly $6,700.
In all, Banding Together 2017 was again a resounding success, raising an all-time high of $325,107 while 18 bands from throughout the D.C. legal community rocked the Black Cat’s packed crowd on June 22, 2017. And the hits will keep on coming, as 100% of these funds will go toward purchasing clothing and other essential items for the DC-area’s homeless population. GFTH, a non-profit comprised mostly of DC-area legal professionals, supplies new and used clothing to over 70 homeless shelters and other organizations in the D.C. area.
Said Bart Epstein, President of Gifts for the Homeless: “Tonight’s record-breaking event will translate directly into sharply increased support for the more than seventy area shelters that support the most vulnerable in our society. The 18 bands who played their hearts out raised more than $325K from their friends, families, colleagues, employers, and the vendors who support the DC legal community, and will now see Gifts for the Homeless use every penny raised to buy amounts of warm clothing and blankets for the tens of thousands of homeless families and individuals in the greater Washington area.”
GFTH wishes to thank all who made Banding Together a resounding success, and a fun and memorable night for over a thousand attendees. In particular, GFTH would like to thank our 2017 sponsors:
Superstar Sponsors
Driven, Inc.
Ernst & Young LLP
Kirkland & Ellis LLP
Hall of Fame Sponsors
Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer LLP
Boston Properties
Buckley Sandler LLP
Cooley LLP
Eversheds Sutherland LLP
Finnegan
Hogan Lovells
Latham & Watkins LLP
Perkins Coie LLP
Steptoe & Johnson LLP
Sterne, Kessler, Goldstein & Fox
Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP
Wilson-Epes Printing Co., Inc.
Platinum Record Sponsors
Fried Frank
Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP
Groom Law Group
HITT Contracting Inc.
LexisNexis
Morgan Lewis
Ogletree Deakins
Paul Hastings LLP
Walsh Colucci Lubeley & Walsh PC
Williams & Connolly LLP
Gold Record Sponsors
Ankura Consulting Group LLP
Arent Fox LLP
Consilio
Environmental Resources Management
Foley & Lardner LLP
FTI Consulting, Inc.
Hunton & Williams LLP
Kroll Discovery
The Midtown Group
Palmer Legal Staffing
Peabody Office Furniture
Ramboll Environ
rand* construction company
Reisman Karron Greene LLP
Sterne, Kessler, Goldstein & Fox P.L.L.C.
THANK YOU FOR A SUCCESSFUL USED CLOTHING DRIVE!!
Our 2016 Used Clothing Drive is over for the season. But, we are still getting lots of interest from individuals and organizations as to where clothes and other items can be donated. Our 55 recipient organizations continue to have needs and operate year round.
Here are a few reliable and easy places to make in-kind donations of clothing and other items throughout the year:
Martha’s Outfitters
(Men’s, Women’s and Children’s)
2122 14th Street, N.W.
(202) 328-6608
Contact: Tony Washington
Donation information on the website: www.marthastable.org
Central Union Mission
(Men’s and Women’s, Sheets and Towels and Blankets)
65 Massachusetts Avenue, NW
(202) 745-7118
A Wider Circle
(Men’s and Women’s business clothing and accessories and basic household items)
9159 Brookeville Road
Silver Spring, MD (301) 608-3504
Gude Drive Men’s Shelter (Chase Partnership House)
(Men’s warm clothing only)
600 East Gude Drive
BUILDING “C”
Rockville, MD
(301) 424-1380 (staff)
Interfaith Clothing Center
(Men’s, Women’s and Children’s)
751 Twinbrook Parkway
(Broom Middle School)
Rockville, MD
(301) 424-3796
Mission of Love
(Clothing and Household Items)
6180 Old Central Avenue
Capital Heights, MD
(301) 333-4440 (x408)
Call for drop off hours. Not all of the organizations accept all kinds of donations, so it is best to confirm our information before you go.
See you at Banding Together in June and at next year’s Drive (December 1st and 2nd 2017 -Save the Date!)
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2016 USED CLOTHING DRIVE RESULTS!!
GFTH, with the help of hundreds of volunteers, was busy the weekend of December 2-4 for our annual Used Clothing Drive. It was another great success: we delivered 3187 bags of clothes and other essential items to 55 local shelters. This was an 2.5 percent increase in donations from last year’s drive.
This could not have been possible without the assistance of dozens of local organizations who participated. More props to our amazing contributors to come!!