— There are more impoverished people living in the suburbs than there are in the urban areas they border, according to a new report from the Brookings Institution.  Between 2000 and 2008, the poverty rate in U.S. suburbs increased 25% — much faster than the national average.  The report says suburban population growth and the housing slump mean the suburbs now contain the country’s biggest and fastest-growing population of poor people.  Click here for more.

— This year’s college freshmen have been hit particularly hard by the recession, according to this article in the New York Times.  Current students are more likely to have a parent who is unemployed and less likely to have found a job.  Also, the number of freshman taking out loans is the highest it’s been in nine years.

— More low-income residents in Prince George’s County will receive help buying homes.  The County Council passed a bill yesterday that will triple the amount of money low-income residents can receive to help them make down payments on houses.  A county official said the original amount — $20,000 — wasn’t enough assistance.  The cap has been raised to $60,000.  Click here for more details on the program.

— Later today, Bill Cosby and Northern Virginia philanthropist Earl W. Stafford will announce their new strategy for encouraging more people to volunteer.  Doing Good: The People’s Project will list volunteer opportunities online and will also allow visitors to learn about the good works of others.  Click here to read more.

— The D.C. government and the Haitian Embassy are working together to connect locals with loved ones in Haiti.  The command center at the embassy features 20 computers and phone lines.  The embassy is also working on helping children who were orphaned by last week’s earthquake.  Click here for more.

— Needy D.C. residents have been camping out for days at some service centers that process welfare and other aid applications.  The centers are so understaffed, and the need is so great that some D.C. Council members are calling the long lines a crisis.  Click here to read more.

— “A task force of local elected officials across the Washington region is calling on communities to band together to tackle the disproportionately high unemployment levels among African Americans and Hispanics,” according to the Washington Post.  Click here for the full details.

— Researchers call it “the rise of the wives” — women have become the dominant income-providers in one-in-five marriages.  A new report out today says that men get an economic boost when they say “I do,” and often end up with a partner who has at least as much education as they do.  To read more, click here.

— More than 30,000 volunteers in our region participated in community service projects to honor Martin Luther King, Jr. yesterday.  Click here to listen to a WAMU story about how the impact of their work will be felt for years to come.

— One of the politicians behind the King Holiday and Service Act says the holiday “has a long way to go.”  Click here to learn why.

— A D.C. couple has turned community activism into a successful business.  Click here to read about how they changed their neighborhood and started their own company.

— The Women’s Refugee Commission has released a list of the top 10 critical needs women affected by the earthquake in Haiti are facing right now.  For details, click here.

Bob McDonnell at the Carpenter’s Shelter
in Alexandria.  Photo Credit: Hank Silverberg/WTOP

— Virginia’s governor-elect, Bob McDonnell, is wrapping up a week of service.  His most recent stop was at a homeless shelter in Alexandria, where he admitted that private charities will have to pick up the slack to make up for Virginia’s budget shortfalls.  Click here to listen to more about his visit.

— Montgomery County officials are concerned that a report on safety and security in schools is inaccurate.  Some expressed surprised at how few incidents of bullying were reported. Some school officials said they don’t think it’s appropriate to report every altercation that occurs between students.  Click here to read more details.

— How do you define feminism?  The Washington Post had a roundtable discussion on the matter this week.  Click here to watch video of author Anne Kornblut, former White House Press Secretary Dee Dee Myers, former McCain-Palin adviser Nicolle Wallace, and columnist Kathleen Parker discussing the topic.

— CNN reports on what it’s like for a single mom to unexpectedly lose her job and home — a rising trend around the country:

— 10 women from a Maryland church have sent word that they survived Tuesday’s earthquake in Haiti.  The parishioners from Calvert County’s Jesus the Divine World Catholic Church were on a week-long mission to Port-au-Prince where they were working at a home for orphans.  Click here to read more.

— The number of D.C. area foreclosures rose slightly last month, but the local housing market was not as hard hit as markets in other cities.  Click here for more details.

— The District government and the National Institute of Health are tackling the city’s HIV/AIDS epidemic with a $26.4 million initiative.  The money will go to expanding testing and treatment.  Click here to read more details in the Washington Post.

— There’s an urban myth making the rounds online that women in D.C. caught carrying three or more condoms could be arrested for prostitution.  As The Sexist blog reports, that’s not accurate.  However, the blog does comment on the disturbing practice of officers confiscating or destroying condoms belonging to suspected prostitutes.  Click here for more details.

— Tomorrow psychosexual therapist Dr. Ruth will be sworn in as The District’s honorary secretary of the Department of Love and Relationships to announce a new stimulus plan for the city’s tourism business.  The plan to boost tourism in the city is based on the President and First Lady’s date nights.  Click here for more.

— Congratulations to two of our Grantee Partners whose leaders have been named Washingtonians of the Year!  Mary Agee, president & CEO of Northern Virginia Family Service is featured in Washingtonian Magazine.  So is Ana Lopez, the executive director of Community Bridges.

— 26 percent of children in D.C. live in poverty according to a new study from the Brookings Institute that looked at food stamp use.  The number puts the District second only to Mississippi when it comes to the number of poor kids in the U.S.  In contrast, Maryland has very low child poverty when compared to other states.  Click here to listen to an interview with the Brookings Institute’s Julie Isaacs.

— The University of Virginia has elected its first woman president.  Teresa A. Sullivan, currently provost at the University of Michigan, will begin at U-Va. on August 1st.  Click here for more.

— Starting tonight, the public will have a chance to weigh in on how Montgomery County spends — and cuts — its money.  The county’s fiscal year 2011 operating budget, and the “challenges” the county faces will be up for discussion starting at 7 tonight in Silver Spring.  There will be more meetings throughout the month.  For more info, click here.

— Unemployment among single mothers is at a 25-year high and the job outlook for our area is mixed.  According to the Institute for Women’s Policy Research, the nationwide unemployment rate for single moms is 13 percent.  The D.C. area is expected to see faster job recovery, however, our area also has larger numbers of single moms who are at risk of falling into poverty.  Click here to listen to a WAMU story explaining why unemployment is hitting single mothers so hard.

— Legislation scheduled to be filed today in Richmond could change how safety rules are enforced for public housing residents in Alexandria.  Click here to listen to this story.

— The “Hillary Effect” has gone global.  According to the Washington Post, Hillary Clinton’s appointment as Secretary of State has opened the door for an unprecedented number of women ambassadors to the United States.  Click here to read more.

If you’re on Facebook, you may have noticed some strange, unexplained status updates from your female (and adventurous male) friends.  Thousands of people are posting colors as their status updates.  “Why?” you ask.  They’re publicizing the colors of their bras.  You’re probably still asking why, and the answer remains unknown.  There are rumors floating around that it’s to raise awareness of breast cancer.  It’s still unclear, however, who is benefitting from this and how.  Is it a publicity stunt?  Will those behind it step forward once it gains peak popularity?  Is someone donating money every time a color is mentioned on Facebook?  Another theory suggests that someone came up with the idea simply to confuse men.  Of course, it could just be some prank meant to manipulate and fool us all.

From a fundraising and cause awareness standpoint, it will be interesting to see where this goes.  While this little exercise is getting quite a bit of attention online, it appears to be purposeless and guarded.  The women who are posting aren’t explaining their posts – I only found out what was going on after a Facebook commenter spilled the beans, much to the chagrin of the original poster.

I’ll keep you updated about what’s going on – if there is anything going on at all!  I guess that’s one of the exciting things about social media: all sorts of weird stuff can happen.  In the meantime, feel free to join in and post a color below, or on our Facebook page at www.Facebook.com/TheWomensFoundation.