Local Non-profit Leader Named Washingtonian of the Year

Less than a year after being named a CNN Hero, A Wider Circle founder Mark Bergel has been named a Washingtonian of the Year by Washingtonian magazine—one of nine leaders selected for their good works and generous contributions to the Washington area. Founded in 2001, A Wider Circle aims to end poverty one individual and one family at a time through the provision of furniture and household items, job preparedness training, life skills workshops, and long-term support. The Silver Spring-based non-profit provides beds and other furniture for the homes of more than 4,000 families a year with the average income of those families being $12,000 per year, including all forms of assistance. You may remember Mark and A Wider Circle from the award-winning documentary The Unseen Montgomery, which highlighted the hidden poverty in Montgomery County.