Axios: “As Washington’s federal workforce is slashed by President Trump and DOGE, many in the DMV community are responding with another message: We stand with government employees.
Why it matters: Some 373,000 federal workers live in the greater D.C. area, and many have been made to feel expendable at best (or worse, “smeared as leeches“). While a freebie can’t fix a lost career, many local business owners and Washingtonians want to help out however they can.

State of play: Several local groups and businesses are offering free services and events, as well as funds, to employees affected by DOGE’s cuts.

• Theatre Washington has compiled a list of venues like Arena Stage and Woolly Mammoth offering free or discounted shows to laid-off workers looking for a mental break.
• Others are offering free and discounted professional services, like headshots, financial planning and website help for job searchers.
• Plus: Mobile mechanic group Roda is offering 30% off services for affected feds.

What they’re saying: “My big immediate concern is for the young analysts and paralegals who moved here for public service — many with no savings, who will receive no severance, and now have no health insurance,” former Consumer Financial Protection Bureau worker Charlotte Hancock, who says she was laid off via the DOGE cuts, writes to Axios.

• Hancock and others have organized a fundraiser to help recently fired career civil servants under the age of 30 who can’t rely on financial support from a partner or parents.

Looking for child care? She’s also organized a spreadsheet of former feds — all with established background checks — now looking for babysitting jobs to cover expenses.
The intrigue: Pet parents can find comfort at Friendship Hospital for Animals in Tenleytown, which just opened a big new state-of-the-art facility — and is waiving fees for emergencies and sick visits, and offering deferred payment programs for federal workers and contractors who’ve lost jobs. Once word got out, the hospital received “an outpouring of kindness” from pet owners asking how they could help. The hospital has received around $2,300 in donations to a fund earmarked for federal employees that covers complex medical care for pets.”