FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT:
Kristin Derlunas
Northern Virginia Family Service
Community/Media Relations
703-219-2123, kderlunas@nvfs.org

NVFS Makes the New School Year Brighter for Local Students

Oakton, Va., Sept. 1, 2004-About 350 area students from low-income families will start the school year prepared and ready to learn, thanks to local companies and individuals that helped Northern Virginia Family Service (NVFS) supply the children with backpacks and school supplies.

"To some of us, a backpack full of school supplies may not seem like much, but for many children, it means that they will have the tools they need to learn and succeed in school," said Mary B. Agee, NVFS president and CEO. "We'd like to express our deepest gratitude to the companies and individuals that generously helped Northern Virginia Family Service make a difference in the lives of hundreds of students."

NVFS received hundreds of full backpacks, monetary donations and boxes of supplies that included notebooks and paper, pens and pencils, crayons and markers, folders and binders, among other supplies.

The companies and organizations that donated to the back to school drive include Accenture, The Lewin Group, Genesys, Oakton United Methodist Church, ICF Consulting, Our Lady of Good Council Catholic School, Titan Corporation, Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA), Emmanuel Baptist Church, Web Methods Company, Info Data Systems, First Washington Realty, Inc., Flint Hill School and Datatel. Many individuals also generously supported the drive.

The backpacks and supplies were distributed to about 350 children who participate, or whose families are involved, in NVFS programs. Issues addressed by these programs include child development, anger management, violence prevention and stress reduction, among many others. Some of these programs are:

Early Head Start: Provides low-income families with free child care in a setting that promotes mental, physical and social development through individualized care and learning activities.

Healthy Families: Assists families through intensive home visiting services designed to impart positive parenting skills and prevent child abuse and neglect.

Special Foster Care: Provides temporary, quality, family settings for children with special needs. As a result, the children are given the opportunity to develop to their fullest potential.

Therapeutic Respite Care: Helps families remain intact by providing full-time caregivers of emotionally and physically challenged children with temporary breaks to alleviate stress.

Family Counseling: Provides skilled, therapeutic interventions to adults, children or adolescents experiencing difficult situations affecting their mental health.

Health Care Access: Helps low-income individuals obtain medication and medical care; and

Housing: Temporary shelter for struggling families as well as short-term, interest-free loans to help pay mortgages in times of crisis.

To learn more about these and other programs NVFS offers, visit www.nvfs.org.

Established in 1924, Northern Virginia Family Service is a private, non-profit community service resource dedicate to helping individuals and families find new paths to self-reliance and brighter futures. With bold new ideas, solid knowledge and superior expertise in counseling, social work and community outreach, NVFS staff provide clients with personalized support and the opportunity to succeed. Each year, NVFS helps more than 25,000 people find affordable housing and health care for their children, avoid or recover from debt, earn a living wage and much more. For more information, visit www.nvfs.org.

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