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  November 2016
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CARE Awards Breakfast Is Just 15 Days Away

On Friday, Nov. 18, nearly 300 business, nonprofit and philanthropic leaders will gather to honor 16 companies at the 2016 CARE Awards. Join us at the Falls Church Marriott  Fairview Park in Falls Church at our 24th Annual CARE Awards Breakfast as we celebrate companies in Northern Virginia with outstanding cultures, progressive work-life policies and deep community impact.

To purchase tickets, become a sponsor or advertise in the program, please click here.
Concert for a Cause – Dec. 1

Join us Dec. 1 for a Music Makes Life Better show at Jammin Java (227 Maple Ave E, Vienna, VA 22180) with Mama’s Black Sheep, Christine Havrilla and Naked Blue! Net proceeds of this show benefit Northern Virginia Family Service. Concert goers can participate in a 50/50 fundraising raffle, and bring much-needed cleaning supplies and paper products to be entered into a drawing for great prizes, including artist merchandise and gift cards.

The show starts at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $20 and available here.

Full Hearts Filling Empty Bowls

emptybowlsThank you to the volunteers who helped make our 2016 Empty Bowls event a great success. More than 30 volunteers donated a collective 130 hours to welcome guests, heat and serve soup, display handmade bowls, clean tables and more. More than 100 guests joined volunteers to help eradicate hunger in our community.

A big, big thank you also goes out to Friends of SERVE for securing many of the handmade bowls for the event and volunteering that evening. We could not have done this without you!
NVFS Community & Volunteer Engagement Team

Karen Horowitz, Director, khorowitz@nvfs.org, 571.748.2626

Navara Cannon, Specialist at SERVE, ncannon@nvfs.org, 571.748.2536

Meagan Perkins, Specialist at BCCS, mperkins@nvfs.org, 703.820.7621 x218

Paola Torres, Specialist at Hilda Barg, ptorres@nvfs.org, 571.748.2674

Jamie Johnson, Specialist, jajohnson@nvfs.org, 571.748.2621
Make a Difference Day Truly Made a Difference!

A big THANK YOU to all of our volunteers who gave their time, energy and hard work to clean up, clear out and spruce up NVFS for the fall. Read on to see the difference these groups made!

SERVE Campus
Thirty motivated volunteers from Freddie Mac enthusiastically moved mulch; unloaded, organized, packaged and cleaned the Hunger Resource Center; and power-washed the grime off the building facades. The Freddie Mac team was followed by 20 VolunteerFest volunteers (who were happy to be indoors on a cold, windy day) who organized, cleaned and painted the Hunger Resource Center. Now we are prepared for the busy holiday season and year-end influx of much-needed food donations. Thank you, volunteers!

Clock Tower Thrift Shop Community Yard Sale

Nearly 50 volunteers unloaded merchandise, set up displays and constantly restocked at the Falls Church Clock Tower Thrift Shop’s community yard sale as almost 1,000 customers bustled about. A big thank you to all of our hard-working volunteers whose support helped the store double its sales for the day.

Music Makes Life Better, the charity arm of Jammin Java, rocked the yard sale clean-up shift.

Training Futures Clothing Closet Transformation
Thank you to the small, but mighty, group of volunteers who cleaned out bags, bags and more bags of surplus clothing from the Training Futures clothing closet and reorganized the space so job trainees can easily find and access professional clothing just in time for job interviews.

Hilda Barg Homeless Prevention Center
Teens from Christ Chapel Academy organized and cleaned the kitchen and pantry at the Hilda Barg shelter. The group did a fantastic job sorting pantry products, arranging kitchen cabinets and labeling shelves to keep everything in rightful place. Thank you, Christ Chapel Academy!

Bailey’s Crossroads Community Shelter
Volunteers from CJM Wealth Advisors prepared and served a freshly cooked lunch to the delight of residents at Bailey’s Crossroads Community Shelter. Next, the CJM team organized and added storage bins to the overflowing supply shed so items can be accessed with ease. A big thank you goes out to the CJM team! 

Head Start Fall Fun
Volunteers from Sage Communications brought an array of fun fall activities to the Head Start children during their playground time. Activities ranged from Red Light, Green Light and Simon Says to an interactive reading of “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” to crafts and the always popular bubbles. Thank you, Sage Communications! 

 
Shop Big or Small on Small Business Saturday
The Escala entrepreneurship program, which is part of our Workforce Development department, helps budding entrepreneurs start and grow their own thriving and sustainable small businesses. The program promotes economic prosperity and independence. In fact, last year, 36 small business owners successfully launched their businesses.

You can do your part to support them and other small businesses on Small Business Saturday, the day after Black Friday. Simply shop local and buy local on Saturday, Nov. 26. Although many Escala clients have maintenance and repair businesses, here are a few Escala small businesses that have brick-and-mortar stores:

Prefer to avoid the crowds by staying away from shopping establishments during the post-Thanksgiving rush? Support individual Escala clients such as Roberto, who is expanding his organic landscaping business, by becoming one of his Kiva Zip loan lenders.
Mark Your Calendars for Giving Tuesday – Nov. 29

You donate your time to help your community, and now you can maximize your impact by donating dollars on #GivingTuesday, a global day (Nov. 29) to celebrate generosity and giving back. Your donations that day will be doubled, thanks to a generous matching gift from Fors Marsh Group. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter for the latest updates to see how you can help our neighbors thrive this holiday season!
Gobble! Gobble! It’s Time for Operation Turkey

Operation Turkey, which provides Thanksgiving meals to more than 800 families in Prince William County, kicks off next week. All 345 volunteer spots are filled, but there are still ways that you can help bring a warm Thanksgiving meal to low-income families in the community.

In-Kind Food: The Boy Scouts will deliver a grocery bag to your door step this Saturday. Simply fill the bag the next time you shop for groceries and return it to your doorstep. If you live in western Prince William, the scouts will pick it up the following Saturday and deliver it to our Operation Turkey drive. Individuals and groups are also welcome to coordinate a food drive with their office, family, church, civic group, sports team or neighborhood! Click here for a list of the most-needed food items, as well as delivery dates and location.

Grocery Store Gift Cards: Instead of giving families frozen turkeys, they get all the fixings plus a $10 grocery store gift card to select their own turkeys. NVFS recommends Shoppers Food Warehouse gift cards, but all grocery gift cards are welcome. For more information, contact Sarah Crosley, 571.748.2502, scrosley@nvfs.org.
New Opportunities to Help BCCS

Bailey’s Crossroads Community Shelter (BCCS), a 50-bed facility for adults experiencing homelessness that includes a winter hypothermia prevention program, is expanding its engagement opportunities:

Shelter Support Services Volunteer: Support the daily shelter operations and assist shelter clients at BCCS at our welcome desk (the central hub of daily shelter activity) so all residents, drop-in/hypothermia prevention guests, and visitors get the help they need with kind, caring service. Shifts are available Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. – 12 p.m. and 12 – 3 p.m.

Weekday Dinner Preparation and Serving: Here’s how in three steps:

  1. Assemble a small group (up to 8 people, ages 12+).
  2. Provide and prepare a fresh meal for 50 shelter residents. Groups can prepare onsite or offsite. 
  3. Join us to serve the meal to residents. (Groups also have the option to drop off.) Dinner is served from 6 to 7 p.m.

Got milk? BCCS welcomes donation of milk (by the gallon), bag lunches, paper serving supplies, cleaning supplies and more. Check out our frequently updated list of donation needs.

For more details about the opportunities at BCCS, please contact Meagan Perkins, 703.820.7621 x218, mperkins@nvfs.org.

Additional Volunteer Opportunities

Classroom Assistants: Volunteers are needed to help classroom teachers in our Head Start Center for 3- to 5-year-olds. Prepare and lead learn-through-play activities, read to students, decorate the classroom, assist children during activities, and help serve breakfast and lunch. Opportunities are Monday – Friday between 9 a.m. – 12 p.m. Contact Jamie Johnson, 571.748.2621, jajohnson@nvfs.org.

Interpreters: Volunteers are needed to translate for clients on an as-needed basis. Urgent language needs include Arabic, Mongolian, French, Spanish and ASL (American Sign Language). Volunteers must be at least 18 years old and participate in an interpreter training. Contact Jamie Johnson, 571.748.2621, jajohnson@nvfs.org.

Holiday Gift Wrapping: If you just can’t get enough of wrapping presents for the holidays, then we could use your help! We have several opportunities to wrap gifts for our programs and clients, and would love to hear from you. We are also recruiting volunteers for four gift-wrapping fundraisers at local Barnes & Noble stores. If interested, please contact Jamie Johnson, 571.748.2621, jajohnson@nvfs.org.
Northern Virginia Family Service
10455 White Granite Dr, Suite 100, Oakton, VA 22124
571.748.2500
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