Archives for April 2019

NoVA Outside with Kurt Moser and Nancy Striniste

(April 24, 2019) Catherine Read sits down with Kurt Moser and Nancy Striniste of NoVA Outside to talk about their organization, as well as their 8^th annual Student Environmental Action Showcase scheduled for April 23, 2019.

NoVA Outside is an alliance of educators, schools, businesses, nature centers, nonprofit “green groups” and government agencies that strive to connect people of all ages to the natural environment. NoVA Outside is the regional affiliate of the statewide Virginia Association of Environmental Education (VAEE). Moser notes that it is very easy to get involved with their local group. People who are interested can join the VAEE for a $25 membership fee and have access to their newsletter, attend networking events and meet others who are passionate about the environment.

Nancy Striniste is an educator and a landscape architect who specializes in planning outdoor spaces with children in mind. Her designs incorporate natural materials that are intended to connect children to the outdoors and encourage them to explore and use their imagination. Children today have less and less free time to play and explore in nature, and Nancy is committed to designing environments where children can spend unstructured time outside, and connect with nature so that they foster a love of the outdoors. This connection forms a foundation for them to connect to the natural environment, so that they grow up to be environmentally conscious adults.

Nancy recently published a book entitled Nature Play at Home: Creating Outdoor Spaces that Connect Children to the Natural World. Nancy decided to write this book because she noticed that children today do not have the opportunity to roam and play freely in nature, as children have in generations past. The book is meant to be a resource to help bring nature to the spaces where children spend their time. The book has threads of sustainable landscaping and child development, and offers a lot of ideas of transforming all types of spaces from backyards to schoolyards.

The various chapters tackle different things such as challenging bodies by using natural materials, inspiring imaginations through outdoor play and using fragrance and sound to awaken the senses. There are step-by-step do it yourself projects, hundreds of photographs and illustrations, themed plant lists – all with the goal of inspiring families and communities to create natural play spaces.

Kurt Moser is excited to welcome approximately 500 elementary, middle and high school students to the 8^th annual Student Environmental Action Showcase on April 23^rdat George Mason University. The event is designed for students to be able to share and showcase their ideas of how to solve environmental challenges. In addition to the student projects that will be on display, industry partners will conduct hands-on exhibits in order to expose students to new ideas and inspire them to continue their creative work.

Over the years the conference has grown and evolved. When they first got started, the event was simply students showcasing their projects. Today, additional partners are brought in, such as a Virginia Tech student group who will demonstrate how computer programming can be used to help solve environmental challenges. Students also have an opportunity to sit down with legislators to talk about how they can be effective advocates for the issues that they care deeply about.

by Rachel Simon

City Center NOVA – Inclusive Housing

(April 22, 2019) Catherine Read sits down with Paula Manion of the City Center NOVA Steering Committee and Larysa Krautz, Chief of Staff for Melwood, an organization that creates thousands of jobs annually for people with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD) in the Washington, DC metropolitan area.

There are many challenges for adults with IDD, and the lack of affordable and accessible housing is just one of those obstacles. When people with intellectual disabilities reach the age of 21, they hit a “cliff” in many aspects of life. Education, healthcare and housing become huge barriers, and people often rely heavily on parents and family for these resources. Many of these adults would prefer to live independently, however, there is a severe lack of housing available with the proper supports.

The Main Street housing project in Rockville, MD is aiming to change the approach to housing for adults with IDD. Main Street’s mission is to meet the urgent need for disability housing and programming with affordable, community centered spaces, and opportunities that promote inclusion, independence, and quality of life.

The Main Street project is the first-of-its-kind development in the Washington metropolitan area. It is a community-centered residential development where 25% of the units are being designed and designated for those with IDD. On course to be completed by 2020, Main Street seeks to be a model and a mindset – an affordable and inclusive community that offers social engagement, unparalleled accessibility and dynamic educational, vocational and therapeutic programming. Nonresidents may join as members and participate in community activities along with residents. In this way, the project will have an even broader impact beyond providing critically needed housing.

As a member of the City Center NOVA steering committee, Paula Manion is working hard to develop a similar type of development here in Northern Virginia. They are busy interviewing members of the community to ensure that the new development meets their needs, as well as fundraising and coordinating with local officials from both the county and the state. A project of this scope can only get off the ground as a public/private partnership.

This new approach to inclusive housing is an alternative to group homes, which are the most common form of housing currently available. Unfortunately, the waiting lists are very long, as there are more people who need housing then there are units available. These waiting lists can take up to 10 years to move through. Creating more options that are inclusive, such as Main Street and City Center NOVA, could be a positive way forward.

In the second half of the show Catherine speaks with Rachna Sizemore Heizner, a consultant who works with businesses to open their eyes as to why inclusion and diversity in the workforce is important. She points out that bringing people with varying abilities into an office setting can strengthen the workforce. When looking at candidates, unfortunately we often talk about disabilities, but Rachna turns the table and encourages employers to look at the strengths and positive attitude that those with IDD can bring to the workplace. She coins the term “strength based inclusion”. Often times these workers are extremely appreciative to have the opportunity, and work very hard to ensure that they do the job at hand well.

by Rachel Simon

AARP Scam Jam with Martin Bailey and Melissa Smarr

(April 17, 2019) Catherine Read sits down with Martin Bailey from AARP and Melissa Smarr from the Silver Shield Task Force of Fairfax County, to discuss their upcoming event called Scam Jam to be held on April 27^th from 9am-1pm at the Fairfax County Government Center.

The second annual Scam Jam aims to educate the public on how they can protect themselves against scam artists. There will be speakers and workshops, all designed to inform people about different scams that are currently happening here, and all over the world. Bailey notes that 16.7 million people a year are scammed at a cost of $16.8 billion dollars annually. It is a huge problem, and this program is intended to arm people with knowledge so that they are less likely to fall for a scam.

There will be several speakers who will be highlighting current scams that are happening now in Virginia. The Grandparents scam is one of the more common ones, and has been around a long time. A con artist calls up an elderly person and pretends to be a young relative in trouble, needing bail money. It is designed to put the victim in panic mode and scare them into compliance. There are also a variety of phone scams using IRS, Medicare and Social Security (note: these agencies will never call you, they will always send you correspondence in the mail).

One of the key ways to protect an identity is to safeguard your social security number. Bailey points out that much of the demographic information on potential victims is “out there” for the world to see, via everything from the online white pages to social media. But a scammer would need a social security number to open a bank account or credit card. It is very, very important to never give out that number unless it is a wholly legitimate source.

In addition to the speakers, there will be an opportunity to shred old papers with confidential information and safely dispose of unused medication. If you cannot make it out the event, AARP has a variety of resources online that are free to the public. Two of their most popular pieces are the Con Artist Playbook and the Watchdog Alert Handbook, which are free and available online. There are also blog posts and articles that are constantly being updated, as AARP attempts to keep up with the scammers in an ever-changing environment.

Fairfax County Silver Shield Task Force also has a number of valuable resources on their website, including consumer protection information, how to report a scam, handling door-to-door solicitors and much more.

by Rachel Simon

Assistance League of Northern Virginia

(April 10, 2019) Catherine Read sits down with Kathy Jackson, President, and Cindy Burgess, Strategic Planning Chair, from the Assistance League of Northern Virginia. Their mission is to have their volunteers transform the lives of children through community programs.

Prominent women in the Los Angeles area founded the Assistance League in the 1890’s. It was the first nonpolitical, nonsectarian nonprofit founded in the west that was dedicated to recognizing the potential of volunteers in making a difference in the lives of the less fortunate. By 1935, the National Assistance League was incorporated with the focus of promoting effective volunteerism though leadership and training. Today, there are 120 chapters nationwide, in 26 states, with 22,000 members. Their goal is to establish chapters in all 50 states.

The Assistance League of Northern Virginia was chartered in 2004. Today they serve children at 11 Title One Schools in Fairfax and Prince William Counties, as well as the City of Alexandria. They run two signature programs, Operation School Bell and Operation Hugs, aimed at improving the lives of the children in these communities.

Operation School Bell

Operation School Bell has three components. Volunteers with the Weekend Food for Kids program pack 1600 bags of food each month, which then gets delivered to 6 schools within their network. The groceries go home with children from food insecure households. The Assistance League brings together volunteers from across the community to pack the bags on the 3^rd Thursday of every month. An assembly line is setup, and it takes approximately an hour to complete the work. They partner with Dominion Energy, which provides a location for the food packing and whose drivers deliver the food packs to the schools for distribution to the children.

In addition to the weekend food program, the Assistance League also provides new clothing for children in need. The organization works closely with the school counselors in order to identify specific needs, such as coats or shoes. By working to get information about specific children, they can be sure to provide the proper sizes and items for those in need. For some of these children, it might be the only new item of clothing that they receive for the entire year.

The last component of Operation School Bell is the Literacy for Kids program. Volunteers from the Assistance League are paired with children who need extra help to improve their reading and comprehension skills. They visit the children at school on a regular basis, to help improve their reading skills and to form a relationship. At one local school, they put on a program aimed at collecting books so that children can bring a book home and start creating their own library.

Operation Hugs

The other primary program that the Assistance League runs is called Operation Hugs. This is the original program that was established when the organization was founded back in 2004. There are women in the Dumbarton Oaks community who sew heart-shaped pillows that have a pocket for a small toy, that are delivered to a health clinic for underprivileged children in Falls Church. These pillows are designed to give the children some comfort, and help keep them stay calm, when undergoing procedures. They are very proud of this long-running program, and the children love receiving the pillows.

Jackson and Burgess are always looking for more volunteers, both men and women, to help carry out their mission. All are welcome to their spring fundraiser on April 26^th at the Country Club of Fairfax, held from 11am-2pm. They also open their doors to volunteers who want to come pack food or volunteer at the local schools. To learn more, visit their website.