Children Archives - Read. Think. Act.

She Believes in Me with Renee Gorman

(July 3, 2019) Catherine Read sits down with She Believes in Me founder Renee Gorman to talk about her work in supporting young, vulnerable girls in her community. Lori Barnes, a volunteer who has been with the program since inception, also joins the show to talk about the importance of being a mentor, and giving these girls positive experiences and valuable skills.

Gorman is a school counselor in a community with many vulnerable children. Over the years, she became increasingly frustrated because she did not have the bandwidth during school hours to help support the young girls who were coming into her office with profound challenges. She wanted to do more, but needed to find a different approach to helping them work through their obstacles. She believed in these girls, and wanted to show them that they had a fan rooting for them.

The first step involved planning some positive programming to bring the girls together. Gorman put together a group of volunteers by reaching out to her professional and community connections. Her goal was show these young girls that there were people in their corner who wanted to help them. These workshops take place at her elementary school on Saturday mornings, and are always framed with a theme so that the girls have a valuable skill to bring home with them.

A few examples of topics include building self-esteem, developing healthy coping skills, recognizing inner beauty, and the importance of friendships. The workshops are free of charge, and Gorman simply advertises by word of mouth. They have become so popular that they attract approximately 160 girls a month, and are staffed with over 30 volunteers. These girls are looking for positive role models, and are thirsty for programs that speak to them.

Most importantly, the environment is warm and welcoming, and girls are made to feel special and important. Having enough volunteers to staff the program means that the girls who really need help, have an opportunity to share their struggles and reach out for support The girls come from diverse backgrounds and varied socioeconomic environments, and many have experienced trauma. Gorman’s goal is to ensure that they have an outlet to find support when they need it.

The She Believes in Me model has been so successful that Gorman would love to grow the program to additional schools. If you are interested in setting up a similar program in your neighborhood, you can reach out to them to find out about how to get started at [email protected]

by Rachel Simon

Fairfax Futures with Sallyann Bergh

(June 19, 2019) Catherine Read sits down with Sallyann Bergh, Executive Director of Fairfax Futures. Since 2004, Fairfax Futures has been raising awareness about the critical role that school early childhood education plays in promoting academic and lifelong success.

In partnership with the business community and Fairfax County, Fairfax Futures is uniquely positioned to foster cross-sector collaboration in support of early childhood education and school readiness in the county. Through their annual Business Leaders Reception and Leadership Forums, they aim to raise the awareness in the community about the importance of investing in our youngest citizens. Approximately 85% of brain development occurs by age five. It is increasingly clear that the achievement gap starts early on in life, so quality educational experiences prior to kindergarten can greatly enhance a student’s potential and provide a solid foundation for learning.

In addition to working with the business community, Fairfax Futures focuses heavily on supporting early childhood educators. They provide both learning opportunities and ongoing resources for educators. Every year they sponsor a School Readiness Symposium, a unique daylong educational forum for early childhood educators across Fairfax County. Topics presented include literacy, science and math, the arts, play and nature. This was the 15^th year of sponsoring a program and the 2019 School Readiness Symposium theme was Healthy Children, Healthy Futures. The program is possible thanks to a generous grant from the PNC Foundation.

While Fairfax is regularly recognized as an affluent community, there are pockets of poverty and income inequality. There are 74,000 children under the age of five in Fairfax, and one in five of those children are living in poverty. With the cost of quality early childhood education hitting record high numbers, it makes it very difficult for many of these students to access quality early childhood education.

Fairfax Futures works closely with the county’s Office for Children that helps to identify families who are eligible for subsidies and county run programs.. In 2017, Fairfax County adopted the Equitable School Readiness Strategic Plan. Fairfax Futures partners with government, the private sector and the nonprofit community to support goals and objectives of this plan. The goal is that all children, regardless of economic, cultural or ethnic background are prepared for school. Through the Neighborhood School Readiness Project, they forge relationships between local schools, community resources, early childhood educators and families, to ensure that children are well prepared for their transition to kindergarten.

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.

by Rachel Simon

Children’s Science Center and Dominion Energy Foundation

(March 27, 2019) Catherine Read sits down with Deborah Tomkins Johnson, Regional Director at Dominion Energy and Nene Spivy, Executive Director of the Children’s Science Center. Their discussion touches upon Dominion Energy’s philanthropy and the future of the Children’s Science Center.

In the first segment, Catherine speaks with Tomkins-Johnson about Dominion Energy’s commitment to corporate social responsibility. Dominion is active all across the Commonwealth in organizations and programs that are important to their employees and the community at large.

Dominion Energy focuses its time and resources in four basic categories:

Human Needs: grants that increase food security and access to housing and shelter, and basic medical and healthcare.
Environmental Stewardship: grants to protect natural resources and help nonprofit organizations make efficient use of energy.
Education: grants to develop the capacity of the future workforce, especially in STEM and energy fields.
Community Vitality Grants: to foster an appreciation of diversity, revitalize neighborhoods and ensure a vibrant community life through support of cultural endeavors.

Dominion has forged public-private partnerships to help address problems and support initiatives across all sectors. Tompkins-Johnson points out that one of their signature achievements has been the establishment and support of the Junior Achievement Finance Park campuses that are located throughout the state. This is a program geared at teaching financial literacy starting in middle school. Dominion supports the program financially, and also encourages employees to volunteer at Finance Park.

Dominion employees are encouraged to bring organizations and programs that are important to them to the Foundation’s attention. That is how Dominion has learned about, and become involved with, many of the projects that they have taken on to date. The Children’s Science Center is one of these programs that an employee, Tim Sargent, brought to their attention in its infancy. Dominion has been a strong supporter of this initiative since inception.

In the second segment, Catherine speaks with Nene Spivy, Executive Director of the Children’s Science Center. The Children’s Science Center was established 14 years ago with the dream of building the first children’s museum in the Washington, DC metro area. After sitting on the board for several years, Spivy was promoted to Executive Director in 2010. During her tenure, she has seen the museum open their doors as a “Lab” site at the Fair Oaks Mall.

In addition to the 2700 square feet of museum “lab” space that welcomes approximately 50,000 visitors on an annual basis, the Children’s Science Center operates as a “Museum Without Walls” by bringing their exhibits and curriculum out into the community. They serve an additional 20-25,000 people by visiting schools and community events throughout the region. Their mission is to help children define science in a broader fashion, and encourage them to explore and appreciate the world around them.

The Children’s Science Center is entering its next critical phase. Land in the Dulles area has been donated, and they are looking to build a 70,000 square foot state-of-the-art, world-class interactive science center. Spivy is appreciative of the support from both the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors, who approved an initial investment of $15 million, and the Virginia General Assembly who just allocated in the most recent budget cycle, $2.3 million for the initial design phase of the project. Visit the website to learn more about the center and how you can support their efforts.

by Rachel Simon

Formed Families Forward on Your Need to Know

(February 20, 2019) Catherine Read interviews Kelly Henderson and Dee Robinson-Rutkowski of Formed Families Forward (FFF). Their organization is dedicated to supporting foster, kinship and adoptive families of children and youth with disabilities and special needs. They serve families, educators and child welfare professionals in the Northern Virginia area.

Formed Families Forward is a non-profit supported through a federal grant, established to assist adoptive and foster families navigate the complicated world of acquiring services to support children with special needs. Studies show that youth in foster and kinship care are at a higher risk of having disabilities, and therefore requiring special education services. In addition to medical needs, many of these children have suffered emotional trauma from being in an unstable environment, and need extra support to recover and become healthy and whole.

Dee came to Formed Families Forward after she and her husband adopted their two sons through the foster care system. They faced many challenges and had some very rocky years, especially during middle school. She became connected to FFF after meeting Kelly through her Middle School PTA. Dee is thankful to have had someone to help her navigate the system so that they could access the much needed resources to help her sons. It helped to ease their burden, and put her boys and their family on a path to wellness.

In addition to connecting families with the resources that they need, FFF also runs support groups for both students and parents. These groups are very important because families can connect with one another, and understand that they are not alone. FFF also conducts one on one consultations, so individual families can make sure that they understand how to find the support and resources that they need for their children, and get what their children need to thrive at school and at home.

As the organization evolves, Kelly and Dee note that they are working on different initiatives to meet their clients’ needs. They are just finishing up the production of a webinar focused on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, and the impacts and effects that this has on children as they age. They also have programming focused on ADD and ADHD, which is one of the most common diagnoses that children in foster and adoptive care face. In addition to helping families understand how to establish classroom accommodations, there are many things that parents can do with children at home to help manage symptoms.

In addition, there is a growing movement recognizing how trauma can affect children, and have an impact on their ability to learn and fully participate in the classroom. Trauma Informed Community Networks are being established in Fairfax County for the first time. These networks are designed to help educators and service providers better understand the obstacles and challenges faced by students who have suffered from traumatic events at a young age, and help coordinate efforts in supporting these children.

Formed Families Forward is sponsoring their annual event on April 27^th called Spring Forward Family Fun Day, which will be held on the Science and Technology Campus of George Mason University in Manassas. This year’s theme is Navigating Systems to Build Stronger Families. While parents, educators and caregivers enjoy presentations by experts on education and support of foster, adoptive and kinship families, children ages 4 and above will be able to access experiential learning at GMU’s outdoor learning program called “The EDGE”. More details about the day, along with information about how to purchase tickets, can be found on their website

by Rachel Simon

Northern Virginia Family Service – Inside Scoop

(Dec. 3, 2018) Catherine Read interviews several members of the Northern Virginia Family Service leadership team to talk about the wide array of services that they deliver to families throughout the region. For the past 95 years, NVFS has delivered support to the most vulnerable families in Northern Virginia. The organization was recently selected by Jeff and McKenzie Bezos to be a recipient of a $2.5 million grant from their Day 1 Families Fund to help end family homelessness in our region.

NVFS Programs

In the first segment, Catherine speaks with Andrea Eck, Executive Vice President of Programs at NVFS. Andrea points out that the programs offered to families range from workforce training to housing assistance to hunger relief to early childhood development and support. The unique thing about NVFS is that all of their programs are integrated with one another, and are designed to support the families they serve in a holistic manner, with the goal of moving the family toward self-sufficiency.

Eck notes that NVFS works collaboratively with partners throughout the region to help deliver necessary services, so that resources can be used wisely and efforts are not duplicated. She is confident that their excellent track record is what led to the grant from the Day 1 Families Fund. The grant money will be used to fight family homelessness in Northern Virginia. Specifically, they will be enhancing their housing locator service, improving their career navigation center, and enhancing the availability of mental health services in order to get people healthy so that they can support themselves and contribute to society.

Multi-Cultural Center and Youth Initiatives

In the second segment Catherine talks to Meredith McKeen, Director of the Multi-Cultural Center and Youth Initiatives. On the multi-cultural center side, her job is to oversee the array of services designed to help people recover from exposure to trauma and violence. Her department utilizes case management to navigate the issues, and services are delivered in 7 different languages to meet the needs of the community. Many families have suffered trauma throughout the immigration process, and McKeen’s department is designed to assist families with immigration legal aid, as well as assist them in finding the support services that they need within the community.

Under the youth umbrella, NVFS runs a gang prevention program to help keep kids safe and out of trouble. Additionally, for young people who have witnessed or been exposed to violence, her department is tasked with helping them find and access mental health services. Getting young people access to these critical programs is so important, because the sooner they can deal with the trauma that they have experienced, the sooner they can get back to school and be able to move their lives forward.

Another important aspect of McKeen’s department is the family reunification program. Many times, immigrant families are separated from one another for many years, with some parents being separated from their children for up to a decade. Reunification is always the goal, but with it comes its own set of challenges. First off, parents and children need to get to know one another again. Additionally, the children may have endured an arduous journey to make it to America, and they may have residual trauma from their travels. This program is aimed to get ahead of these challenges and address issues up front in order to keep everyone safe. It has been shown to help avoid child abuse, future foster care placement and potential mental health problems down the road. It is an investment in the family today that can have a lasting impact into the future. Families are resilient, but they need the right tools in order to be healthy and happy.

Workforce Development

In the third segment of the show Catherine speaks with Julie Mullen, Director of Workforce Development about how NVFS is working toward customized career training for its clients. This new approach is aimed at helping their clients identify their goals, attain the necessary skills and ultimately find a sustainable wage job. The One on One Navigator program is one of the areas that will greatly benefit from the grant give by the Day 1 Families Fund. A job with sustainable wages is the best way to keep a family out of homelessness, so this program will be critical to meeting their goals.

The One on One program will allow career counselors to help clients tap into their talents, then connect them with the partners in the community who can help them build the skills that they need to succeed. Money from the grant will be able to help pay for certifications or English classes, even assist with the costs of opening a new business like an in-home childcare center. The career navigators can assist with understanding the regulations and the paperwork needed to get a business started. Removing these barriers and hurdles are critical to helping clients move forward.

This winter NVFS is launching their “Team Up” imitative in the hospitality, manufacturing and healthcare space. They will be co-locating in space with their business partners to help deliver services and make sure that workers have the tools that they need to be successful and productive. For example, now that Medicaid has expanded in Virginia, NVFS will have people available to help workers understand that they are eligible for benefits, and assist them in learning how to apply.

Health Access and Nutrition Services

In the final segment of the show, Catherine interviews Ondrea McIntyre-Hall, Director of Health Access and Nutrition Services at NVFS. Her department oversees the Hunger Resource Center, located in Prince William County. The center serves 600-700 families a month, and processes approximately 3.3 million pounds of food a year. There is a growing community of food insecure families in our region, and NVFS is looking at creative ways to help stem the tide of hunger by providing food support and nutrition services. Their resource center includes cooking classes and demonstrations, in order to teach families how to make the best use of the ingredients that they have access to. Additionally, there is no limit on the amount of fresh fruits and vegetables that families can take when visiting their facility.

Thanks to generous donations from local farmers markets, grocery stores and the USDA the Hunger Resource Center receives a great deal of fresh, perishable food. Therefore, they partner with other smaller food pantries in the area so that the food can get better distributed in a timely manner. Many families cannot access the center in Prince William, so this gives the smaller, more local pantries an opportunity to get fresh fruit and vegetables distributed to their clients.

Currently, NVFS is launching an exciting pilot program with Mason and Partners (through George Mason University) that will give clients a “prescription card” for certain fruits and vegetables that clients need to maintain their health. Clients will then be able to redeems these cards at participating vendors – food pantries, Farmer’s Markets, stores where the cards are accepted. This innovative approach to providing access to fresh fruits and vegetables recognizes that what we eat can greatly contribute to supporting a healthy lifestyle.

by Rachel Simon

Kids Enjoy Exercise Now (KEEN) of Greater Washington

(Oct. 24, 2018) Catherine Read sits down with Barbara Guterman, Board Member of Kids Enjoy Exercise Now (KEEN). KEEN’s mission is to empower youth with disabilities by providing free, non-competitive, one to one programs of exercise, fitness and fun led by volunteer coaches. Their vision is to foster self confidence, self esteem and community inclusion for youth with disabilities, strengthen communities through education and volunteers, and provide families with respite and a supportive network.

Elliot Portnoy, who imported the concept of the organization from England 26 years ago, established KEEN with 5 kids and 5 volunteers. His vision was to have a world where all youth have equal opportunities for recreation, fitness and friendship – regardless of their abilities. KEEN believes that a strong, healthy body and mind are connected to one another, and KEEN gives kids of all abilities a safe place to explore, try new things and have fun at the same time.

The organization has grown exponentially since 1992, and now serves approximately 500 kids throughout the Washington metro area. KEEN recently opened up new locations in Virginia, and is actively looking for more opportunities to grow their partnerships in the Virginia suburbs. They are in search of schools, community centers and companies who can help them grow their programming and volunteer base in order to serve more children.

Guterman speaks passionately about the strong bonds and friendships formed between the volunteer coaches and the athletes who they train. The unique aspect of having 1:1 ratio enables these bonds to grow deep and strong. They get to know one another, and very much look forward to the time that they spend together every week. This program also serves as a wonderful respite for parents, who sometimes just need a break to grocery shop or rest with a cup of coffee, while their child gets worn out while exercising. Many times these children might not have any other opportunity to participate in an extracurricular exercise program, so both parents and kids very much look forward to the weekly KEEN sessions.

The KEEN website has a full calendar of sessions, so parents can simply signup online to bring their child to a session. There is no cost involved in this program. Likewise, anyone looking to volunteer can register online, and then get paired with a local session. All first time volunteers get a 15-20 introductory training, as well as receiving a written profile of your athlete. This helps you understand your athlete and how to best work with them.

Guterman is the chair of the annual KEENFest gala, to be held on November 3^rd at the Capital Hilton in Washington, DC. This year’s theme is KEEN’s Got Talent, and will showcase a number of their athletes who will perform everything from singing to dancing to a fashion show. The kids are extremely excited to participate in the program and showcase their talents. She is expecting over 400 people, and is extraordinarily grateful to their sponsors Marriott and Total Wine. Gutenberg welcomes anyone who would like to join them for this special evening or sponsor the program. Tickets and sponsorship opportunities can be found on the website.

by Rachel Simon

Optimist Club of Greater Vienna with Susan Bauer

(Oct. 17, 2018) Catherine Read sits down with Susan Bauer, President of the Optimist Club of Greater Vienna. The Optimist Club is a community service club, fueled by volunteers who dedicate their time and energy to serve the youth of the greater Vienna area. The club focuses its attention on students attending James Madison, Marshall and Oakton High Schools, and the feeder schools in their pyramids. Founded in 1955, the club is 63 years young and continues to focus on its mission of “bringing out the best in youth, the community and ourselves”.

JOI (Junior Optimist International) clubs in the local schools enjoy healthy memberships and robust programming. These community service school groups, ranging from elementary to high school, organize service projects that are completely run by the students. Typical projects include coat drives, food drives and a variety of projects outside the schools within the greater Vienna community. At the end of every year, these groups come together and make presentations on their accomplishments. This is a wonderful opportunity for groups to learn about success stories, and has led to collaboration between student groups at various schools and age groups.

Throughout the year, the Optimists sponsor and participate in a variety of community service events. One of the largest events each year is the sponsorship and participation in Ethics Day at Marshall High School. Volunteers work as table captains and support high school students in understanding the importance of ethics in their day-to-day lives. They also sponsor an oratory contest for students, an essay contest, and new this year a communications contest for the deaf and hard of hearing. All of these events are designed to help students learn and grow, as well as give them confidence. The winners of these local events then advance to compete at the district level.

The club also gives scholarships and youth appreciation awards to students in a variety of categories. Students are recognized for academic achievement, citizenship, fine arts, athletics and technology. Vocational students who excel in areas such as automotive repair, plumbing and electrical are also recognized. They have recently added an award for a student in the Special Education program. A full list of scholarship opportunities are listed on the organization’s website. The Optimists also recognize citizens who give back to their community, with the Partners in Education, Respect for the Law and First Responder awards.

The Optimist Club focuses on bringing out the best in the youth of their community, so you will see them out in the community in a variety of places. In just over a week the club will be present in support of the Vienna Halloween parade, where they provide a number of volunteers to help facilitate the event and donate funding on an annual basis. The club also maintains the Vienna Caboose by giving tours and handling the maintenance. Recently the caboose needed both interior and exterior painting, and the club is supporting the town by taking care of these needs.

In order to support all of their ambitious activities the club has several fundraisers throughout the year. They sell beer and wine at the Chilling on Church summer block party, they are responsible for organizing and renting space for the Vienna Farmer’s Market, and during the holidays, the club sells Christmas trees from the parking lot of the Vienna Giant grocery store. Bauer truly enjoys this project, as it brings together club members, along with students who participate in the youth led JOI clubs, and members of many local sports teams to help man the sales booth. In addition to raising money for their efforts, the Christmas tree sales is a wonderful community building opportunity.

by Rachel Simon

Krista Gauthier – Sliding Doors Squared

(July 18, 2018) Catherine Read speaks with Krista Gauthier who is the founder of Sliding Doors Squared, an enrichment program for children with dyslexia. Studies have shown that children with dyslexia excel in STEM related curriculum and careers, so Gathier’s program focuses on reading tutoring and STEM enrichment to help these students excel. Unfortunately, many dyslexic students go undiagnosed, and because they have a barrier to learning how to read they are not encouraged to explore and engage with other content. Sliding Doors Squared is designed to help these students realize their potential.

Gauthier has a background in teaching, so when her daughter was diagnosed with dyslexia she was thrown into a whole new world in the education subculture. She quickly learned that there are not many resources for parents of children who have dyslexia. If a child is diagnosed, it is very expensive to seek the necessary early intervention to keep students on track. One year ago, Gauthier embarked on a journey to bring much needed resources to the community. Together with her daughter’s reading tutor Joyce Maryanopolis, they founded Sliding Doors Squared (SD2). This program is currently offered at St. Bernadette Catholic School in Springfield as an after-school program, and they are looking to expand to another location in the Reston/Herndon area this year.

Gauthier shares that 15-20% of the general population live with dyslexia, and 30-40% of engineers and scientists are dyslexic. She also notes that 48% of the prison population is identified as dyslexic. She believes if students are identified early and taught how to read in a way that their brain can process properly, then the students can move on and excel in school. The STEM aspect of the Sliding Doors program is designed to introduce kids to subjects like robotics and engineering. It also includes opportunities to meet area scientists on their monthly Science Saturdays field trips, many who have dyslexia themselves. This allows the students to see themselves in their role models, and understand first hand that they can achieve and succeed despite their challenges.

Most of the people who run the programming with Sliding Doors are volunteers. They must be trained in the evidence-based reading curriculum, and commit to a 2 year program with their students. Many of the volunteers are teachers themselves, who benefit from understanding how dyslexic children learn, which can improve how they approach student with similar challenges in their own classrooms.

Another key element of the Sliding Doors program includes networking opportunities for parents. As a parent herself, Gauthier realized how few opportunities there were to meet and speak with other parents, along with how difficult it was to seek out resources. As part of the Science Saturday programming, Sliding Doors often offers programming geared towards parents where they can attend workshops, learn about advocacy, or listen to speakers who can help them learn about how to best support their children.

by Rachel Simon

The Phillips Programs – Debbie Alexander

(June 14, 2018) Catherine Read interviews Debbie Alexander, Director of Development for The Phillips Programs. For the past 50 years Phillips has served the needs of individuals with emotional and behavioral problems and their families through education, family support services, community education and advocacy. Phillips is a private non-profit organization that serves the needs of over 500 children and their families in the Washington, DC area across four campuses in Virginia and Maryland. They strive to help children where others could not, by individualizing a plan for each student so they can become independent, young adults.

Alexander shares that children are referred to their program when they are unable to thrive in their school environment. There is no typical profile for a Phillips student, but many have experienced trauma in one form or another. Perhaps they have difficulty communicating or engaging with other students or their teachers, and because of this the student acts out or misbehaves which interferes with the learning cycle. At Phillips, the educators and therapists develop a wholly personalized plan for learning that addresses the obstacles each student faces, and comes up with a plan to overcome the obstacles. With small class sizes of 9 students per classroom, this becomes a realistic goal. Additionally, Phillips runs programs to encourage families to stay together, as the stress of a child with disabilities can often tear families apart. Phillips offers home and community based counseling, behavior consultation and family support.

As the organization has evolved over the past 50 years, Phillips has taken on the role of not only educating their students, but also preparing the students for a world where they can work and become independent. The Career Partners Program was implemented two years ago, and is now thriving. Phillips established a culinary program which includes a commercial kitchen and a vertical garden at their Laurel location, a 3-D design and print program at their Annandale location, and a building trades program at the Fairfax school. The concept is that they are giving their students marketable skills in order to enter the workforce. Alexander specifically highlighted the building trades program, where students just completed their first home that they designed and built all on their own. The home sold for $585,000 and took four years to complete.

As she mentioned earlier in the interview, there is no “typical” student in the Phillips program. Students are generally referred to Phillips by the public school system, if the student struggles to thrive in a mainstream environment. Access to information and resources can be difficult to come by for parents who are looking for help, so the Phillips Program is re-vamping their website to include more information and become more accessible to parents.

The main message that Alexander wants to share is that the Phillips Program gives hope to children and families, while focusing on the children’s abilities and highlighting their strengths. For example, the 3-D printing program, which operates as a partner of the Youthquest Foundation, is a great fit for students with autism. This type of work is ideally suited for people on the autism spectrum because it includes a number of repetitive tasks. The Youthquest representatives noted that the Phillips students produced the most sophisticated and complex work on the 3-D printer that they had seen to date.

The Phillips program is a non-profit and operates on the donations of its generous benefactors. Each April they hold a gala, and in May they organize a 5K run. Alexander encourages those in the community to support this valuable asset in the community. You can donate online to support some of the most vulnerable children in our community and give them a chance to thrive and grow up to be independent members of society.