Community Service Archives - Read. Think. Act.

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

Abrar Omeish and GIVE on Your Need to Know

(February 13, 2019) Catherine Read sits down with Abrar Omeish, co-founder of GIVE Youth (Growth and Inspiration through Volunteering and Education) about the organization she helped to found, and her candidacy for the Fairfax County School Board.

Omeish and her friends came up with the concept of GIVE when they were in high school at Robinson Secondary School in Fairfax. They identified a need in the community among low-income students who could not afford expensive tutors and academic prep courses to help them stay competitive when it came to applying to colleges. Additionally, they saw that many of these students did not have role models or mentors to look up to.

Omeish and her contemporaries founded GIVE in 2010, with the mission of promoting civic engagement and giving back to the community. Their goal is to invest in the next generation by striving to provide opportunities to those who seek them in the fields of education, empowerment and leadership. The program gives teens the opportunity to serve as mentors to young children, provides resources to underprivileged students, and promotes the importance of an enthusiastic attitude toward learning.

Starting in the basement of her parents’ home, Omeish and her friends organized and planned the launch of their first tutoring and mentoring site at the Mason District Government Center. Since that time, they have grown GIVE to over 20 centers throughout the county. What is truly remarkable about GIVE is that it continues to be run solely by students. They have various work groups that focus on different aspects of their organization, such as web development, fundraising, volunteer mobilization, student engagement and parent outreach.

Abrar Omeish GIVE FCPS GIVE focuses on pairing high school students with elementary school children, with the goal of developing relationships, inspiring younger students and helping to create continuity in the lives of the younger children. Many times, these young children do not have many strong role models in their life, so having an older student who gets to know them can be enough encouragement that helps them believe in themselves and have success in the classroom. Omeish notes that the high school students learn through the experience of teaching, and they get as much as the younger kids do out of the entire experience.

Additionally, the more experienced Board members help to mentor the new board members by teaching them how to run the organization. They also lift each other up during the college application process, and help one another by reading essays and giving feedback. GIVE aims to build community in a variety of ways.

In the second segment of the show Catherine speaks with Abrar about her run for at-large member of the Fairfax County School Board. She is passionate about creating a school system that offers equity and inclusion in education for all students, no matter where they live or what their ability is. Her idea of targeted universalism, where teachers prepare for the hardest case scenario, will create an environment where all students can achieve success.

As Omeish matriculated through the FCPS school system, she noticed the inequities that exist for low-income students. As a student, she worked to close the achievement gap through her founding of GIVE. Her run for school board is an extension of this philosophy, and she is excited to launch her campaign. She strongly believes that the diversity in Fairfax is one of its greatest strengths, and she would like to see more representation in both the teaching and administrative staff, as well as amongst the school board members. She strives to draw on her experience to move these issues forward, while also inspiring and standing up for children.

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.