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Welcome Brianna
Please join me in welcoming Brianna Dunn as our newest team member and AmeriCorps VISTA. Brianna moved to Fairfax County two years ago with her husband of 13 years and their son who is a second grader in Fairfax County Public Schools. She received her Bachelor’s Degree in Criminal Justice from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Previously, she worked for United States Probation in the District of Nevada as a Probation Officer Assistant. During that time, she was a member of the Workforce Development team, a program that assists convicted felons achieve meaningful employment.
Brianna has been volunteering with the Department of Family Services in the Administrative Assistant program over a year. In addition to volunteering with DFS, she has been serving at The Lamb Center clothing closet, assisting the homeless population with clothing and other needs. She has also served with Mothers of Preschoolers (MOPS) as both a group discussion leader and coordinator, connecting moms and children to the community.
Brianna has a deep appreciation for the performing arts, having graduated from the Las Vegas Academy of Performing Arts with an emphasis on theatre and dance. She is also passionate about health, wellness and fitness. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, going to the gym, playing board games, and watching wrestling and hockey with her family.
She is excited to become an AmeriCorps VISTA and join the Be-A-Friend program. Mostly, she says, “I am looking forward to working with a dynamic team of people utilizing the gifts God gave me to serve others and contribute to my community.”
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The Body Safety Program Serves One of Our Most Vulnerable Populations
During this school year, the Body Safety program has been honoring requests from several schools in Fairfax County, to bring the Speak Up, Be Safe curriculum to their students in special education classes. Statistics show that these children are amongst our most vulnerable population.
According to the latest U.S. Census Bureau (2011) statistics, 5.2 percent of school-aged children (ages 5–17) have a disability. It is critical to engage children with disabilities on all aspects of abuse, as children with disabilities are at least three times more likely to be abused or neglected than their peers without disabilities¹. A key component of preventing abuse and neglect in children with disabilities is educating children so they are better able to protect themselves. Curricula such as Speak Up, Be Safe can help give children knowledge and empowerment, adding one more protective factor against maltreatment.
Fairfax County is not alone in offering child-focused prevention programs that are aimed at helping children with disabilities respond to abuse situations. In addition, there are many programs doing this great work to educate children about their bodies and how to keep themselves safe. Two examples include:
- Kidpower International (www.kidpower.org) offers programs for children, youth, and adults, including those with special needs. Program areas include personal safety and strategies to prevent or respond to child abuse, neglect, bullying, and other threatening situations.
- IMPACT: Ability (http://impactboston.com/selfadvocacy) is a 10-session personal safety curriculum for individuals, including youth, with cognitive and/or physical disabilities. It uses realistic simulations to help teach people with disabilities how to respond in at-risk situations, including assertive communication and how to resist inappropriate sexual contact by a caregiver or another adult.
Here in Fairfax County we are fortunate to have programs such as the Body Safety Program that provide children with knowledge and education that can impact their lives in a positive way.
- Child Welfare Information Gateway. (2018). The Risk and Prevention of Maltreatment of Children with Disabilities. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Children's Bureau.
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Holiday Party and Adopt-A-Family
On Dec. 15, 2018, BeFriend-A-Child Mentoring Program hosted its annual holiday celebration at McLean Bible Church. This was an opportunity for mentors, and mentees and their families to come together and enjoy food, treats, and entertainment such as face painting. Guests were happy to pose for family portraits by professional photographer and VPS volunteer, Krishna Neelarambam.
Families had the opportunity before the event to provide a list of gifts their children would like to receive for the holidays, including toys, clothing, shoes, gift cards and personal care products. Generous donors and sponsors, including the Soteropoulos Family of TriCrest Custom Homes and Mclean Bible Church, provided families with many of these gifts and other contributions. Guests also enjoyed a delicious dinner at this event. We at BeFriend-A-Child extend our utmost gratitude to all those who helped make this memorable occasion possible by donating your time, talents and resources.
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Fitness with Friends
BeFriend-A-Child’s newest partner, PR Star Crossfit in Chantilly, was a magnificent host for the September event. Not only did they plan a wonderful day of exciting competitions, they even provided mentors and mentees a nutritious lunch featuring a Chipotle burrito bowl buffet. Mentors and mentees played numerous speed and agility fitness games like “pizza delivery” and “cone.” In addition, everyone tackled a well-designed obstacle course that used all the equipment in the facility. The mentees were so engaged in the activity, no one even asked who received the best time! We could not do what we do without the generous support of our caring community. Thank you to PR Star for your incredible gift of fun and fitness to BeFriend-A-Child volunteers and children.
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A VISTA Veteran
For Morgan Cochran, being a second-year AmeriCorps volunteer is about making a difference for communities and individuals struggling with some of our nation's biggest challenges: poverty, inequity, homelessness, and lack of access to education. VISTA members help programs that are working to alleviate poverty across the country. VISTA members serve in a project identified and managed by the community while earning a modest living stipend that reflects the income level of the community where they are serving.
During Morgan’s first year of service, she was a PASS AmeriCorps member. She provided intensive case-management for 30 at-risk youth (3rd-12th grade) in San Marcos Middle School in San Diego, CA. Students received academic tutoring/support, character development lessons, and service learning opportunities throughout the school year.
Being a Vista AmeriCorps volunteer has exposed her to many incredible experiences. Now serving as the assistant coordinator with BeFriend-A-Child Mentoring, Morgan is beyond grateful for all that she has learned as an AmeriCorps Volunteer. She has really enjoyed serving as a VISTA, and she hopes to use the experiences in her future career.
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A Treasured Family Moment
There are times when a family needs to pause and focus on enjoying the moment. This can be a challenge due to distractions such as screens, and everyday obligations like errands, household chores, and home repairs. Fortunately, Volunteer & Partner Services has generous and compassionate sponsors and donors throughout Fairfax County that want to share their wealth to make a positive impact in a family’s life, even if it’s just for a moment. Recently, one of our donors, Information Technology Strategies LLC, made that special moment for an incredibly well deserving family.
The remarkable story of this forever family is heartwarming. Years ago, a man, we can call him John, connected with a family that he met through a mentoring program while he was in the Army. John became familiar with the family’s struggles and undertook their challenges as if they were his own. Through his involvement, he became a member of the family. During John’s deployment in Afghanistan, he received a call that the children had lost their mother, and their father was in another country. John was listed as the main point of contact for the children.
John knew the children had endured several traumatic events in their young lives and decided to come back to the United States to offer the children the permanency and support they needed. He became the legal guardian of all five children and has been the primary father figure in the children’s lives, providing for them financially and emotionally for the last six years. He provides them with all the support and love that a biological parent would give their children, and he struggles just like any parent with teenagers. Even through the challenges, he continues to be a supportive and tremendous parent. Information Technology Strategies LLC, recognized that this family needed a “moment” and provided them with tickets to a wonderful experience at FedEx Field. The family enjoyed a warm and sunny day of free fun, in a football suite, eating and watching the Washington Redskins play the New York Jets! Having that time together was such a treasure for the whole family. VPS is grateful to connect such amazing donors with families in need.
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BAC Hike 2018
On November 3, 2018, the BeFriend-A-Child Mentoring Program packed a bus of eager children and their mentors and headed out for an annual hiking adventure. Prior to departure, the children chose a book to keep and a snack for the bus ride. Upon arrival at the Heirloom Farm in Linden, Virginia, the group hiked along on the Appalachian Trail in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains. A guide led children and their mentors up Rattlesnake Mountain to an open meadow. While some of the children and mentors engaged in a game of tag, others took in the magnificent views of the surrounding mountain ranges.
After the short, 1.5-mile hike, the children and mentors enjoyed a catered picnic lunch and a performance by recording artist Craig Honeycutt. After lunch, the children and their mentors participated in a friendly game of touch football, drum circle, and a hayride to a private vineyard where they searched for grapes on the vines.
When it was time to go, everyone piled onto the bus. The children watched a movie and ate an afternoon snack as they traveled back to Fairfax. This was another wonderful BeFriend-A-Child event filled with fun activities and glorious weather. All expenses such as transportation, lunch, snacks, and beverages were funded by the Commonwealth Consultants Foundation and private donations to the Annual Hike for The Kids event. We at BeFriend-A-Child extend our gratitude to all those who make this annual event possible. This includes Bruce McLeod and Jim Lamb of Commonwealth Consultants Foundation; and Shari Avenius owner of Heirloom Farm, who always makes us feel welcome and carefree. Thank you to our mentors for everything you do for the community and for your mentees.
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Welcome Aboard the VPS Express!
Kinship is the newest program to benefit from volunteers with the Volunteer & Partner Services Program. VPS volunteers help them facilitate Kinship Café and Kinship Parenting Groups. Trudy McKnight says the program “tugged at her heart,” because these families that are caring for children often do not receive the support that a traditional foster parent would receive.
Trudy has been volunteering with Kinship for about six months, serving dinner, facilitating child care groups, and aiding the families in networking with each other. She enjoys helping families in a new way, and she smiles when discussing the participants’ excitement about building a supportive network in their community. She says “You can feel the love that’s there because of the love the family shares. They appreciate being in a caring and safe network to help with raising the children… it’s just so nurturing.” Do you want to feel the love? Check out volunteer opportunities.
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Sisters Come Together
Lindsey and Miranda Asbury were very excited when they saw the Baby Boxes project listed on the Fairfax County volunteer opportunities website. “We are sisters who have grown up with a large family as well as military, church, and neighborhood communities that always try to share what we have and help each other out.” The girls took this as a great opportunity to spend some worthwhile time together before one of the sisters headed off to college.
Both Lindsey and Miranda strongly believe in making contributions to those in need and in personally contributing their time and effort to helping others. They used their own money to buy baby items for a deserving family with a newborn baby. The sisters made this project fun while making a big difference in a precious baby’s life. “We both adore babies and children so this was a great opportunity for us to contribute to our community.” Thank you to the Asbury sisters who are making a difference in their community and all our volunteers who make the lives of families better.
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Mentors Make the Difference
Do you or someone you know want to make a difference in a child’s life by providing your time and friendship? Do you want to enjoy fun activities and make long lasting memories? Be-Friend-A-Child invites you to make a meaningful contribution to our community by mentoring children in need here in Fairfax County.
Think about who has made a lasting impact in your life. Who do you credit with helping you get to where you are today? Maybe it was a teacher, an older sibling, a coach, a neighbor, a manager, or an extended family member that you consider a mentor and guide. Mentoring can improve academic performance, school attendance, graduation rates, and attitudes. Becoming a mentor by volunteering to help a child realize their potential, help give back to your community, and make a difference in a child’s life can change your life.
Mentors with BeFriend-A-Child Mentoring program must be able to make a two-year commitment, spending at least eight hours every month with their mentee and participating in monthly group outings on Saturdays. Male applicants and bilingual English-Spanish speakers are highly encouraged to apply. Review the materials and apply online.
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Extra H20 Makes Life Better
The Homework Helpers Organization (H2Org), is a group of dedicated students from various public high schools across Fairfax County. They provide an academic service to Title 1 elementary schools by recruiting middle school students to tutor elementary students in need of educational support. The areas of study include reading, writing, math concepts, grammar, spelling, and SOL prep. They have created and implemented multiple models, including an evening program, a tutoring session during elementary school SACC time, and a model in which middle schoolers act as teacher helpers at the end of the elementary school day. Cross-age peer tutoring benefits both the tutors and tutees. In particular, tutees gain academic enrichment along with an effective role model, while tutors gain a greater sense of empathy and community through the cultivation of relationships with tutees.
This year the Homework Helpers are partnering with Fairfax County's Department of Family Services’ Study Buddy program to directly tutor children referred by the Children, Youth, and Families workers and social workers from eight Title 1 schools. Some students from historically disadvantaged backgrounds are starting with less than their peers. To achieve the same level of success as their peers, they often require more targeted resources based on individual needs. This program aims to promote the “Every Student Succeeds Act.”
The Homework Helpers Organization was founded in January of 2014, as a group of 30 ambitious middle school students. With the help of trusted adults, they established a club with the intent of providing educational aid to younger students in need. They initially raised awareness of the club in a local Title 1 school, Brookfield Elementary. The program quickly gained interest amongst both potential tutors and eager tutees and was extremely successful. In fact, during March of 2015, the organization was named the FCPS MentorWorks program of the month. They have now expanded this program to schools across Fairfax County. To learn more, visit the website at https://www.homeworkhelpersorg.com or view the video.
2018-19 Current Members of Homework Helpers Organization (H2Org) L to R: Kamal Mazhar, Esha Khator, Tony Spinetta, NikithaYemisetty, Ravi Dudhagra, Numya Menon, Pranav Karthikeyan, Nikitha Seri, Raghav Khator, Sahithi Mankala, Aditya Koneru. Rishabh Krishnan Missing in Photo: Ansh Gandhi, Kunsh Singh, Sarah Ahmed
2018-19 Senior members of H2Org
2018-19 Newest members of H2Org
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Looking for an Opportunity to make a DIFFERENCE in your Community?
Fairfax County’s Parenting Education Program began in 1991, and it has since grown into a well-established and successful program, that helps parents and children learn to increase their empathy, discover new ways to encourage appropriate behaviors, build positive self-concept and self-esteem, and learn how to have fun as a family. The curriculum teaches positive and effective ways parents can interact with their children at every age and stage of development.
I have had the pleasure of becoming a trained volunteer facilitator, working alongside an experienced facilitator, following a standardized curriculum, and building close relationships with 10 young students in my class, as well as connecting with all of the families attending the group. It has been an incredibly rewarding experience to facilitate the parenting classes, further developing my active listening skills, enhancing my classroom management competency, sharing ideas, and providing a framework that has proven to enrich the lives of our Fairfax County families. This program is actively seeking committed and professional volunteers to facilitate classes. Training will be held on February 21 and March 2. If you are interested, you can learn more about the Parenting Education Programs through our video, or reach out to Francesca Watson with questions.
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Forming Authentic Attachment
Last summer, Cecilia Tatis, with the Body Safety program, had the privilege to be selected to attend the three day ATTACh Conference in Virginia Beach. This conference was saturated with great speakers such as Bessel A. van der Kolk, MD, Robert S. Marvin, PhD, and Michael Trout, MA. They presented information on the latest on trauma and attachment research.
Here is a summary of the valuable information provided:
- Trauma sits on the primitive part of our brain (the brain stem), which is deep inside the brain.
- People remember trauma in a sensory way. It is an imprint on the body.
- The most common trigger of attachment behavior is separation, or anticipation of separation, from attachment figures.
- How children process traumatic experiences depends on the quality of their attachment relationships.
- People only form about five authentic attachments through our lifetime.
- Attachments are non-transferable and are permanent from “cradle to grave.”
- The most important predictor of a secure attachment is not physical holding but the mother’s attunement to the child’s signals.
- Our minds are geared towards happy endings, which is why we enjoy them.
- Any treatment that fosters imagination of new possibilities would be helpful to children with trauma.
There is so much to be learned and discovered regarding our brains and how they make us who we are. Every bit we can do to educate ourselves and make us more knowledgeable, will allow us to be better in work and life. For more information, visit http://www.attach.org/30th-attach-conference-2018-2/.
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About The Volunteer Post Newsletter
Our volunteers and partners are the invaluable backbone of Volunteer & Partner Services Program (VPS). This newsletter is published three times a year and shares about events, volunteer data, volunteer opportunities or other general information. We hope this newsletter will keep us all connected!
Whether you’re a seasoned or new volunteer, partner or sponsor, knowing the history of the organization you’re supporting is very important. VPS was developed in September 2013 with the purpose of recruiting top-level volunteers to provide direct or indirect services to prevent child abuse and neglect. VPS is part of Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention Services within the Department of Family Services Children, Youth and Families division. VPS started with four programs and after gaining momentum began recruiting volunteers for two additional programs. VPS manages the Administrative Assistant Program, BeFriend-A-Child Program and Body Safety Program - Speak Up Be Safe and also recruits volunteers for the Adopt-A-Family Program, Father Engagement Program for Volunteers - Dads Parenting Groups and Parenting Education Program for Volunteers. Each program has individual needs and functions that require volunteers with an array of skill sets. Volunteers continue to apply to help with hopes of making a difference in the community. VPS is honored to recruit, train and provide opportunities to those interested in the prevention of child abuse and neglect. We continue to provide top-level volunteers for the community as we fight to prevent and end child abuse and neglect.
Browse through past newsletters in the archive.
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