Welcome to the 2023 July issue of The Volunteer Post Newsletter, for current and potential volunteers, sponsors and donors interested in supporting children and families in crisis. 

Annual BeFriend-A-Child Family Gathering was a Day Full of Fun 

The BeFriend-A-Child Mentoring program hosted a fun-filled family event at Brookfield Park in Springfield. Everyone enjoyed a day packed with lots of laughter, good food, and activities including a sack race, a soccer clinic and a tour of a fire truck! Check it out. 

Volunteer & Partner Services’ Coordinators Return from Serving Families on the Front Line of Child Welfare

Over the past several months, our BeFriend-A-Child and Body Safety Program Coordinators, Tiffani Peguese and Francesca Lovitt were reassigned to support VPS’s sister program, Child Protective Services, assessing allegations of child abuse and neglect. Learn more about their experiences, and what they’ve been up to since they’ve returned.

Tickets for Kids Provides a World of Opportunities for Children

Volunteer & Partner Services is excited to partner with Tickets for Kids to provide once in a lifetime opportunities to children involved with our Children, Youth, and Families Division of the Department of Family Services. Since February, 12 children have attended 11 events with their mentors, and more events are in the works. Tickets for Kids’ mission is providing at-risk children with experiences that inspire hope, dreams, and achievements for a lifetime. Learn more.

Seeking Spanish Speakers to Volunteer with Children in Our Community!

Volunteer and Partner Services is currently recruiting bilingual volunteers to support our Body Safety Program and our BeFriend-A-Child Mentoring Program. If you can speak Spanish and English, you are a great candidate to help us make a difference in our community! Learn more about these opportunities.

Volunteer & Partner Services Holds “Black Friday” Surplus Events

Thanks to the generosity of our amazing donors, Volunteer & Partner Services has been able to hold two VPS “Black Friday” Surplus Events to benefit children and families in need in Fairfax County. At these events on May 16 and June 26, DFS employees had the opportunity to select donated items to deliver to the families they serve. Items included baby boxes (with items for expectant mothers and newborns), personal hygiene items, birthday boxes, ice cream gift cards, books, baby clothing, STEM and gardening kits and toys!  

To continue offering these events, we rely on generous sponsors and donors like you! If you or anyone you know is willing and able to donate brand new diapers, baby items or gift cards to local grocery stores to help support the families we serve, please email VPS or visit our website for more information. 

Thanks so much to our generous Black Friday donors who made these events possible:

Baby boxes, hygiene items and other family supplies donated by: 
United Korean Methodist Church coordinated by Gail Lee; The London Towne Elementary School Student Council Association; Girl Scout Troop 50101 with the Langley School; Christina Moses; Dominique Shelton; and Fairfax County LiveWell coordinated by Leigh Ann Henderson.

Summer STEM, gardening, and activity kits and toys donated by:
Chika Onuegbu, Ian Smithgall, Janine Rubitski on behalf of Deltek, Navy Elementary Grow with Us Club coordinated by Alexander Yu.

Comfort Cases Community Engagement & Volunteer Coordinator Barrie Carr arranged the donation of 200 bags filled with stuffed animals, blankets, pajamas, and books.

Help us make the next event in July even bigger and better! 

Open Your Heart; Become a Foster Parent

Do you or someone you know, have room in your home and heart to support children in foster care? There are children in our community who need safe, stable, and loving homes. Fairfax County Department of Family Services is recruiting foster parents to care for medically fragile infants, teenagers (ages 13 and up), and large sibling groups (three or more). We need your help in spreading the word about the need for foster parents to support children in our community. For more information about this and other ways to support foster families, please visit Fairfax County Foster Care and Adoption, email the foster parent recruiter at maya.mohindroo@fairfaxcounty.gov or call 703-324-7480.

ABOUT VOLUNTEER & PARTNER SERVICES (VPS)

The Volunteer Post Newsletter is part of the Department of Family Services Volunteer & Partner Services Program (VPS) - managing volunteer programs (Administrative Assistant Program, BeFriend-A-Child Mentoring Program, Body Safety Program - Speak Up Be Safe, recruiting and training volunteers for programs (Father Engagement Program and Parenting Education Programs); and working with partners, sponsors and donors to help in special efforts (Adopt-A-Family Program, Baby box initiative, back-to-school backpacks). Learn more about VPS and how volunteers are making a positive difference.

Browse through past newsletters in the archive. To provide feedback on our newsletter or to be added to our mailing list, contact us.

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