Welcome to the 2023 November issue of The Volunteer Post Newsletter, for current and potential volunteers, sponsors and donors interested in supporting children and families in crisis.
| Table of Contents | |
|---|---|
|
|
Body Safety Program Partners with SafeSpot Children’s Advocacy Center
Body Safety program staff is grateful to have created a wonderful partnership with SafeSpot Children’s Advocacy Center in Fairfax County, an organization that works to reduce the trauma experienced by child abuse victims. Learn more.
Make the Holiday Season Bright! Adopt-A-Family
If your family, business, company, organization, or faith-based group is interested in helping to support families in the Annandale and South County regions of the county during the holidays this year, then the Department of Family Services’ Adopt-A-Family Program is a great opportunity for you to round out 2023 with good cheer! ! Don’t wait to be matched! Gifts must be delivered by December 8. Learn more.
See What’s Cookin’ with our BeFriend A-Child Mentors and Mentees
Volunteer & Partner Services’ BeFriend-A-Child program paired up with Fairfax County 4-H for a cooking adventure the kids will remember for a long time! Check out these valuable and fun life lessons. Learn more.
Volunteer & Partner Services Presents at 14th Annual Crimes Against Children Conference
In October, the Volunteer and Partner Services program was honored to send two staff members to represent Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention Services at the 14th Annual Crimes Against Children’s Conference in Virginia Beach. Learn more.
Sign Up to Help Families in Need
Are you thinking of ways to give back before the holidays, well you are in luck!
The Fairfax County Department of Family Services’ Volunteer and Partner Services program needs your help with these donation requests to help support the families we serve. Diapers, baby wipes, strollers, car seats are just some of the items that can help families with children in our community.
Please remember we are only able to accept brand new donations. We cannot accept used or gently used items.
You can ship items to the following address or coordinate a drop off to:
Samantha “Sam” Carrico
The Pennino Building, 6th Floor
12011 Government Center Parkway
Fairfax, VA 22035
We truly appreciate your support of our program and the children and families we serve. We are also always in need of short-term grocery assistance to support the families in our community. If you would like to purchase gift cards to local grocery stores, we ask that you please deliver those in person, you can also specify these be used for Thanksgiving food assistance, if that is your preference.
If you have additional questions, please email Samantha “Sam” Carrico or call 571-536-8192.
Bilingual Volunteer Classroom Instructors Needed for the Body Safety Program
Our Body Safety Program needs bilingual volunteer classroom instructors (English/Spanish) to help empower elementary students with the tools to prevent or interrupt child abuse and exploitation. If you have a heart for kids and you are available to facilitate pre-K through sixth grade classes in Fairfax County Public Schools during the school day, this is a great opportunity for you! Visit the program website to learn more or complete a volunteer application online. Email or call 703-324-7459 for more information. ¡Nosotros necesitamos su ayuda!
November is Adoption Awareness Month
Adoption Awareness Month is a time for raising awareness about the urgent need for permanent homes for many children in foster care and celebrating all the adoptive families Woven Together by Love. Across the nation more than 64,000 children are legally free for adoption and nearly 1,200 of those children are waiting for adoptive families in Virginia. Learn more about the way Fairfax County is recognizing Adoption Month this year and how the county supports foster to adoptive families.
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.