Welcome to the 2024 November issue of The Volunteer Post Newsletter, for current and potential volunteers, sponsors and donors interested in supporting children and families.
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Adopt-A-Family Celebrates the Spirit of Giving
November is here and before we know it, Thanksgiving will be upon us with all the anticipation of the winter holidays. The Adopt-A-Family team prepares all year for this chance to spread holiday joy throughout the community. We match well-meaning community groups, faith-based organizations, local businesses, and even individuals together with families in our community who need a little help to make their holidays brighter. We need more donors to sign up this month, especially in the South County region of Fairfax County. While we do our best to honor each donor’s preferred drop off location, it is not guaranteed depending on the needs within our community. We appreciate our donors’ understanding and flexibility in supporting families located throughout Fairfax County. If you are curious, learn more about the program’s impact. If you are ready to spread some holiday magic, sign up today using our Adopt-A-Family Donor Form.
BeFriend-A-Child Partner Gives Family A Boost
The Volunteer and Partner Services (VPS) team wears many hats! We go from teaching children how to be safe in Body Safety classes, to finding mentors to provide children with one-on-one support, to coordinating donations for families in need. When there is a need that VPS can’t meet, we partner with a wide variety of donors to fill in the gap. In this case, one of the BeFriend-A-Child mentees was graciously blessed with a trampoline to help him reduce his screen time and increase his physical activity. Many thanks to Boost Others for making this possible! It’s nice to know that when it comes to supporting children and families in need, VPS can count on our community partners to come together for those often-overlooked needs!
Supporting the Healthy Families Fairfax Baby Extravaganza
Two programs within Fairfax County’s Department of Family Services and Health Department recently worked together to host a new outreach event, a community “baby shower.” Volunteer and Partner Services supported the event by coordinating several donations of baby clothing, equipment, and baby boxes to help the moms-to-be prepare for the arrival of their newborns. This Baby Extravaganza was the brainchild of staff in Fairfax County home visitation programs, Healthy Families Fairfax and the Nurse Family Partnership. Rebecca Peek is pictured with her generous donation of baby boxes with supplies and handmade stuffed animals. Learn more.
Collaborating with Fairfax County Public Schools for Child Safety
Monday, October 14, the Department of Family Services was honored to offer Mandated Reporter Training to a group of nearly 200 Fairfax County Public School employees. This was a collaborative effort to start the school year off with clear guidance on state reporting policies and procedures for child abuse and neglect. DFS Volunteer and Partner Services own Samantha Carrico, Francesca Lovitt, and Elizabeth Aguilar Martinez helped to lead the training. Check it out.
Meet the 2024-2025 Volunteer and Partner Services’ Interns
Volunteer and Partner Services is grateful for the two motivated interns working with the program this year. Both are students at George Mason University. John is a candidate for his bachelor of social work, while Sammi is working toward her masters. Learn about the experiences that stoked their interest in the field and their goals for the future.
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.