Welcome to the 2025 July issue of The Volunteer Post Newsletter, for current and potential volunteers, sponsors and donors interested in supporting children and families.
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Thank You for Restocking the VPS Baby Supply Closets
Thank you to all the generous partners and donors who have helped Volunteer and Partner Services to replenish our depleted closets. Your donations of essential items that promote safe transportation and safe sleep for infants and children will make a huge difference.
Many of the more costly items like car seats, pack and plays, and bassinets are out of reach for many of the families we serve who are caring for, raising, or fostering newborns and small children. When you donate these necessities, it fills a significant need that is hard to quantify.
Thank you for caring about the safety and wellbeing of children and families in our community!
We give a special THANK YOU to the Young family who generously donated 11 car seats to support car safety, four bassinets and four pack and plays to promote sleep safety, four travel systems, four strollers, and four highchairs.
For anyone else willing and able to contribute, please consider donating an item from our Amazon Wish List which is continuously updated throughout the year.
Your contributions, no matter how big or small, are immensely appreciated and go a long way in helping us achieve our mission. Please share this information with others who might be interested in supporting this cause.
Thank you for your continued partnership and support. Together, we can make a meaningful impact.
BeFriend-A-Child Program Hosts Fun-filled Spring Gathering
The annual BeFriend-A-Child Spring Gathering is an event our mentors and mentees look forward to all year. It’s one of the unique events when the mentees’ family members get to join in the fun. Check out all the excitement of a reptile show, painting activity, soccer lessons and more in the article and live action video.
Building a Stronger and Safer Community One School at a Time
Every child deserves to grow up in a safe, stable, and nurturing environment. Yet across the United States, hundreds of thousands of children are affected by abuse and neglect each year—most often at the hands of someone they know and trust. While the statistics are sobering, the good news is that child maltreatment is preventable. Learn about Body Safety, a county program focused on this work and how to get involved.
Spotlight on Parenting Education Programs Volunteer: Caleb Faber
Caleb originally reached out to the Department of Family Services in January 2024 to gather more information about the Parenting Education Programs for an assignment in his graduate program. As he learned more about the program and what it does, he grew more interested in getting involved. Caleb called back the next day asking if there was any way he could volunteer, and the rest is history! Caleb has been a dedicated PEP volunteer since then. Learn more about Caleb and how you can volunteer.
Mentor Group Takes on Kings Dominion for a Summer Send-Off
To wrap up the school year and kick off the summer with smiles, the mentors and mentees of the BeFriend-A-Child Mentoring Program took a well-deserved break and headed to Kings Dominion for a day of fun, bonding, and unforgettable memories.
Mentors and mentees spent the day riding roller coasters, eating funnel cakes, and most importantly — connecting outside of their usual routines. For many of the children, it was their very first theme park adventure and sharing it with someone who believes in them made it that much more special. This end-of-year celebration was more than just a trip — it was a reminder of the power of presence and how impactful consistent support can be in a child’s life. Learn more.
Help Cheer on our Graduates in Foster Care!
Youth in foster care face many invisible educational obstacles. Changing schools a lot, having less stable and supportive relationships with teachers and other students, and being less involved in extracurriculars can make it hard to do well in school and graduate. National statistics show that by age 21 about 70% of children in foster care have graduated from high school compared to 87% for all US high school students.
That’s why we are excited that 20 youth in Fairfax County foster care have beat the odds to graduate from high school, college and other professional certification programs this year. We plan to celebrate their hard work and achievements at a special ceremony this summer. Join us in letting them know how proud the community is of their amazing accomplishments by donating items on their personal wish lists to help them with their next stage of life. Thank you for your support!
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.