Welcome to the 2026 May issue of The Volunteer Post Newsletter, for current and potential volunteers, sponsors and donors interested in supporting children and families.
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Appreciating Our Fantastic Volunteers!
We want to thank everyone who was able to attend the VPS Volunteer and Partner Appreciation Dinner in April and extend our deepest gratitude to all the donors from Fairfax County and beyond who contributed to the fun, food, prizes, giveaways, and more. You helped make the night a success! Learn more.
Donate Foster Care Packages
Foster care placements can happen any time—day or night—without much warning. Foster parents don’t have much time to gather the essential supplies a child will need. Help us with foster care packages to make a new child comfortable in their home. Learn more!
Befriend-A-Child Rolls into Skate N’ Fun Zone
The BeFriend-A-Child Mentoring Program rolled out another fantastic skating event! Mentors and mentees hit the rink together, strengthening connections through laughter and support while trying something new. Read more about this outing.
If this seems like a great way to connect and make a difference with young people, our next training for new mentors will take place virtually on Saturday, July 11, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Learn more about the program or apply online.
Volunteer & Partner Services: A Year of Community Impact FY 2025
Every hour volunteered, every class taught, every basket, backpack, and move provided supports the resilience of children and families in Fairfax County. Volunteer and Partner Services’ FY 2025 Volunteer Impact Report provides an overview of the lives you’ve helped touch along with anecdotes to help you see the personal impact of your contributions. Check it out.
Awareness to Action During Foster Care Month!
During National Foster Care Month each May, Fairfax County recognizes the role of foster care in providing children with safe, caring, temporary homes. Behind every statistic about foster care is a family, a story, and a network of people who care. In Fairfax County, children spend time in foster care with relatives, foster families, and sometimes in group settings when a family based option isn’t yet available. Many are working toward reunification with their families or moving to live with kin.
Our community plays a quiet but important role in that journey, from fostering, to kinship care, to volunteering, to simply sharing accurate information. If you’d like to understand what foster care looks like here and how you might fit in, start with our annual foster care data. Could fostering—or supporting those who foster—be right for you?
*Save The Date* Backpack & School Supply Drive: July 1 – August 7
Volunteer and Partner Services is excited to once again partner with Roonga, this time for our annual School Supply and Backpack Drive! From July 1 through August 7, 2026, you are invited to Adopt-A-Student and help them start the school year prepared and confident. Learn how you can help!
Proclamation Highlights the Impact of Prevention Services
Thank you to all the county and community partners for a wonderful awareness-raising month of April! Countless partners spread the word by planting pinwheel gardens, symbolizing a safe and healthy childhood, across Fairfax County. At the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors' proclamation of April as Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention Month, The Department of Family Services was joined by partners including Bikers Against Child Abuse, Fairfax County Police, Public Schools, and Fairfax CASA. Check out the proclamation video as Rondell Patterson shares her testimony to the transformative power of services and supports offered by the Department of Family Services’ Parenting Education, Neighborhood Networks, BeFriend-A-Child, and Adopt-A-Family Holiday programs. Volunteers, partners and sponsors, YOU make it possible for us to transform lives all year round. Thank you!