IT'S NOT TOO
LATE TO HELP A
STUDENT IN NEED
Please donate to UCM's Back-to-School drive now through August 17. Last year UCM collected supplies for 835 students. To participate please view the full list of school supplies needed by clicking here. |
THE FAIRFAX COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
RECOGNIZES UCM FOR
40 YEARS OF SERVICE
(Click on the picture to see it in full size.) |
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DO YOU SHOP AT SAFEWAY?
Did you know that 1% of the total purchase price can automatically go to UCM-at no cost to you?
It is one of the most painless ways we know of to support a charity. Already supporting someone? UCM can be one of up to three charities that you designate!
To participate send your name, address, phone number, and Safeway card number to Niki Wanner at niki.wanner@ucmagency.org. Use your phone number at the store and don't have a Safeway card number? Simply call 1-877-723-3929 to get it and then email us.
Hey those pennies can add up quickly. Thank you in advance for supporting UCM!
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Boeing Employees Give $15,000 to UCM
Pictured Above: Long-time Boeing employee and UCM supporter Doug Kennett presents the check to UCM Executive Director, Cynthia Hull. |
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For many years, employees of The Boeing Corporation have been staunch supporters of UCM. In early July, the Boeing Employee's Community Fund awarded the organization a $15,000 grant in support of UCM's Basic Needs program. This grant will allow us to continue to meet the demand for UCM's emergency services, which has seen a 62.5% increase in the number of people seeking help since the beginning of Fiscal Year 2008.
But Boeing employees don't stop there. This year, they are also helping UCM with its Back-to-School drive, which will supply backpacks and school supplies to children in need. Last year, 835 children received backpacks filled with school supplies. Thanks to the many, many organizations and individuals who make the Back-to-School drive a success! |
 Surviving Domestic ViolenceFor several years, Carmen lived through escalating domestic violence. Forced to stay at home without permission to use even the phone, Carmen became increasingly isolated. One day, she made a bold decision to take her son and leave. They initially sought refuge in a local shelter before being referred to UCM's Journeys program, a two-year intensive transitional housing program for families fleeing domestic violence.
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[1] Names have been changed.
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Volunteer Teaches His Peers about Gardens
Flower and vegetable gardens greet parents, teachers and students at the entrance of UCM's Bryant Early Learning (BEL) Center, thanks to newly minted Eagle Scout Dylan Keightley and his team of Boys Scouts and other volunteers. BEL provides developmentally appropriate child care, some of it for low-income parents, to children aged six weeks to five years. The flower garden has roses, coreopsis, and other sun-loving perennials. The vegetable garden has a number of plants and herbs including squash, tomatoes, and salvia.
Several other volunteers helped with the project. Amy Knotts Neiberling, a landscape architect, created the landscape design and advised the boys on where to place the plants. Art Norton, Cam Gibson, Jen Molden, Betsy Damitz and a number of people at River Farm, which is the headquarters of the American Horticultural Society, donated plants. Dylan and his crew worked hard to complete the project. They cleaned out the beds, roto-tilled the soil, dug holes and placed the plants.
"This project will provide such a valuable lesson for the children," says Cynthia Hull, Executive Director of UCM. "It will give them a sense of wonder for and appreciation of growing things."
When the vegetables are ready, students from the BEL Center will harvest and eat produce from the garden. |
Locally-Grown Produce for UCM's Food Pantry
UCM extends a heartfelt "thank you" to the George Washington Mount Vernon Gardens, which donated locally grown organic produce to UCM's Food Panty this month. We received 475 pounds of cabbage, lettuce and potatoes. The produce will add healthy variety to the diets of our clients.
The gardens are a part of George Washington's Mount Vernon estate, which was built in 1799. Each garden still grows the same agricultural products as it did in the 18th century, such as cabbage, lettuce, radishes, beets, beans, squash and kale. "We give our produce to UCM," says Peggy Bowers, Supervisor of the George Washington Mount Vernon Gardens, "because you are our community's food kitchen."
Thank you to the gardeners of the George Washington Mount Vernon Gardens for your careful cultivation and green thumbs! Thank you also for your preservation of our area's rich history and your continued service to the community. | |
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AN ORGANIZATION YOU CAN TRUST
At UCM, $.89 of every dollar you donate goes directly to programs that help people in need. Because how we use your money is as important to us as it is to you.
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