Director's Corner: August

Bringing closure to anything is always hard for me, perhaps because of my military upbringing and having to constantly move and make new friends. However, closure doesn't have to be sad and can actually be a positive thing. Perhaps you've heard, or maybe you haven't, that we will soon be "closing" our doors at the Centreville location on September 1. Rest assured, the word "closing" is appropriately in quotations because while we may be closing an office, we are most definitely not closing our services or our hearts to our Centreville clients and community. We have occupied the satellite office space on Lee Highway for nearly a year and have increased the number of clients we service as a result. We learned a few things along the way. First, most of our clients do have a means of transportation and are able to get to our Chantilly office and food pantry without difficulty. Second, positioning our office near the elementary school did not necessarily increase awareness about WFCM or the services we offer to families. The greatest lesson we learned this past year is that while the demand for assistance increases, so does our need for funds (so we can help them) and spending high dollars for rent on an office just did not outweigh the desire we have to directly help our clients. Our conclusion was to redirect all Centreville requests and clients to our Chantilly office, and increase our appointments (and hours if necessary) to meet the need. Please pray for us as we move out and transition our staff and clients this month.

You might be interested to know a few statistics regarding client requests. Fairfax County is usually the first call for many of our clients, and the Coordinated Services Planning (CSP) office tells us that they received 1,894 calls from our area for food, rent/utility assistance and other basic needs. This mirrors the calls that we received and is in line with the number of appointments we had last year. In addition, we recently learned that there are 57,000 people in Fairfax County below the poverty level, with another 44,000 living in poverty! About 85% of our WFCM clients fall into those two categories, so we are confident that we are completing our mission of helping prevent homelessness in western Fairfax County. In addition, we received over 1,000 requests for school backpacks this summer, and will be able to serve that need with the generosity of our community and partners like you.

WFCM and Shelter House, Inc. have partnered for almost one year, helping clients in need. To date, we have shared a total of 24 cases, 10 of which were WFCM clients. 13 cases closed in the last fiscal year and one closed since the start of the new fiscal year.  Case Manager Elisa Holden and Client Services Director Leah Ann Furr work closely together to insure clients avoid eviction, get help paying bills, get enrolled in our food program and sign up for budget counseling. This year we hope that the partnership and the number of clients helped grows even more.

There are many ways you can support WFCM and we hope that will. As we step up our hours, staffing and dollars committed to clients, will you please come alongside us and increase your support? Visit our website or come by for a personal tour so we can talk more with you about ways to do that. In the meantime, we are grateful to all of you and wish you a wonderful fall!

 

Blessings,

 

 

Melissa M. Jansen

Executive Director 

   

4th  

Annual Fellowship Dinner

Friday, October 14, 2011

Register Online HERE!  

We are still 22 Table Hosts shy of our goal of ultimate goal of 50. If interested, please contact Annette Bosley, Table Host Coordinator, for details!

Congregate Meals Program for Seniors Well Attended

WFCM senior clients (60+ years) and their spouses participated in a Fairfax Area Agency on Aging Pilot Program designed to give seniors an opportunity to socialize during a provided restaurant meal and learn about health and nutritional topics. In a collaborative effort with Amy Trang and Maria Loh of the Pilot Program, Adrienne Griggs, a nutritionist from Capital Area Food Bank/Virginia Cooperative Extension, and WFCM staff, the following three congregate meals were held:

• April 27: Charcoal Chicken in Chantilly provided chicken and lamb entrees for seniors with a presentation by Adrienne Griggs on the food pyramid which concluded with an engaging nutrition question and answer session.
• May 25: With an over 50% increase in attendees, everyone enjoyed varied meal choices at the Backyard Grill in Chantilly and gained more helpful information on nutrition from Maria Loh.
• June 7: Nineteen of our seniors were treated to a healthy Italian meal catered by Tony's NY Pizza held at Chantilly Regional Library. Adrienne reviewed information from MyPlate.gov, gave tips on reading food labels and demonstrated how to make an easy corn and black bean salad.

We are thankful for this opportunity for our clients to get to know one another and also be encouraged in healthy living. Many thanks to all who made this program possible!  

 

Help Prevent Homelessness Through a Walkathon!

WFCM is seeking church groups, schools, local clubs and businesses to participate with us in Fannie Mae "Help the Homeless" walks this fall. Hosting a community walk involves:   

• setting up a date between now and November 6,
• planning a route and
• recruiting walkers! 

Every tax-deductible registration fee will help WFCM make a difference in the lives of families in crisis. The "walk" could instead be a run, a bike-a-thon or most any physical activity the host group desires. Registrants are given commemorative t-shirts and will join in a 30-minute educational presentation given by WFCM to raise awareness of how to help those at risk of homelessness in our community.  

 

To learn more and get involved in this opportunity, please contact Terri Kelly, WFCM Community Liaison.   

 

 

 

 

Praise and Thanksgiving!

• A special thank you to Tai Hethcock and her friends for spending Tai's 30th birthday volunteering their time in our Thrift Store this month! We appreciate their servant hearts.    
• We are so very thankful for ALL our other volunteers, whether they have served for a day or a decade.
• We are thankful for such a loving and hard-working staff and board of directors.
• We are thankful for the continued healing of several of our volunteers, staff and their loved ones.  

Prayers

• We pray for a smooth transition from Centreville to Chantilly at the end of the month. 
• We pray that more clients will make use of our free financial training and budget counseling.
• We pray for all staff, board and volunteers' health, families and walk with God.
• We continue to pray for all who are suffering physically, emotionally and/or financially.       

MOST URGENT Volunteer Needs 

While we are always in need of volunteer support, the needs expressed here are those that are most critical only.

For a printable flyer of these needs, please click HERE!
 
LIMITED TERM VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES

There are one-day and short-term volunteer opportunities in our Thrift Store for groups (i.e., church, corporate) and for students to fulfill academic requirements.

On September 7 from 9:00am to 12:00pm we are in need of 4-6 strong individuals to help receive and shelve cases of USDA food.

LONG TERM VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES

FOOD PANTRY
Tuesday pick up volunteer from Costco - 9:00-9:30am.

Baggers needed Mondays, Tuesdays and 1st & 3rd Thursdays from 11:00am to
2:30pm.

THRIFT STORE
Regular weekly volunteers needed Mondays, Tuesdays and Fridays from 9:00am to 6:00pm.

Regular weekly volunteer needed Thursdays from 1:00pm to 6:00pm.

Regular weekly volunteers needed Saturdays from 9:00am to 5:00pm.

FURNITURE MINISTRY
One volunteer needed to help move furniture that will be given to clients in need.

For more information, please contact our Volunteer Manager, Annette Bosley, or please feel free to visit our website.  Click here for a volunteer application.

Most Urgent Food Pantry Needs 

These items are listed in order of need (greatest being at the top, least being at the bottom).

Click HERE for printable shopping lists for you and two friends!

Food/Beverages

• Jelly or Jam
• Spaghetti Sauce
• Boxed Potatoes  
• Canned Meats
• Canned Fruit
• Rice-A-Roni
• Canned Vegetables (Except Green Beans) 
• Pancake Mix 
• Pancake Syrup
• Cereal       

Toiletries (NOTE: toiletry items cannot be purchased by our clients with their food stamps) 

• Deodorant
• Toilet Paper        

Most Urgent Thrift Store Needs

Our current most pressing needs are the donation of linens (i.e., sheets, towels), as well as school supplies and new clothes, all for re-sale in our Thrift Store.

 

Thank you and God bless you!

 

Thrift Store Sales Calendar

There were some excellent sales this summer and the deals will continue into fall.  Please stop in and see us...you can always find a great deal at the WFCM Thrift Store!  Here is the sales calendar for the month of SEPTEMBER (which is also on our website):