Mailing Address
PO Box 220802 Chantilly, VA 20153
Office & Food Pantry
13981 Metrotech Drive Chantilly, VA 20151Thrift Store
13989 Metrotech DriveChantilly, VA 20151 Tel: (703) 988-9656
Fax: (703) 988-9655
info@wfcmva.org
WFCM WEBSITE
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General
Client Needs
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ExxonMobil Community Summer Jobs Program
Laura Gaul has just begun an 8-week internship sponsored by Exxon Mobil to coordinate food drives this summer. She is not new to WFCM, but has been volunteering in the food pantry for two years, first as a stocker and then as a bagger. About her new position, she says, "I really appreciate how supportive the staff and volunteers are and how welcoming they make me feel. Working at the food pantry at WFCM has given me the courage to speak up and take the lead. If I'm feeling too shy to call up a business and ask about organizing a food drive, that's one more empty shelf at our pantry this summer. Actively reaching out to the community has allowed the Lord to show me courage I that I never thought I had." Thank you, Laura, for your heart for our ministry!
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Summer Food Drives: We Need YOU!
Everyone is excited about summer vacation, but hunger never takes a break! In fact, our clients with children need even more help in the summer without free lunches and breakfasts available at school. I'm sending out an S.O.S call to summer camps and programs. If we can put a little summer vacation excitement into food drives, we can keep our food pantry shelves full this summer! Swim Teams, Pools, Vacation Bible Schools, Summer Camps, Sports Teams, and more can have a blast collecting food for WFCM by setting wacky goals (let's fill a whole wheelbarrow!) or targeting specific items (Flour Power, Snack Attack, and Super Cereal!). I can make it easy on the organizers too by providing a Food Drive Kit, an informative yet kid-friendly presentation on hunger and poverty in our community, and additional help in any way I can. Contact Laura Gaul with interest, ideas, or questions to get started!
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Most Urgent
Food Pantry Needs
The needs expressed here are listed in order of need (greatest listed first). A current listing is posted on the Needs page of our website at all times.
Click HERE for printable shopping lists for you & 2 friends!
FOOD & BEVERAGES
- Canned Fruit
- Canned Meat
- Dry Pasta
- Peanut Butter
- Cold Cereal
- Hot Cereal
- 2 lb. Bags of Rice
- Canned Beans (Garbanzo, Butter, Northern)
- Dry Beans
- Beets
- Ramen Noodles
TOILETRIES
- Baby Wipes
- Toilet Paper
- Toothpaste
- Shampoo
- Laundry Detergent (28-32 load size)
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Most Urgent
Volunteer Needs
While we are always in need of volunteer support, the needs expressed here are those that are most critical only. A current listing is posted on the Needs page of our website at all times.
For a printable flyer, please click HERE.
THRIFT STORE
Regular weekly or bi-weekly volunteer needed on Tuesday, Thursday, Friday & Saturday from 10:00am to 2:00pm to receive donations.
FOOD PANTRY
Regular weekly volunteer needed to pickup from Food Lion on Wednesdays (temporary term: June 13 through August).
Regular weekly volunteer needed to bag/stock groceries from 11:00am to 2:30pm on Wednesdays.
Regular weekly volunteer needed to bag/stock groceries from 11:00am to 2:30pm on Thursdays.
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Thrift Store
Corner
Click HERE for the JULY 2012 Thrift Store Sales Calendar.
Please stop by and see us! We have flexible business hours and a spectacular variety of inventory to start off this new year. Bring in the coupon below for a great discount on our reasonably-priced merchandise!
Questions about donations hours? Want to know what donations we are able to accept?
Learn more HERE...
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Do you have an overly enthusiastic summer vegetable garden? Are tomatoes tumbling from your refrigerator when you open the door? Is zucchini piled perilously on every counter in your kitchen?
Share the wealth with neighbors in need this summer!
The WFCM Food Pantry gratefully accepts fresh produce from your garden. The flavor and nutrition of fresh garden fruits and vegetables is deeply appreciated by our clients. Produce can be a very rare item at our pantry, so any of your garden's abundance is a blessing on our shelves! :)
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Annual Staff Retreat - June 1, 2012
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Director's Corner: June
Happy Summer!
June is already flying by with graduations, celebrations and Father's Day very soon. Though my earthly father passed away more than two decades ago, I am reminded that I always have a loving Father I can go to--for wisdom, advice or just to chat. Sometimes I forget to start our "chats" with thanksgiving and praise, and so let me take a minute to thank Him for all He does:
- Thank you, Father, for loving me unconditionally and forgiving me.
- Thank you, Father, for guiding me and giving me your eyes to see things differently.
- Thank you, Father, for my health, family and relationships.
- Thank you, Father, for the opportunity and blessing of working at WFCM.
As we officially celebrate our 25th anniversary year (July), I am calling on all former board members, staff, volunteers, pastors and donors who may be able to tell a good story about the early days..1987 or beyond. We will be filming an anniversary video to highlight WFCM and I need your help! Please call me at the office or shoot me an email if you can help (mjansen@wfcmva.org).
And don't forget to take a moment to thank your father, or your heavenly Father, for all He does.
God bless you,
Melissa M. Jansen
WFCM Executive Director
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Client Testimony: Juan
Juan is a s ingle father of three boys. He came to the United States and while his family was waiting to join him, his wife passed away. He brought over his sons. He has worked full time and has struggled to pay his bills on his limited income. He did not want to take his sons out of their high school, so finding a more affordable place to live was out of the question. His twin boys will be graduating from high school this year and attending Northern Virginia Community College in the fall. They have applied and been approved for a housing choice voucher and will be moving to a more affordable place in August. He has been a WFCM client since 2009 and we've provided him with food, clothing and financial assistance with utilities and car repairs.
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WFCM's Awesome Father-Daugher Team!
Ludwig "Ludi" Benner and his daughter, Holly Carey, enjoy their time working with the wonderful people at the WFCM Food Pantry! In 2009 Ludi signed up to glean the baked goods from Costco and deliver them to WFCM, and it has been a blessing to this father and daughter ever since. Ludi and his wife joined a Lutheran Church in Ohio in 1951, and since that time he has been an active volunteer in the churches he has attended for over 61 years. He continues that tradition at King of Kings today. He and his wife, Helen, were always great examples of servanthood, which strongly influenced the lives of his two daughters and their families as well as many others.
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WFCM's 5th Annual Fellowship Dinner
Friday, October 12, 2012
Reception at 6:30pm ~ Dinner at 7:15pm
Keynote Speaker: Congressman Frank Wolf, R-VA
Musician: DC Washington
Fairview Park Marriott Hotel
Early Online Registration is available here! Questions or concerns? Please visit our website at http://www.wfcmva.org or contact Cindy Nichols, our Registration Coordinator, at registration@wfcmva.org.
Interested in being a Table Host? We are praying for 40 Table Hosts this year. Simply invite 6 to 8 friends to sit with you for a lovely dinner, hear from our clients and delight in great music! Please contact Annette Bosley, our Table Host Coordinator, at abosley@wfcmva.org.
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WFCM's HTH Walks
Each year, Fannie Mae sponsors the Help the Homeless (HTH) Program to help raise awareness and funds for organizations working to prevent and end homelessness. WFCM counts on schools and businesses to partner with us to meet our financial needs through Help the Homeless Walks.
Did you know that there are 1,700 homeless people in Fairfax County? In addition to the homeless, there are 57,000 people living beneath the poverty level who struggle daily just to make ends meet so they won't lose their home and can feed their families.
Holding a Help the Homeless Walk is a good community outreach event for your school. It provides YOU several benefits including: 1) the means to support WFCM in our efforts to prevent homelessness and hunger in your community, 2) an awareness of homelessness and ways to help prevent and end it, and 3) an opportunity to feel good about yourself for helping to provide life-essential needs to some of the neediest in their community.
Please click here for more ways you can help!
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Grant News
Fairfax County Grant - The Fairfax County Consolidated Community Funding Pool selection advisory committee recently reviewed WFCM's grant application, and the Board of Supervisors approved $150,000 for aid of WFCM clients during fiscal year 2013 and $125,000 in 2014 (contingent on future funding allocations). This is welcome news, as state and local government resources across the country have faced cuts during financially tough times. The funding will be used for partial manager salary support and by WFCM counselors to assist eligible low-income households with once-yearly emergency aid, to keep them in housing and their utilities from being disconnected.
Financial Investments, Inc. (FII) - With thankfulness we announce the approval of our application to the Financial Investments, Inc. philanthropic community grant program. FII, which has generously backed WFCM in past years, will be sending $8,000 ($2,000 per quarter) for Client Services from July 2012 to June 2013. FII received a number of applications from non-profit organizations, but stated in the award letter that WFCM is among "those service organizations that are efficiently and effectively utilizing your limited funding resources." They also stated that WFCM "stood out" as an organization with "good accountability and an effective return on having resources touch as many lives as possible." WFCM is grateful for the financial support, which will be utilized for emergency supplemental aid for low-income clients' rent, utility payment, and medical needs.
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WFCM Backpack Program
Each year WFCM collects backpacks for the elementary, middle and high schools located in our service area. These new backpacks are provided at no cost to students receiving free or reduced cost lunches. We hope that you will join us in this backpack-only collection, as a returning partner or a first-time participant! WFCM will be collecting new backpacks from July 1 through mid-August. Backpacks should be new and without wheels. Larger backpacks for high school students are greatly needed. Please click HERE for the 2012 backpack size recommendations from schools. In 2011, WFCM provided 1,055 backpacks to Fairfax County Schools in our service area. In 2012, we will have additional requests for backpacks and have a goal of serving 1,500 students.
If you would like to learn more about WFCM's Annual Backpack Program or would like to be a school sponsor and assigned to a school to meet their needs, please contact Jennie Bush or visit our website for more information.
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Bread & Water Campaign Update
The 1st Annual Bread & Water Campaign is a simple coin collecting campaign in which donors fill water bottles--provided at no cost to your church or business--with donations! Your contributions will support our mission to provide life essential support to those needing our assistance. The Bread and Water Campaign is running through June 2012. Since the end of May, eight churches, fourteen businesses and three individuals have joined our efforts to raise money by collecting change, dollars, and checks! About half of those participating have completed their campaigns with a total collected so far for the ministry of $6,633.83!!! Thank you so much for your support!
If you or your church or business is interested in joining in our Bread and Water Campaign, please contact Jennie Bush today!
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Praise & Thanksgiving
- We were blessed in the month of May by a number of groups volunteering. Thank you to the following groups:
- Wednesday, May 2nd - Westfield Students & Centreville Presbyterian Students - Sharon Hoover
- Saturday, May 5th - Christ Presbyterian's Confirmation Class - Bernie Aiken
- Saturday, May 12th - Ox Hill Baptist Church Youth Group - Garrett Wolf
- Monday, May 14th - Westfield Marriott - Kristen Harlow
- Tuesday, May 15th - Dulles Marriott - Rosie Erwin
- Saturday, May 19th - Centreville Baptist Church - Praise God for all our volunteers who are led to serve here in the ministry. You are a blessing to us!
- Praise God for the ongoing work of the local churches and community to fill our shelves for those in need of food. You are a blessing to us and to our neighbors in need!
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Prayers
- We continue to pray for all who are suffering physically, emotionally and/or financially.
- We pray for the continued health and strength of our clients, staff, Board and volunteers, as well as their walk with the Lord.
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