 Alternative House
March 2014
42 years of providing a better tomorrow for today's youth.
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This month's newsletter gives thanks to people who go above and beyond. Some of them are staff, some are volunteers, and all of them are amazing. We are offering a special thank you to people who donate on a regular, scheduled and ongoing basis; the people who bring drinking water every week or donate office supplies every month. These special people have made these regular contributions for a year or more. In some cases, they've been doing it for more than 15 years!
I also want to say a special thank you to the Alternative House staff that reported to work on the worst snow days when most of us were huddled indoors. They braved icy roads and shoveled through drifts to make sure that the young people in our programs were safe.
Because our newsletter is brief, we can't possibly thank all the people who lend a hand. I hope you will follow us on Facebook and Twitter where we regularly recognize the many others who help.
- Judith Dittman, Executive Director
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Special Acknowledgements to Donors Who Assist with Food Donations and Supplies on a Regularly Scheduled Basis
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Alternative House would like to acknowledge companies and people (see below) that support us on an on-going basis with food and supplies.
Shelter
Carlos Estin
Tyson's Rotary Group
McLean Rotary Group
Drink More Water
Amee Vermilye
Philip Jaffa
Vienna Inn
Vale UMC
St. Thomas Episcopal Church
Chipotle - Tysons Corner
The Potomac School
Auntie Anne's - Tysons Corner
Fairfax Community Church
Western Fairfax County Woman's Club
St. Francis Episcopal Church
General
Northern Virginia Handcrafters Guild
Assisting Young Mothers (AYM)
Kathy Porterfield
Homeless Youth Initiative (HYI)
St. Stephen's UMC
Community-Based Services (CBS)
Food for Others
Kentucky Fried Chicken - Little River Turnpike
Kentucky Fried Chicken - Bailey's Crossroad
V&F Office Supplies
Sara Pearce Rodewald and Nicole Calderwood
Saint Katherine Greek Orthodox Church
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Alternative House's Essential Personnel: Always There to Serve
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 We want to acknowledge all of the essential personnel that work at Alternative House's Emergency Shelter, Homeless Youth Initiative, and the Assisting Young Mothers program to keep our operations going. As most people in our area have a "snow day" when schools, the government, and businesses close, these individuals are hard at work serving our mission.
We would like to acknowledge the following staff who worked at our shelter and other residential programs on the snow days we experienced recently:
Emergency Shelter:
Heather, Teal, Meghan, Eric, George, Chris, Marilyn, Krystie, Michelle
Homeless Youth Initiative:
Cece
Assisting Young Mothers:
Angela and Karen
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| Employee Spotlight: Meredith Mayo, Program Coordinator at Culmore Safe Youth Project (CSYP) |
Alternative House would like to salute Meredith Mayo for her dedication and commitment to the children at the Culmore Safe Youth Project (CSYP) for fourth, fifth, and sixth graders, located in the Family Resource Center in Falls Church. Meredith has been with Alternative House since February 2013 and began as the Program Assistant for our Safe Youth Project in Annandale (ASYP).
At CSYP, Meredith encourages the children to make healthy food options, discusses choices they are making in their social life, takes them on exciting field trips, provides them with a snack when they arrive from school, and she helps them with their homework. "I love learning from the kids, understanding their interests and introducing them to new people, places, and things." With her upbeat attitude and positive energy, Meredith is able to inspire and motivate the children to make good choices in order to improve their lives and break cycles of poverty.
Meredith is also able to handle the day-to-day challenges that come with caring for 30 children. Shoshana is a young girl that used to bully other kids in the program. She was having a hard time at home and often took her frustrations out on others that she saw as easy targets. When Meredith noticed her acting out one day, she sat down with the kids and talked to them about the effects of bullying. Shoshana and the group learned how to replace painful words with positive ones and played out multiple scenarios where they could make a difference. Later, Shoshana admitted to Meredith that she had been picking on one particular boy for some time and decided to make things right with him the very next day. With Meredith's encouragement, Shoshana apologized to him because she recognized the greater impacts of her bullying, and after working out their problems, the two have become good friends.
Compassionate and dependable, Meredith is constantly going above and beyond to help the children she works with. She even asked her friends and family to donate to Alternative House in lieu of gifts on her birthday this year and raised more than $600 for her program. We are very fortunate to have Meredith Mayo on the Alternative House team.
In her spare time, Meredith enjoys yoga, watching movies, and being around good friends.
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| Volunteer Spotlight: Barbara Plotner |
Barbara "Barb" Plotner has volunteered at the Emergency Shelter on Tuesdays for four hours for close to a year and has helped with meals, answering the hotline, housekeeping, and many more tasks asked of our volunteers at the shelter. She discovered Alternative House through her daughters' high school, Marshall High School, and decided to begin volunteering when her children left for college as she still wanted to work with teens and young adults. "I feel very fulfilled when I can interact with the kids in a positive way," said Barbara.
Her passion for the well being of other people is evident throughout her whole life, before she became a mother to her three daughters, Samantha (23), Jill (21), and Haley (21), she worked at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City studying the effects of stress on immunity.
Outside of Alternative House, Barbara loves to travel, cook, read, and has started to get into Pilates. She also enjoys the outdoors, specifically Great Falls Park, where she takes her 15-year-old Australian Shepherd, Miss Money Penny on strolls. She also is very much in love with her husband of 31 years, they met while he was in medical school, and have enjoyed their life together ever since.
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A Quote About Giving:
"It's not how much we give but how much love we put into giving."
- Mother Teresa
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"Like" our page and stay up-to-date on the latest happenings at Alternative House! You will find information about volunteer opportunities, donation needs, events, and learn how others are partnering up with us to make a difference in the lives of young people.
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Follow us on Twitter by going to this LINK! It is another way to communicate with Alternative House and to find more information about volunteer opportunities, donation needs, events, and to engage in conversation.
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Ambassadors are short-term volunteers who help invite ten people to our Open Door Information Sessions within a three-month time frame. These sessions are held every second Tuesday of the month at 10 am, 3 pm, and 6 pm, and provide a great opportunity to tour Alternative House's Emergency Shelter for Teenagers, learn about our programs, and hear about the successes of our young people.
Next two Open Door Information Session dates are:
April 8th
May 13th
For more information, please contact Jade Leedham at
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Our Wish List
We gratefully accept in-kind donations for all our programs. Learn more.
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Ways to Donate
There are many ways to support Alternative House. Learn more.
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Alternative House is always looking for a variety of volunteers. Learn more.
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Open Door Information Session
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2100 Gallows Road, Vienna, VA 22182 * 703.506.9191 * 1.800.SAY.TEEN
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