Oct14
In This Issue  10-03-14: 

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Join Us this Tuesday, Oct. 7! Friends of UCM Beer Tasting & Oktoberfest
Port City Brewing
Spend an enjoyable Fall evening with us! The Friends of UCM invite you to a special Beer Tasting & Oktoberfest this Tues., Oct. 7 from 6 - 8pm at Port City Brewing Companythe award -winning craft brewery in Alexandria. The Rocklands Barbeque food truck will be there, with 15% of your purchases donated to UCM. Click here for our event flyer. Tickets are going fast: click here to purchase online at $20 per person.   We are grateful to our sponsor Bob Kuletz, KW Commercial and kw Residential. All proceeds benefit UCM's Help the Homeless campaign. HOMELESSOCT3
Join UCM for our HTH 2014 Campaign!
UCM HTHOur annual Help the Homeless campaign has officially launched this week -- and we are thrilled to report we are already 40% of the way to our $102,000 campaign goal! Thank you to all our early generous supporters!

What is Help the Homeless about? It's about making a difference for families in financial crisis. It may seem surprising, but every year UCM helps 300 + families right here in our own Mount Vernon community who are at risk of losing the place they live -- of actually becoming homeless. 

Be Part of the Heart ... the Heart of Community!
We have so many ways that you can help this Fall to raise awareness of this important concern and to build up UCM's resources to support neighbors in need.  A donation of just $300 can help a family stay in their home with rental or utilities assistance from UCM. 

Why is your support so critical this Fall during our Help the Homeless campaign? Because there are too many families who are struggling and at risk of homelessness, right here in our neighborhoods. Hard-working families like Lola's:
UCM client Lola
Families like Lola's are grateful for your help


A single mom of two, Lola cleans houses for a living and couldn't work after surgery, with no paid sick leave and no savings left.  UCM helped her with rent and food.  She is now on track for good health and financial stability, taking a budgeting class and working with job coaches at UCM's Work Center to improve her skills for better employment opportunities.

Without UCM to help, families like Lola's face life in a homeless shelter or living in their cars. Lola wants a better life -- and thanks to your support, she is moving towards that goal. Lola's counselor sees people like Lola nearly every day: "For many people, their income or savings are just not enough to cover unexpected expenses or time away from work."

Learn how you can help families like Lola's. There is something for everyone! Thank you to the many schools that have signed up to host a Help the Homeless Walk, including Browne Academy, Carl Sandburg Middle School, Islamic Saudi Academy (Senior Girls), St. Aidan's Day School, St. Louis Catholic School, St. Luke's Day School, and Waynewood Elementary. SLEEPOCT3

Feeling like busy schedules leave you with no time avaible to participate?  It's quick and easy to
Sleep In To Help Out
Sleep In To Help Out!
make an impact via our "virtual" event called
Sleep In To Help Out! There's no obligation to attend anything, so you can spend your evening as you'd like, be it alone with a good book or with friends, a quiet walk or a movie -- or even get to sleep early! Click here to register your family online by credit card. All registrations and donations are 100% tax deductible.  We promise it will be a few minutes well spent -- and you'll get a good night's sleep ... knowing you helped families in need.

For questions about how you can help this Fall, contact Diane Hill at 571.255.8978 or [email protected].

How Many At-Risk Families Can Your Family Help? PASTAOCT3
Make a Difference on World Pasta Day - Sat. Oct. 25!
Send us your selfie! 
pasta drive
Donate 10/25 for 
World Pasta Day!
But please wait until Sat., Oct. 25! 
and 
 are both celebrated on Oct. 25 -- so please consider having a "Pasta Drive for UCM"' on that day.  Then we'd love you to email us your selfie or a group photo showing all you've done to make a difference. We'll include your photos in a special slideshow at the UCM website and share at our 

Kennedy UCM Facebook page.

 

Pasta makes a nutritious meal, and it's one of the items we most need in our Food Pantry.  Think quinoa, couscous, and rice, as well as linguini, cappellini, and bucatini.  More details and a customizable flyer coming soonBELOCT6

Fall Open House at Bryant Early Learning Center: Oct. 28
Kids love books!
UCM's Bryant Early Learning Center provides expert early care and learning in an affordable setting for children ages 6 weeks to 5 years.  We currently have openings for 3 - 5 year olds.  Learn more at the BEL Center's Fall Open House on Tues., Oct. 28, at 6:15pm. Click here for the event flyer.  For more info, call the Center at 703.765.0909 or email Director Torria Baker at [email protected]SCOUTINGOCT3
Annual Scouting for Food Drive is Sat. Nov. 8
Scouting for Food
Mark Your Calendars! Thanks to area Boy Scouts and scores of volunteers, the annual Scouting For Food 
SFF logo
 is UCM's largest single-day food drive.  Last year we received a whopping 7+ 
tons of food! On the morning of Sat., Nov. 8, please place non-perishable food by your front door in the bag provided by the Scouts. They pick up and deliver to UCM -- it doesn't get any easier than that, does it? HOLIDAYOCT3
Plan Now for the UCM Holiday Gift Room!

Giving Tree Scouts

Believe it or not, there are only 82 days till Christmas! Our Holiday Gift Room will be open in mid-December this year, so we  need your help to stock it by Friday, Dec. 5. UCM expects to provide hundreds of families with special holiday food for Thanksgiving and in December, as well as gifts for children ages infant to 14.  We rely on your generosity to make the season a special one for local families who are struggling to make ends meet.


 
Hosting a UCM Holiday Gift Room collection drive or "Giving Tree" makes an easy and inspiring community service project. Girl Scouts Cadette Troop 2048 of Mount Vernon stopped by this week to deliver hundreds of Giving Tree ornaments for UCM to use for community drives. From left are: Yasmine, Lucy, Natalie, Sofia, Hannah, Helen, and Lydia. Click here for more photos of their ornaments.

  

Hosting a Holiday Gift Room collection drive makes an easy and inspiring community service project. And it's easy to shop our UCM Books & Toys Wishlist at Amazon.com, so your donations ship directly to UCM! For more info about hosting a Holiday Drive, contact Marcos Castillo at [email protected]VEGGIESOCT3

Monthly Free Veggies Distribution

Long lines at UCM

On the last Saturday morning each month, UCM hosts our "Free Veggies" distribution. Several hundred families wait in line to receive several thousand pounds of fresh, healthy seasonal vegetables and fruit -- thanks to our partnership with Capital Area Food Bank, which sends their loaded truck to us. Thanks to all the staff and volunteers who helped in September.  Click here for more photos. 

This program is just one of UCM's initiatives to Fresh veggies promote and provide access to healthy, locally grown fresh fruits and vegetables for low-income families. How can you help? By donating healthy nonperishable food items to our Pantry: low-sodium, low-sugar, low-fat, whole grain items are always welcome for our clients to select from! To learn about hosting a Food (or Virtual Food) Drive, click hereVOLUNTEEROCT3

Heart-felt Thanks To ...
We have so much to be grateful for this month, from so many! Click here to view photos of more of our generous supporters and volunteers.

 

Thank you, Smiles for Life and Mt. Vernon Center for Dentistry! 
We are grateful to Dr. James Geren and Dr. Zeyad Mady of Mt. Vernon Center for Dentistry MV Dentistry Smiles and their entire team for the gift of more than $3,600, as proceeds from this spring's Smiles for Life professional teeth whitening promotion. This generous gift benefits UCM's Bryant Early Learning Center to help our children grow and thrive. Pictured from left for the check presentation are: Richard Dobber, UCM Director of Social Services; Katherine Morrison, UCM Interim Executive Director; Dentist Dr. Zeyad Mady; and Ebony Swann, Office Manager at Mt. Vernon Center for Dentistry. Thank you to the dental office and to all patients who participated!

Quilters Unlimited, Mount Vernon Chapter

Quilts!

We are grateful to the talented Mt. Vernon Quilters Unlimited chapter for their generous donations of quilts and blankets for families in UCM's Healthy Families Fairfax program. Healthy Families is a home visitation program designed to educate expectant and new parents so their children get a healthy start. Thank you for your many kindnesses that help our families feel special!


Cotton & Company Volunteer Day

Thank you to our friends at Cotton & Company who spent an afternoon to volunteer together atCotton & Co. UCM to learn about the need in our community and assisting in the Food Pantry. We appreciate your ongoing support to help our neighbors in need -- you are the heart of our community! If your group or business would like to volunteer together at UCM,we have many ways to help. Contact [email protected] or 571.255.8978.


Bellies and Babies Consignment Boutique

Bellies & Babies Thank you to store owner Dawn Luepke at Bellies & Babies Consignment Boutique in Del Ray. Every month, the store donates unsold clothing for families and children in our Basic Needs programs. We appreciate your ongoing support! 

 

More Events to Support UCM
It's easy to keep up with all of our upcoming events! Check out our Events listing at our website: click here.
 

Sat., Oct. 11: Mount Vernon Kiwanis Food Drive for UCM

Mt. Vernon Kiwanis The next Mount Vernon Kiwanis Club Food Drive for UCMe is Sat., Oct. 11 at the Hollin Hall Safeway on Fort Hunt Rd. Bring your donations from 9am to 5pm.  We especially appreciate heart-healthy food items, including low-salt canned goods, whole grain pastas, and  low-sugar cereals. Look for the UCM Food Pantry Truck parked out front of the store!
 

 

Sun., Nov. 2: Wine Tasting to Benefit UCM

wine tasting

Join us Sun., Nov. 2 for A Grand Tour of France with a selection of French wines from Au Domaine in Old Town and owner Rick Raunswinder. Tickets are $75 per person, with proceeds donated to UCM. Space is limited! Click here for details to make reservations and mail your check. For questions, email [email protected].   SAVETHEDATE

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United Community Ministries
7511 Fordson Rd., Alexandria VA 22306
703.768.7106   [email protected]
Join Us At the Heart of Community!