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Volunteers Honor MLK on Day of Service
 | | Scott Cannon (left), Gerald Hutchins, Etapale Ngoeh, and John Clark volunteered at ACCA on the National Day of Service. Photo: Sue Clark |
Thirty hard-working volunteers showed up at the ACCA Child Development Center on a cold and windy Saturday morning. It was January 19, the day the Presidential Inaugural Committee had designated as a National Day of Service to honor of Dr. Martin Luther King (MLK).
Sue Clark, a member of Peace Lutheran, coordinated the local event. The plan was to weed, turn over the ground and mulch the vegetable garden in front of the food pantry trailer and the teachers' gardens. Upon completion, the volunteers asked, "What else can we do?" Some cleaned the stalls of the children's toilets. Others hauled more mulch and spread it around the base of trees. Still others trimmed the rose bushes, weeded, and edged the front bed. They planted bulbs, and when more people arrived, they attacked the brush on the back fence. Read more about it in this AnnandaleVa blog post. Thank you Sue and volunteers!
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Challenge Grant a Success!
 More than 300 individual donors helped ACCA meet its goal of raising $3 for every dollar of our $30,000 Challenge Grant between October 1 and January 31. Eleven ACCA member churches contributed as did seven businesses and organizations. To date, more than $121,000 has been received. Thank you one and all!
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In Memoriam
 | | Eleanor Shubinski-Mosser |
ACCA lost a good friend and volunteer, Eleanor Shubinski-Mosser, in January. A member of Providence Presbyterian Church in Annandale, Eleanor served in a variety of ministries there, in addition to being active with the American Association of University Women, the Philanthropic and Educational Organization (PEO), the Fairfax Symphony Orchestra, and the Alumni Club of Rice University. She was a longtime supporter of the Baileys Crossroads Community Shelter and trustee of the ACCA endowment fund.
Her family requested donations in her memory to the ACCA Challenge Grant or Providence Presbyterian Church, in lieu of flowers. To make a memorial contribution, please mail your check to ACCA, 7200 Columbia Pike, Annandale, VA, 22003, or donate online here. Please add a note that your contribution is in memory of Eleanor Shubinski-Mosser so we can notify her family.
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ACCA Continues United Way Partnership
 ACCA has been accepted for membership in the United Way for 2013-14. If your workplace participates in United Way, please consider naming ACCA as a recipient of your contribution. Use our designation number, 8058. On behalf of all whom we serve, thank you.
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Food Pantry  Food captain Chuck Woods oversaw 26 deliveries during the last week of January, one of the busiest weeks ever for the pantry. Great job, Chuck!
In all, volunteers made 68 deliveries, assisting 214 individuals in January. In addition, the volunteers made 30 deliveries to Bailey's Elementary to assist families at the school. On behalf of the recipients, a big thank you to all the parishes and community members who have donated to the pantry recently.
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Furniture Ministry  Are you interested in cleaning out an unused bedroom or getting a new bed? The furniture team faces a consistent shortage of dressers, mattresses and box springs, especially single and double size. If you can help by donating a gently used pieces, call the Spiritos at 703-256-9513, or email them at ddmld@verizon.net. A team of happy volunteers will pick up your donation at a pre-arranged time. Note that king size beds are too large for the apartments we serve, and due to limited storage space, we cannot take bed frames or head- or foot-boards. During January, the furniture team made 29 pickups and delivered donated furniture to 32 households. All this was accomplished in just three weekends, because of weather cancellations. Thanks to the volunteers from the following for handling January operations: St. Alban's, Annandale United Methodist, St. Barnabas, Cornerstone Evangelical, St. Michael's, and the Sambo Cultural Group.
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Family Emergency  ACCA's Family Emergency program served 43 households in January, providing a total of $22,789 in assistance toward rent, utilities, and medicine. Among those ACCA helped was a single mother who needed assistance paying her rent, because she had not worked for three weeks due to illness. ACCA also helped a senior citizen purchase dentures; recent tooth extractions had left the senior unable to eat normal foods.
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Rebuilding Together - April 27
 Mark your calendars for ACCA's 24th annual Rebuilding Together (formerly Christmas in April) event. This year, ACCA will sponsor two homes in our community, under the leadership of house captains from Annandale United Methodist Church, John Calvin Presbyterian, Ravensworth Baptist and St. Barnabas Episcopal. We are recruiting volunteers and raising funds from these churches as well as the Annandale Stake of the LDS and Holy Spirit Catholic Church.
There is still time for others to join the ACCA effort. In addition, we are still looking for homeowners who could use our help, so please spread the word. To volunteer or learn how to get involved, please contact Marie Monsen at mamonsen@verizon.net or call 703-303-3511. If you know a homeowner who might be able to use our help, please encourage them to contact Patti Klein at 703-528-1999.
Please consider a donation to ACCA to help us cover the cost of materials and other expenses. Make you check payable to ACCA, noting Rebuilding Together, and mail it to ACCA, 7200 Columbia Pike, Annandale, VA 22003.
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Child Development Center
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Children listen with rapt attention during story time at the CDC.
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Good news for the ACCA Child Development Center: the Hilton Foundation has agreed to provide a grant to replace 35 faucets with hands-free faucets and lower the sinks in the CDC building. The new faucets will provide a more sanitary environment for the children and will assist in meeting standards for early childhood centers.
Click here to see what the children have been up to recently.
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Transportation and Meals on Wheels
In January, ACCA volunteers provided 31 rides to medical appointments for 15 clients. Meals on Wheels volunteers delivered 970 meals to residents unable to cook for themselves. Way to go, volunteers!
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Free Income Tax Preparation
IRS-certified volunteers are available to assist people who earned less than $51,000 in 2012 with their federal and state tax forms from now until April 15 at various locations throughout the county. Also, there will be a special one-day event on Saturday February 23, from 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. at the Fairfax SkillSource Center, 7611 Little River Turnpike, Suite 300 West, Annandale. Food and child care will be provided. Download a flyer here with details on the locations, hours, and what to bring.
AARP volunteers are providing tax preparation assistance at the Mason Government Center through April 15. Click here for details on days and hours when the service is available and the information you need to bring.
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Financial Literacy Seminar
 Bailey's Community Center will be hosting a free financial seminar, in partnership with Northern Virginia Family Services and Our Daily Bread. This four-week workshop, held every Wednesday from 6:30 - 9:30 pm, is designed to help participants gain knowledge of and control of their personal finances. Topics to be discussed include "Money Matters" and "Pay Yourself First," to name a couple. The series runs Wednesday, February 20th to Wednesday, March 13th.
Click here to download a flyer with details.
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Warm Bathrobes Bring Comfort
 Thanks to KEYS for the Homeless Foundation, Inc., clients at the Baileys Crossroads Shelter are enjoying new bathrobes. Don DiSpirito delivered 40 robes donated by KEYS for the Homeless, plus pillowcases and a large box of towels, to the shelter in January.
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CROP Walk - Final Tally
The fall 2012 CROP Hunger Walk raised $21,633. The top fundraisers were Sally Norris of United Baptist, Sylvia Campbell of Ravensworth Baptist and Nancy Boxall of John Calvin Presbyterian. Members of 16 ACCA churches participated, and 91 people walked, volunteered or both. Of the total, ACCA will receive about $5,000 from Church World Service this year. Thanks to all who participated as walkers, volunteers, and donors.
October 19 is the tentative date for the fall 2013 CROP Walk.
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