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Challenge Grant Campaign  

The annual ACCA Challenge Grant Campaign is in its final weeks. If you have not yet made a donation, we encourage you to consider donating by check or online by January 31. Our goal this year is to raise $129,000 in addition to the $43,000 contributed by the Washington Forrest Foundation and several anonymous donors.

To donate by check, write "Challenge Grant" in the memo line and mail your check to ACCA, 7200 Columbia Pike, Annandale, VA 22003. You can also donate online through the  ACCA website or the Catalogue for Philanthropy. Donations are tax deductible as allowed by law.  

ACCA is grateful to Fairfax County Supervisor Penny Gross for encouraging residents of Mason District to give to the Challenge Grant Campaign in her January 2015 newsletter.

Volunteers Needed  

The ACCA Food Pantry is in need of volunteers to serve as Food Captains to help with managing referrals for food assistance submitted to ACCA by Fairfax County social workers. We also need volunteer drivers to make deliveries to portions of Alexandria, Annandale and Baileys Crossroads.  

Please contact us at accarcares@verizon.net if you are interested and provide your name and contact information. A volunteer will be happy to brief you on the duties and time requirements. You can volunteer as often as your schedule permits.

Family Emergency Assistance   

ACCA provided emergency assistance totaling $34,400 to 68 households in December. Of these, 46 households included children and seven included a person aged 55 or older. Job loss frequently precipitates a request for emergency assistance. For example, one of the families served included a single mother with two children. After losing her job, the family became homeless. Fortunately, she found a new job and was able to move her family into an apartment, but she was still struggling to catch up financially. ACCA assisted the family with their utility bill.

In other cases, a work-related accident occurs, or pregnancy-complications affect a wage earner's ability to pay their family's rent, utilities or medical bills. On behalf of all who were served, thank you for your generosity in supporting ACCA.

First of Two Outerwear Clothing Drives   

Members of the Holy Spirit Youth Group sorting and bagging donated winter clothing on Dec. 14. Click the image to see more photos, including the coat distribution at Culmore on Dec. 15.

The largest collection of winter outerwear items came from the Youth Group at Holy Spirit Church. They collected and bagged 58 large bags of clothing. Youth Group Coordinator Kate Kelly said, "Thanks for giving these teens a chance to serve the local community. It was the perfect thing to do to help our kids get ready for Christmas." Other participating churches were St. Mark's Catholic in Vienna, Providence Presbyterian, St. Michael's Catholic, St. Anthony's Catholic, Holy Spirit Catholic, St. Alban's Episcopal, St Paul's Episcopal and Peace Lutheran.

Jerrianne Anthony, BCCS Deputy Director reported, "I was overwhelmed by the number of coats, sweaters and scarves donated to our clients. Clients had been requesting coats for the last two weeks and we had been pulling straws and begging to obtain winter attire." ACCA received similar comments from staff at the ACCA Child Development Center and the Legal Aid Justice Center who work with the day laborers.

Many thanks to all who made this possible! 

There will be a second collection of winter clothing Feb. 7 - 12. Items requested include jackets and coats, hooded sweat shirts, heavy sweaters, stocking type hats, gloves, and heavy scarves. Please, no dress coats or suits. Clothing can be left at the ACCA warehouse on Saturday morning Feb. 7 or ACCA churches can arrange for a pick up during Feb. 9 - 12. Contact the Di Sprito's at 703-256-9513 or email ddmld@verizon.net  and dondispirito@verizon.net. Collected items will be distributed on Friday morning, Feb.13.

The ACCA Child Development Center (CDC) is recruiting qualified teachers for several paid positions. Interested applicants should send their cover letter and resume to jobs@accacdc.org.   

The CDC provides affordable, high-quality early education and developmentally appropriate care for children ages 3 months to 5 years in a safe, healthy and diverse environment. 

Furniture Ministry 

Furniture Ministry volunteers made deliveries to 32 households and picked up donations from 28 households during December. Two deliveries were to apartments with hardly any furniture in them. Among the families served, 22 included children under 18, five included someone over age 55, and five had a handicapped person.

During the three weeks of operation we had 58 volunteers working with us, a tribute to their commitment during a cold and busy holiday season. Many thanks to all who helped!

Food Pantry   

Food Pantry volunteers made 104 deliveries in December, assisting 323 individuals, while also providing food for 26 Christmas baskets. This would not have been possible without the support of our member churches and the Annandale Lions who donated fresh oranges and grapefruit.

The pantry remains low in small bags of rice, dried black beans, cereal, jelly, canned fruit, cookies, and crackers.

Transportation provided 7 rides for 7 clients in December. Meals on Wheels served 21 clients, making 348 trips and delivering a total of 696 meals. We thank all our volunteer drivers for providing this valuable service.