S.O.M.E.'s Annual Shoebox Gift Drive
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Rachael Kitchens has her hands full with newly-wrapped gifts.
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Organized by the So Others Might Eat (S.O.M.E.) program, DAI team members took part in its annual Shoebox Gift Drive, which provides clothing and toiletries to Washington D.C.'s poor and homeless.
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Ashley McMillen shows off her wrapping skills.
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Each box contains items such as a hat, scarf, gloves, shampoo, lotion and toothbrushes. DAI team members purchased the items and held a gift-wrapping! To learn more about this great program, visit www.some.org.
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Toys for Tots
An impressive amount of toys has been building up under our tree for the U.S. Marine Corps Toys for Tots program! This is our ninth year collecting donations for this wonderful program that benefits less fortunate children nationwide, bringing the joy of the season to many.
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DAI
1199 N Fairfax Street
Suite 800
Alexandria, VA 22314
T 703.838.0093
F 703.838.0094
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President's Corner
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Dr. Sherilyne Dougherty
President & CEO
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Welcome to the December edition of the Advisor, dedicated to the holidays! We wish you a very happy, healthy and safe holiday season! We launched a holiday website this year as an electronic version of our annual greeting card. Our employees have participated in numerous holiday-related community events in support of those in need. We hosted our annual holiday potluck luncheon, which this year featured a hilarious "awkward" photo contest. We also polled our employees to share some holiday traditions and samples of some of those responses are included below.Thank you for supporting the DAI Advisor and remember, past editions can always be accessed on our archive page.
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DAI Launches Holiday Website
As DAI has continued to pursue environmentally-friendly green initiatives, we decided that our annual holiday greeting would be electronic this year. The original idea of an e-card continued to grow, and evolved into a full-blown holiday site, complete with a video greeting, a letter from Sheri our CEO, holiday recipes and updates on our holiday-related work in the local community. The site even has its own domain name! So please, visit www.daiholiday.com and enjoy. While you're there, please "Like" the site for Facebook and share it with others!
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Awkward Photo Contest a Hit at Annual Potluck
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Employees take their guesses at the Awkward Photo Contest.
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Giant glasses, puffy hair, disastrous outfits: no one is immune to embarrassment from those painful growing up years. Family albums are filled with interesting photographs from holidays past. The cute baby grows into an adolescent desperate to look cool, then an adult who cringes at how very uncool he or she was. In the spirit of celebrating the awkward kid in all of us, DAI employees gamely shared their less than flattering childhood photos of yesteryear. A contest at this year's holiday potluck luncheon to match colleagues' names to their (much) younger selves made for serious competition: Who is the sullen tween with a penchant for grunge? The smiley kid in the Bill Cosby sweater? The blonde tot wearing a bucket as a hat? Though from different backgrounds and experiences, the goofy photos were a reminder that we all made it through our early years relatively unscathed but duly unfashionable.
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DAI Employee Holiday Traditions
We asked DAI team members to share their favorite holiday traditions. Happy reading!
Tahirah Finley-Pringle, Learning Solutions Consultant: My favorite holiday tradition is Christmas morning pancake breakfast. My grandmother always cooks pancakes for the entire family after the gifts are opened.
Moe Amara, Systems Administrator: My sisters and I gather around my mom at the dinner table and reminisce about growing up. Nothing makes me feel more like a close family than our times together during the holidays.
Tracy Schoenleber, Program Manager: Instead of exchanging gifts, our family buys dog beds, blankets, toys and treats and delivers everything to the local animal shelter on Christmas Eve. I prefer giving up a gift if I know a dog has a comfortable bed to sleep in or a new toy to play with.
Brandon Edmonds, Communications Consultant: My favorite holiday tradition is going to the movies on Christmas day. There's always an Oscar contender in theaters during the holidays, and it's the best way to relax after stuffing yourself at Christmas dinner!
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Scottish Christmas Walk
Again this year DAI team members volunteered at the Campagna Center's 42nd annual Scottish Christmas Walk Weekend. This classic Old Town Alexandria event features a huge parade, a marketplace sale, musical concerts, tastings, home tours and more. Proceeds benefit the Campagna Center's work with area children. Learn more at campagnacenter.org.
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Mark Harvey (left) serves as docent for the Old Town homes tour. Dawn Jakutowicz works the gingerbread house decorating event.
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To find out how DAI can help you with your communications, human capital, learning or conference management needs, contact Sharon Sollom, Director, Corporate Relations, or Nicole Alley, Business Development Manager.
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