Help the Homeless Mini-walk

Kids R First Project

Food Drive

Relay for Life

PAST GIVING CIRCLE OF HOPE PROJECTS AND EVENTS

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The Lake Anne Rose Gallery provided a lovely venue for our 2006 Grantee Celebration on January 20. Many thanks to Mary Jane Nichols for providing beautiful piano music! Twelve of our grantee organizations were in attendance and members enjoyed learning more about the programs our grants funded.

Members collected supplies for servicemen and women overseas at the Hunters Woods Safeway on November 11. Over $3000 worth of needed items and $400 in cash (for shipping) was donated by generous shoppers. Additionally, members signed 200+ holiday greeting cards and joined other volunteers on January 13th for a Project We Care Packing Day at the James Lee Community Center. 

Thanks again to all who participated in this year's Help the Homeless Mini-walk on Sept. 25 to benefit Reston Interfaith. Thanks also to Comstock Homes for their generous donation and to the South Lakes High School cheerleaders for providing entertainment and companionship for the children at Laurel Learning Center.

Our Benefit Dinner for Healthy Families Fairfax on September 15 was a big success. Thanks to the culinary skills, enthusiasm, and involvement of the Knights of Columbus, much needed funds were raised for the Positive Parenting Program.

Members were busy this spring and summer with Becky Shaler Community Spirit Day and a Glories Happy Hats sew-a-thon, renovating a home with Rebuilding Together, organizing a food drive, helping with Kids R First's Back-to-School Project, as well as our ongoing service projects. Our Flashes of Hope chapter was launched in March at Inova Fairfax Hospital.

Our annual Wine & Dessert Celebration to recognize grantees was held on November 18 at the Greater Reston Chamber of Commerce. Everyone was impressed by the diverse organizations represented and the good work they are all doing to help needy people in Northern Virginia. State Delegate Ken Plum attended and presented the Giving Circle of HOPE with a copy of the Virginia Congressional Commendation!

The Benefit Yard Sale, held on October 8, raised almost $2500 for a local family's medical bills. Thanks to all who donated, shopped, or worked at the sale.

Comstock Homes and the Giving Circle of HOPE sponsored a Help the Homeless Mini-walk on Sept. 17 to benefit Reston Interfaith. Our members, along with South Lakes HS cheerleaders and IB students, escorted children from the Laurel Learning Center.

Our Kids' Club volunteers organized two field trips this summer for shelter families. Both Frying Pan Park and the International Children's Festival were big hits!

Several teams of members assisted Kids R First with their Back-to-School Project in August.

Everyone had a great time at our Volunteer Recognition Garden Party in June. We were honored to have Hunter Mill Supervisor Cathy Hudgins attend and present us with the Fairfax County Volunteer Service Award.

Thanks to the many members and husbands who participated in Christmas in April/Rebuilding Together on April 30. Despite the rainy weather, the yard was thoroughly cleaned and shrubs were pruned. The inside crew painted several rooms, installed a new bannister and floor tiles, and repaired necessary items.  The Circle's "landscaping crew" also spruced up the Shaler yard on April 16. 

Circle members helped with the Night Light fundraiser hosted by the Knights of Columbus at St. John Neumann Catholic Church on April 22. Over $2700 was raised for the program founded by a Circle member in Bangkok to help young women leave prostitution.

Volunteers at Cameron Glen hosted two wonderful parties recently. The St. Patrick's Day party featured green derby hats and shamrock pins for all the residents, Irish music, crafts, green Jello, and creative decorations. The Easter/Spring party was equally festive. Tucker Bailey, our canine volunteer, looked adorable in his bunny ears!

The Lord & Taylor Benefit Bash raised $440 from ticket sales for the Giving Circle of HOPE! We will receive an additional percentage of "door sales" in a few weeks. Thanks to all who purchased tickets and participated in this benefit shopping day. Judging by the number of customers present in the store, it was a very successful event for Lord & Taylor, too!

Over 60 members, friends, and students participated in our Happy Hats service project on February 26. Following a short video and talk by Happy Hats founders, Susan and Ali Khorsand, volunteers assembled, sewed, and decorated soft jester-style hats for critically ill children at Inova Fairfax Hospital. The workshop was a huge success and a project we are sure to repeat again! Portions of the workshop were aired on the CBS Early Show on March 10.

Hundreds of items were donated to our Toiletry Drive for residents of four shelters and were delivered in early March. Because of the dire need, we will continue collections throughout the year. Many coats were also donated to Supervisor Cathy Hudgins' Winter Coat Drive. Thanks to all for your generosity.

The Giving Circle hosted a holiday party on December 9 at Cameron Glen Nursing Center. We sang carols and served refreshments while socializing with residents. A tree was decorated with ornaments made by residents and volunteers during Arts & Crafts sessions during November. Gifts for 240 residents were delivered to Cameron Glen; they were distributed on Christmas Day.

Shoppers at the Alternative Gift Market, held at the Unitarian Universalist Church in Reston on November 20, were able to purchase gift baskets for elderly residents of Cameron Glen and spice packets, sachets, and hand-painted ornaments to support the Giving Circle.

A good time was had by all who attended the Wine & Dessert Celebration on November 19. We were pleased to recognize our 2004 Grant Recipients! In attendance were Monika Taylor from FACETS, Elizabeth Glennon from FISH, Judy Hines from Friends of Loudoun County Mental Health, Harlon Reece from the Herndon Free Clinic, and Marjorie Hughes from the Marjorie F. Hughes Fund for Children.

Circle members collected baby items, including diapers, wipes, baby food, and juice at the Fairfax Towne Center Safeway on October 30 for the clients of FACETS, an organization serving the homeless and low-income population of Fairfax County. We delivered four vanloads of items (an estimated $2500 worth) to the FACETS office, much to the delight of their staff. For more information about FACETS, visit www.facetscares.org. 

A yard sale, held on October 23, raised $1427 for a local family to help with medical bills. Thanks to all who donated and worked at the event, especially Joan and Patty!

Members and friends in the community participated in a mini-walk with children from the Laurel Learning Center on September 21. This event was part of the Help the Homeless national campaign, sponsored by the Fannie Mae Foundation, and benefited Reston Interfaith. A $3000 grant from Comstock Homes covered registration fees for all the children. Cheerleaders from South Lakes High School performed for the children and accompanied them on the Walk.

Fifteen Circle members worked all afternoon on August 12, filling orders of school supplies for underprivileged kids. Kids R First, a local nonprofit, 
provides nearly 11,000 children with supplies by securing donations from corporations and vendors and raising additional funds. They transformed the 
cafeteria at Hughes Middle School into a warehouse of quality products and efficient assembly facility. 

Circle members collected seven truckloads of non-perishable products at the Food Drive for Reston Interfaith on July 17 (an estimated value of $5000!). Thanks to the generosity of shoppers at the Hunters Woods Safeway and North Point Giant, we were able to restock the shelves of the food pantry and provide diapers and baby supplies for many needy families.

This year's Reston Relay for Life on May 15-16 raised nearly $400,000 to help fight cancer. Following the Opening Ceremony and Survivor Lap early in the afternoon, members of our team walked until 3:30 AM when another line of strong thunderstorms came through. In between laps, we relaxed at our campsite and exchanged stories, laughs and snacks. Over 800 luminaries were sold in memory of or in honor of individuals with cancer and were lit around the track Saturday evening.

Our Christmas in April team worked hard on Saturday, April 24, to repair and refurbish a home identified by Rebuilding Together by painting, installing new electrical fixtures, doing yard work, and other tasks. This organization serves over 955 cities across the country by organizing volunteer teams to improve the homes of needy people. To learn more, visit www.rebuildingtogether.org.

Over 70 members and guests enjoyed the Spring Wine and Cheese Reception held on April 16. Many thanks to our event sponsor, the Kirvan Group/Merrill Lynch of Washington, D.C., and to Giant Food, Sutton Place Gourmet, Trader Joe’s, Safeway, and Whole Foods for their generous donations of food and beverages. In keeping with our "fun with a purpose" motto, over $1400 in donations were collected for a local disabled woman and her family to help pay for medical and utility bills.

Several truckloads of furniture and household goods were donated by Circle members to the Community Yard Sale organized by Lord of Life Lutheran Church. Proceeds of the sale benefited FACETS (meals and other programs for the homeless), NOVACO (transitional housing for victims of domestic violence), HABITAT FOR HUMANITY OF NORTHERN VIRGINIA (affordable housing), and LSS (AIDS Children’s Summer Camp)

On March 21, Circle members spruced up the yard and garden of a local cancer patient (and beloved teacher) by raking, weeding, planting, and mulching. The Garden Project’s results were beautiful and greatly appreciated.

Winter coats were collected and donated to Cathy Hudgins’ Coat Drive in January and February.

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