Volunteer Fairfax Engages Community to Support Foster Children in Honor of MLK Weekend, Saturday, January 18, 2020
Fairfax, VA 1/9/2020– Approximately 500 volunteers will gather on Saturday, January 18, 2020 for the Volunteer Fairfax Annual Valentine’s Challenge. The Challenge this year is to make 6000 valentines for children in foster care and child protective services in Fairfax County and for youth in college who have recently aged out of foster care through Foster Care to Success.
Offering two shifts, Volunteer Fairfax will be accommodating 250 volunteers each, to allow many in the community to join us to support at risk youth desperately in need of support and encouragement. Volunteer slots are still available for volunteers to sign up from 9-12 a.m. and 1:30-4:30 p.m. at the City of Fairfax Volunteer Fire Department, Station 3 located at 4081 University Drive, Fairfax, VA 22030.
These hundreds of volunteers are comprised of youth, service clubs, local corporate employees, seniors, families, and Volunteers for Change members. Volunteer Fairfax is grateful for the support of the City of Fairfax Volunteer Fire Department, Station 3 for use of Williams Hall to hold this event; the Fairfax City Woman’s Club for donation of supplies, food and event volunteer support; the Virginia Service Foundation for a mini grant covering supplies for the event; as well as donations from Booz Allen Hamilton, Transurban and NOVEC.
The Valentines Challenge is dedicated to supporting the needs of Fairfax County’s Foster Care and Child Protective Services and to the mission of Foster Care to Success. Volunteer Fairfax is excited to provide encouragement to local youth in need of support and love. Each year, hundreds of children are placed in foster care or child protective services. This is frightening and unsettling for these children. Cards made by these volunteers will provide a gentle, nurturing message of support for these at risk children. Foster Care to Success provides Valentines Care Packages, nationally, to young adults who have aged out of the foster care system and are currently attending college or are in a training program. These care packages contain many special items including Valentines cards, cookies and a hand-knitted scarf.
Volunteers for Change (VFC) is a free membership program of Volunteer Fairfax, celebrating its 25th year! This program connects adult volunteers to needs in the community via flexible evening and weekend opportunities serving scores of nonprofits throughout Fairfax County and surrounding locations across Northern Virginia. Since its beginning, VFC has connected over 7,000 volunteer members to more than 14,000 service projects contributing approximately 115,000 hours of service to our community.
This event/project offers great visuals featuring meaningful ways in which the community supports those in need, especially as rates of mental health and suicide concerns increase among youth. For more information, visit www.volunteerfairfax.org and click on these opportunities in our community calendar or by using the hyperlinks embedded in the time slots listed above.
About Volunteer Fairfax
For more than 40 years, Volunteer Fairfax has worked to build better a community through service throughout Fairfax and the Washington Capital Region. For more visit www.volunteerfairfax.org.