Good Shepherd Alliance Hosts Old Tyme Country Fair in Leesburg

“How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God” (1 John 3:1).

Did you know that in 2010, there were 381 sheltered homeless people in Loudoun County? Of those, 169 are children. The Good Shepherd Alliance, a Christian nonprofit, strives to help those in our community who are affected by homelessness. Since our inception in 1983, we have housed over 4,200 people in our emergency and transitional facilities. Last year an additional 1,600 families benefited from our outreach and counseling services. 

The Good Shepherd Alliance (GSA) exists to support women, children and families with emergency, transitional and outreach services to aid them in gaining self sufficiency and self-worth. By the grace of God and through the generosity, care and concern from our community members, this past year we touched the lives of over 130 shelter residents, along with the assistance of 1,500 volunteers.

The GSA is once again hosting a fundraising activity and asking the community to support the Old Tyme Country Fair at the Loudoun County Fairgrounds. This event will feature live entertainment and a variety of attractions. Artists performing at the event include Mark Lippard, juggler extraordinaire; Wes Holly, illusionist; the Blue Ridge Thunder Cloggers; Felicia Kessel Crawley and the Voices of Worship Choir; Kaitlyn Maher of America’s Got Talent; and Bill Emerson and The Sweet Dixie Band.

Featured attractions at the Old Tyme Country Fair include live and silent auctions, an antique car show, various crafters, food vendors and exhibitors. In addition, there are activities for children including pony, camel, and donkey rides, petting zoo, hayride, cow milking and much more. This is a day to bring the entire family out for an afternoon of relaxation.

This outdoor event is open to all and takes place from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, June 4. The fairgrounds are located at 17558 Dry Mill Road in Leesburg. Advance tickets begin at $5 each or 5 for $20. At the gate, tickets are $7 per person. All profits received from this event benefit the homeless in Loudoun County.

For more information on the purchasing of tickets or sponsorship and involvement opportunities, contact GSA by  email at joygoodshepherd@verizon.net or phone at 703-724-1555. Or go to the Country Fair Web site: http://loudounhomeless.org.

About the GSA:

When Good Shepherd Alliance (GSA) first began receiving homeless people in a Sterling pastor’s home over 27 years ago, meeting their basic emergency needs was about all we could do for them. However, with so much support from our community, the GSA has now grown to such an extent that we are able to provide guests with much more than just shelter, food and clothing.

Every person or family served by GSA has access to the following services: crisis intervention referrals, spiritual guidance, financial responsibility classes, life-skills and parenting education, work-training referrals and case management and counseling. The broad array of services and support GSA offers all aim to achieve one common goal: sustained self-sufficiency. The GSA strategy for guaranteeing this is dual: (1) transition guests back into the mainstream workforce/classroom, while simultaneously (2) making the most of the time they spend in the shelter by training, counseling and otherwise preparing them for independence in order to drastically reduce their chance of relapse into a previous undesirable type of behavior.

GSA maintains offices in Ashburn, a shelter for homeless pregnant women in Purcellville, two shelters for women and children and for single women in Lucketts and four thrifts stores located in Ashburn, Sterling and Leesburg.