Faith Community Comes Together to Serve Neighbors on 4th Annual Day to Serve

FAIRFAX COUNTY, Va. (November 26, 2015) – Volunteers from a variety of faiths and organizations combined efforts Saturday, September 26, 2015, to participate in a number of service activities to benefit community members. These service efforts included soliciting donations for local food banks, distributing county emergency information, and holding a blood drive. All events were in honor of the fourth annual Day to Serve, a yearly service initiative that lasted this year from Sept. 11 to Oct. 10 in Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia and Washington, D.C.

Participating congregations and organizations included Ravensworth Baptist Church, St. Alban’s Episcopal Church, Annandale United Methodist Church, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS), John Calvin Presbyterian Church, Mount Pleasant Baptist Church, Prince of Peace Lutheran Church, St. Marks Lutheran Church, and the Rotary Club of Annandale. These groups collaborated to benefit food pantries administered by the Annandale Christian Community for Action (ACCA) in Annandale, VA, Our Daily Bread in Fairfax, VA, and Ecumenical Community Helping Others (ECHO) in Springfield, Virginia.

Feeding the Hungry

“We were filled with much joy to see many people buy a $5.00 bag of products that was going to benefit the local ACCA food pantry,” said Doug Mairena, site leader at the Landmark Shoppers Food Warehouse and a member of St. John’s Episcopal Church. “We believe that the Pope’s recent visit to the United States and his message of helping your fellow man was a reason for the success of the food drive at the Shoppers Food Warehouse in Alexandria, Virginia. Many participants who gave us their $5.00 paper bag said that they were happy in supporting their local community and specifically the ACCA food bank.”

Volunteers greeted shoppers at the entrances and exits of local grocery stores with flyers detailing the needs of the food bank for which they were soliciting donations. With a steady stream of newcomers to the Northern Virginia region and a challenging economy, local food pantries have depleted reserves of much needed commodities.

“Because I have been given so much it is easy for me to take some time out of my day and help those in need,” said Ryan Walker, a member of the Annandale, Virginia LDS Stake and a volunteer at the Shoppers Food Warehouse in Lorton.

Ben Walker, Ryan’s father who also volunteered at the Lorton Shoppers, enjoyed motivating others to serve their community.

“Inviting my neighbors to purchase a little extra while shopping for food to assist the poor in our area is an easy and convenient way to involve others in serving our community,” Walker said.

With collection sites at nearly a dozen local grocery stores, these community and faith-based organizations collected a total 8,250 pounds of food.

Promoting Emergency Preparedness

Volunteers from St. Marks Lutheran, Prince of Peace Lutheran and the LDS church delivered 2,039 bags containing Emergency Preparedness information from Fairfax County’s Office of Emergency Management, reaching an estimated 5,587 residents in the greater Springfield area.

“The enthusiasm of all the people participating was super,” said Ken Orton, site leader and member of the Annandale, Virginia LDS Stake. “At initial staging there were 98 excited volunteers just waiting to go out into the community. Service is something that always benefits those who serve others and this was no exception. The awareness of emergency preparedness is always needed; ...like accident avoidance, you never know you need it until the situation arises. It was fun!”

Replenishing a Precious Resource

Fifty volunteers aided INOVA Blood Donor Services as 45 units of blood were collected.

“We are grateful for the donors that presented on September 19,” said Heather Wade, INOVA Blood Donor Services. “In total, there were 40 donors that presented for donation and we were able to collect 44 units of blood products. The generosity of your donors helped save up to 132 lives in the Northern Virginia area. It’s because of groups like [these] that we are able to continue our mission of GIVE LOCAL, SAVE LOCAL.”