Volunteers for Change Celebrates 20th Anniversary

A good time was had by all! On a recent evening, at the Old Town Hall in Fairfax, a gathering of Volunteers for Change friends and family celebrated the 20th anniversary of VFC, a service program dedicated to flexible and fun volunteering.

The highlight of the evening was the presentation of the Presidential Volunteer Service Awards. This prestigious award is bestowed on volunteers who have served 100 hours or more in the calendar year. The honorees included Ann Brown, Christine Brooks, Denise Chen, Doris Crawford, Louise Howell, Carina May, Eve Montavon, Rachel Montavon, Genevieve Montavon, Peter Montavon, James Montavon, Kristin Ramkey, Donna Rupp, Tom Rupp, Sheila Sandford, Evy Sheehan, Somu Sundaramurthy, Lori Tagami and Andrew Tompros.

Volunteers for Change was founded in 1994, as The Change Gang by a handful of folks who had an idea to make volunteering accessible busy people. Most VFC service projects are scheduled for evening and weekend service. Over the past two decades, more than 5,350 volunteers have participated in VFC, contributing over 88,575 hours of service valued at nearly $2 million of volunteer power donated to the local nonprofit community.

Always dedicated to service, throughout the evening guests crafted small notes, Lunch Bag Notes, messages of encouragement, to be placed in lunch bags for children in need. Over 500 notes were created and donated to Food for Others, a Merrifield-based food pantry.

Jen Brown, Volunteers for Change program manager stated, “I am so grateful to everyone who made tonight possible. Our appreciation goes out to AT&T our presenting sponsor, to Whole Foods Old Town for their support, but mostly to the more than 5,000 VFC members--present and past--who have given so much, so selflessly, for the past 20 years. Here’s to another 20!”

Volunteers for Change welcomes new members. To get involved, visit www.volunteerfairfax.org and register to attend an upcoming orientation. Or, join us on October 25 for VolunteerFest, the local celebration of National Make A Difference Day. http://www.volunteerfairfax.org/individuals/volunteerfest.php