Family Volunteer Day: Give Together

Media Contact:

Jessica Hubbard        

703-246-3470

jhubbard@volunteerfairfax.org

For Immediate Release

Give Together: A Family Volunteer Day

Fairfax County, VA – MLK Day of Service is a nationally recognized event that draws on the good will that Martin Luther King, Jr. demonstrated during his lifetime. The event calls on Americans to partake in service projects that benefit neighborhoods and communities across the country—mobilizing youth in this service movement. Volunteer Fairfax did just that by hosting its fourth annual Give Together: A Family Volunteer Day on Jan. 21 at three Fairfax County locations. One thousand residents of Fairfax County and Northern Virginia joined us for this day of service.

Give Together took place at 3 locations in Northern Virginia: Herndon Senior Center, Jewish Community Center of Northern Virginia, and Workhouse Arts Center.  Each location had 3 to 4 nonprofits all with different projects, including:

• Decorating tote bags and creating cards to give to hospital patients, homeless shelters, and foster care children for the Sunshine Foundation
• Crafting beaded bracelets of hope for children in the hospital with the Jewish Community Center of Northern Virginia
• Making cards for the troops with A Million Thanks
• Tying winter scarves for the homeless for FACETS
• Making dog chew toys and Catnip balls for animals in the animal shelters with 4H
• Assembling toiletry kits for homeless shelters and transitional housing with INOVA Health System
• Making homemade Valentine’s Day cards to be distributed to nursing home patients with The Holiday Project
• Creating Breast Cancer Ribbons from comfort towels to provide to breast cancer patients in hospitals with The IIIB’s Foundation

Give Together is geared towards families with elementary-aged children. Families enjoy working together to help give back to the community, while providing an experience that can teach younger children about volunteerism.  “Volunteer Fairfax was excited to host the 4^th Annual Give Together: A Family Volunteer Day,” says Jeanne Sanders, Executive Director of Volunteer Fairfax. “This day provides an opportunity for families to volunteer together, which is so important in creating life-long habits of service. The impact this day has on our community is huge, and we express our thanks to those who will be spending the day with us.”

The agencies that participated in this year’s Give Together include: FACETS, Jewish Community Center, Sunshine Mail Foundation, A Million Thanks, Fairfax 4-H, INOVA, and The IIIB’s Foundation.

Volunteer Fairfax is supported by the following premier sponsors:
Exxon Mobil Corporation and Northrop Grumman Corporation.

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