Alexandria Visitors Association Launches Corporate Service Program

The Alexandria Convention and Visitors Association has introduced a community service program in partnership with a local nonprofit to offer corporate groups the opportunity to include service projects and events along with their business meetings and entertainment activities.

The Alexandria Cares initiative jumps on the increase in corporate social responsibility initiatives by firms around the country seeking to operate in a way that accounts for their social and environmental impact.

“Corporate community service projects are in high demand in our business,” said ACVA Vice President of Sales Lorraine Lloyd in a statement. “We have wanted to offer this service for a long time, and are thrilled to include this as part of a visiting organization’s agenda. It’s a win-win for the Alexandria community to benefit as meeting attendees get an even richer experience from their visit.”

ACVA created Alexandria Cares in collaboration with Get Out and Give Back, a matchmaking service pairing businesses with philanthropic opportunities.

The program includes service project options ranging from bowling parties with nonprofit clients, holiday service events and customized project requests made by a business group.

Alexandria Cares was kicked off at ACVA’s Bows, Baskets & Bikes service event earlier this month at Christ Church. Event and meeting planners from around the D.C. metropolitan region were invited to help build bicycles for needy families through Christ Church’s holiday initiative, the Christ Child Project. The project includes a Christmas market for low-income families to purchase quality gifts at a fraction of retail value. Any bikes that are left after the market were donated to the City of Alexandria’s Department of Community and Human Services.

Corporations are charged a fee for the service event, but the money returns to the Alexandria community. “All post-expense proceeds that Get Out and Give Back receives from an ACVA-referred corporate service event will go into a donor-advised fund that we set up through our community foundation, ACT for Alexandria,” Get Out Give Back founder Jane Hess Collins said. “It’s my dream to give back by helping others give back.”