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Volunteer Opportunities in Alexandria

Looking for ways to give back? Here is a list of opportunities from Volunteer Alexandria.

 

Volunteer Alexandria has compiled the following Hotlist of local volunteer opportunities. Please contact the agency directly if you are interested in the opportunity and reference Volunteer Alexandria.

Volunteer Alexandria   Community Service Day Site Coordinators
123 N. Alfred Street, Alexandria, VA 22314

Website:  volunteeralexandria.org

Community Service Day involves hundreds of volunteers who will join together on Friday, May 3 to volunteer at dozens of nonprofit agencies throughout the city.  Site coordinators are needed to assist with project development between now and May 3 and overseeing 3-5 sites on the date of the event. 

Contact:  mail@volunteeralexandria.org.

Volunteer Alexandria   Community Service Day Volunteer Photographers

123 N. Alfred Street, Alexandria, VA 22314

Website:  volunteeralexandria.org.  Volunteer photographers are needed on Friday, May 3, 2013 from 10 am to 2 pm to photograph teams working at Community Service Day project sites and at the Market Square celebration from 2 pm to 4 pm.  Contact:  mail@volunteeralexandria.org.

Alexandria Childhood Obesity Action Network  —  Garden Volunteers

Ruby Tucker Family Center, 322 Tancil Court, Alexandria, VA 22314

Website:  healthieralexandria.org

 Volunteers needed to work with  youth ages 5-9  years old in the “I Can Shine” vegetable garden every Tuesday between now and October 15, 2013.

Contact: Alice Reid, reida64@aol.com

ALIVE!  —  Last Saturday Food Distribution Volunteers

Website:  alive-inc.org

Volunteers are needed March 30 from 8:30 am - Noon to help bag and distribute nonperishable food and fresh produce to low-income families at one of three locations in Alexandria: Cora Kelly Recreational Center, 25 West Reed Avenue; Ladrey Senior Residence, 300 Wythe Street; and Church of the Resurrection, 2280 N. Beauregard.

Contact: volunteers@alive-inc.org  or call 703.683.4634. 

Leukemia & Lymphoma Society  — “Light The Night” Event Planning Volunteers

Website:  lightthenight.org

Volunteers are needed to lead committees for sponsorship, logistics, planning, fundraising, and office help as well as with events.

Contact: Emily Seeger, 703.399.2924, email Emily.Seeger@lls.org.

Literacy Council of Northern Virginia  —  Basic Literacy Tutors

Website:  lcnv.org.

Volunteers are needed to tutor English-speaking adults seeking to improve their reading and writing skills. Each tutor is trained, matched with a student, and encouraged to meet weekly for an hour and a half to help the student improve their reading and writing skills. Tutors have the flexibility of setting their own schedules with their student to meet at any mutually convenient public location in Alexandria.

Contact: Ruba, Director of Volunteers at 703.237.0866 x111. Complete the volunteer application online at lcnv.org/volunteer.

Miracle League of Alexandria  —  Baseball Buddies

Lee Center, 1108 Jefferson St. Alexandria, 22314

Website:  miracleleagueofalexandria.com.

Individual and group volunteers are needed to become buddies for the 2013 season and share the fun with special-needs players.

Contact: Mac Slover at 703.746.5402 or email mac.slover@alexandriava.gov or Bill Rivers at 703.683.6526 or email rivers15@comcast.net 

SOHO (Space Of Her Own)  —  Volunteer Mentor Orientation Sessions

The Art League Madison Annex, 901 N. Fairfax Street, Alexandria VA 22314 

Website: www.spaceofherown.org. SOHO is an art-based mentoring program that allows local low-income pre-teen girls to attend artistic and life skills workshops with mentors, culminating with renovation of the girl’s  bedroom.  Orientations will be held March 23 from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., Monday, April 8 from 5:30-7:30 p.m. and Tuesday, April 23 from 5:30-7:30 p.m. The sessions will provide details about SOHO, the mentor commitment and the application process. Register online: http://soho2013.eventbrite.com

Contact: Email questions to SOHO@spaceofherown.org.

Stop Child Abuse Now (SCAN)  —  Parenting Class Volunteers

1705 Fern Street, 2nd Floor, Alexandria, VA 22302

Website:  scanva.org. Fluent Spanish speaking volunteers needed to “team teach” parenting classes Thursday evenings from 6:00 pm-9:00 pm for 8 weeks, starting  April 11 to May 30, 2013. Training is provided.

Contact: Complete application at scanva.org/volunteerwithscan and email it to spoyta@scanva.org.

T.C. Williams International Network    In Classroom Tutors

3330 King Street, Alexandria, Virginia 22302.  Volunteers are needed to assist students/language learners during their classes on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays to become proficient in English with the subject matter. Shifts are available between 8:35 am and 3:15 pm. 21 and older. Background check will be conducted by the school.

Contact: Lisa Haskins, lisahaskings@gmail.com and lisa.haskins@acps.k12.va.us.  

Virginia Cooperative Extension  —  Master Financial Education Volunteer (MFEV) Training

Fairlington Community Center, 3308 S. Stafford Street, Arlington, VA 22206 (Training in Arlington, but our programs occur in Alexandria and Arlington) 

Website: offices.ext.vt.edu/arlington.  Volunteers receive comprehensive training to become a MFEV. Volunteers may provide financial counseling, teach money management classes, or assist with various other financial literacy programs.  Training will be held Saturdays, April 20 & 27 (must attend both days) from 10:00-4:00.  Applications due April 1.  

Wendy Peichel at 703.228.6421 or email wpeichel@vt.edu.

Virginia Insurance Counseling and Assistance Program   Medicare Counselors

City of Alexandria Department of Community and Human Services is looking for volunteers to help Alexandria and Arlington Medicare recipients and caregivers understand and access insurance benefits. Work with clients as a Counselor or help with community outreach and awareness. No experience required – training is provided.

Contact:  VICAP counselor on duty, 702.228.1700 or contact Cedar Dvorkin, 703.228.1700 or email Cdvorin@arlingtonva.us.

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UPCOMING EVENTS NEEDING VOLUNTEERS

May 3, 2013  —  Volunteer Alexandria Community Service Day Volunteers

123 N. Alfred Street, Alexandria, VA 22314 Website:  volunteeralexandria.org.  Ready to volunteer for Volunteer Alexandria’s 6th Annual Community Service Day?  Register online at   http://volalexcommunityserviceday2013.kintera.org to assist city and nonprofit agencies throughout Alexandria from 10 am to 2 pm.

May 4, 2013  —  Islamic Relief USA — Walk for Water  50 Volunteers

3655 Wheeler Avenue, Alexandria, VA 22304 Website:  irusa.org.  Volunteers are needed for setup, breakdown, registration, water stations and many other opportunities. Training is provided. Contact:  Ms. Zebiba Mohammed 703.370.7202, email zjmohammed@irusa.org and add WALK in subject line. Link for the walk: facebook.com/events/488712287832344/

May 18, 2013  —  SCAN Croquet Tournament   70 Volunteers

Virginia Theological Seminary, Alexandria, VA Website:  scanva.org.  Volunteers are needed to help with food and concession stands, spin art, pinwheel making and other small games and activities from 11:45 am to 5:30 pm. Contact Karen Price 703.820.9001, email kprice@scanva.org. 

July 4, 2013  —  Independence Day Parade 300 Parade Volunteers

Volunteers needed to carry large helium balloons, flags, and stars in the July 4th parade in Washington, DC. Teenagers 14 and older welcome.  Contact: Amy Walp, 610.431.1121, email awalp6@aol.com.

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Note Article
Just a short thought to get the word out quickly about anything in your neighborhood.
Share something with your neighbors. Write a new post... What's up? Make an announcement, speak your mind, or sell something
D @ D C. June 19, 2013 at 09:29 am
Doug, Thank you!! Watching our neighborhood and speaking up helps us all. If we ignore the kidsRead More they will think we don't care and bring more trouble to our area. The only way to keep our community safe is by us all posting like Doug.
Kara Fast June 19, 2013 at 05:15 pm
Broken flower pots on 300 Block of Princess street night of 17 June too. This type of activity isRead More picking up in our neighborhood too.
Edgar Warfield June 19, 2013 at 07:09 pm
Yes, thanks Doug. Question is what will the police do about it -- likely not very much,Read More unfortunately.
Learn how to research your family history!
Drew Hansen (Editor) June 19, 2013 at 06:00 am
Where is this even being held?
Drew Hansen (Editor) June 19, 2013 at 12:36 pm
Looks like it's at the Athenaeum: http://www.nvfaa.org/events/starting-genealogy-lisa-stansbury
Bea Porter May 22, 2013 at 02:38 pm
Very well said. A new building will not bring up the test scores, and its not the fault of theRead More parents. Dr. Sherman changes staff so frequently it makes sense that the scores are not improving. Jefferson-Houston needs to have consistency in staff, and not the turnovers that it has had in the last several years. These students can achieve, they can do well, but they need to have consistent structure, and teachers that are willing to teach them in the manner they can learn best. Take these 350 students and reintegrate them into other schools that are achieving, then see them rise as the stars they are. Stop keeping them segregated, stop the under achievement. Stop this new building.
Lee Hernly May 22, 2013 at 03:21 pm
While I agree with the commenters and the writer on their comments, I do suggest that, if you haveRead More not done so already, do take a tour of the school to see the changes taking place. It's hard to see how the kids can learn anything there at the school given the current open classroom environment. Having lived here all my life, I seem to recall as well that at one point in time, Lyles Crouch was in a similar situation like Jefferson Houston currently is. Lyles Crouch has turned itself around so who's to say that Jefferson Houston won't? Dr. Sherman though, needs to go.
Foo Bar May 25, 2013 at 04:33 pm
As I remember, Lyles-Crouch did not bootstrap itself but got help from Herb Berg, the superintendentRead More before Rebecca Parry. In the '99 redistricting he rezoned Lyles-Crouch's attendance area so that a number of disadvantaged kids who formerly went there now go to Jefferson-Houston.
Jon Rosenbaum May 23, 2013 at 03:10 pm
I find myself agreeing with the writer for once. This is a quality of life and security issue.Read More Actually 60 lights were out a few months ago from the river to the Metro station. TE&S does a survey only once a year. Otherwise its Director says it is up to citizens to report lights that are out. I report light outages on my block, but it is unreasonable to expect citizens to report each light number out on a commercial street. Then there is the issue of repair time. Last fall it took three months to repair a damaged light in the 100 block of N. Saint Asaph Street.
Defy Libtards May 23, 2013 at 03:49 pm
The city is sooooooooooooo boring. Why can't we just continue with the Hippie v. ConservativeRead More bashing; it's been too long since somebody has called me a (racist) because I like small government.
Scot May 23, 2013 at 03:57 pm
Not enough anger in this op ed, please revise. Clap*Clap*Clap Also, why is everyone typing when weRead More could all be out robbing banks? Apparently it is the new cool "thing" in Alexandria.
Sherry Henderson April 30, 2013 at 02:43 pm
Gail, I would say that past elected officials have been very much to blame for the problems with theRead More Alexandria City Public School system, especially the old regime who mismanaged the administration of those schools for the past few years. One can say that they most certainly weren't 'the brightest bulbs in the box'. But the honeymoon is over for the current Alexandria School Board and the Alexandria City Council to grab the bull by the horns and work to solidly fix Alexandria City Public Schools. I understand that a very small percentage of families in Alexandria have children, as the city is geared to newlyweds or people who either don't want or can't afford to have children. Many people move out of Alexandria by the time their children reach the age to go to school because of the low scores that Alexandria City Public Schools have in comparison to great schools in both neighboring Fairfax and Arlington Counties. Getting back to your comment that there are 'entrenched administrators', they need to be publicly outed for their incompetence and sent packing. It amazes me how many elected officials boast how great it is to live in the City of Alexandria, yet they have a glaring problem with Alexandria City Public Schools and are seemingly incompetent to fix them. This isn't a political issue, but as a Democrat, I'm very embarrassed by, as I've noted, the 'good ole boy' and 'good ole girl', wink-wink, back-scratching politics that go on in Alexandria City Hall. Disgusting.
Gail April 30, 2013 at 03:31 pm
We have an almost entirely brand new school board. They were stuck with a big mess. They were onlyRead More installed four months ago. Give them some time. This won't be easy. They are hampered by budget issues right now, existing contracts, etc. These new comers are NOT part of the "ole boy/girl" network. Karen Graaf, Patricia Hennig and Bill Campbell are NOT the "old network" at all. Kelly Carmichael Booz and Chris Lewis were politically active in the city but they are also most definitely NOT part of the "old" network. Marc Williams is the leftover from those days and for reasons I don't understand, he is very popular with parents in the George Mason district where he lives. Sherman has been a disaster, but the fact is that his hiring was actually spearheaded by former school board chair Yvonne Folkerts, who is a Republican. The Dems did not create that particular monster but we were somewhat responsible for allowing the monster to eat the city. I've been screaming for his firing since 2008 and there is a nice bottle of champagne chilling in my fridge for the day he gets his walking papers.
Sherry Henderson April 30, 2013 at 04:25 pm
The Alexandria City Council, except for our great Vice Mayor, Allison Silberberg, is definitely allRead More run by the very entrenched 'good ole boy' and 'good old girl' network that has completely strangled Alexandria politics for years. Many Democrats that I know are completely turned off by our local elected officials, who, despite their good intentions, continuously embarrass us by their votes and misconstrued thoughts that they're doing something right for the future of our city. Alexandria is the true 'banana republic' of D.C. area politics, because those who, uhm, 'govern' us have a "see no evil, hear no evil, and speak no evil" mantra to themselves, especially Justin Wilson, who loves to overly pontificate as he drones on until he foams at the mouth during his lengthy dissertations that are as mindless as he is. And Justin, and the rest of the politburo that we have seated at Alexandria City Hall are hell bent to run the city any way they like. As a Democrat, I know that we can sure do better than what we've got in office now, and there are a ton of great forward-thinking progressives who would be much better than the stooges who are in Alexandria City Hall now, but the 'political elite' throws up obstacles to keep themselves in power. That in itself is very shameful, but since the City of Alexandria is so 'provincial' in its 'my way or the highway' governance, we're always doomed to inefficiency in comparison to Fairfax and Arlington Counties. We definitely deserve better.
Dan Sehnal April 24, 2013 at 06:34 pm
46 pounds per household sounds like a lot per household. It would be interesting to know where theRead More number came from and how it was computed. Although anecdotal, a quick inspection of the 26 homes on our street in old town, I would guess we are talking about 10-15 pounds per household. That's a big differential. Is business and/or industrial waste included in that number? If so, I can better understand. Thanks, D. Sehnal Quay St.
Michael Clem April 25, 2013 at 02:30 pm
The 46 pounds per household is somewhat inflated because it includes weight from Alexandria'sRead More schools and City government buildings. But the number is not that far off. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates that an average household generates 1.2 tons of trash a year. That's about 46 lbs. a week. People who recycle all that they can and do not have much yard waste will generate much less. You must be one of those households. Great job!
Nate McKenzie April 30, 2013 at 05:45 pm
Michael, What is your opinion of municipal composting programs? Would a municipal compostingRead More program make sense in Alexandria (not sure of benefits when we are already incinerating)? Can municipal composting be cost effective for us? Thanks, Nate