We proudly report that members of 100 Women Who Care Northern Virginia have contributed nearly $250,000 to local nonprofits since 2012! We welcome and encourage you to become a member so we can further our mission of making the greatest impact on the Northern Virginia community.
2024
At our fourth quarter meeting in November, members unanimously agreed to support Restoration Immigration Legal Aid (RILA). The Arlington charity provides pro bono immigration legal assistance to the most vulnerable immigrants, focusing on asylum-seekers and immigrant children who have experienced trauma and lost. These immigrants are in danger of being returned to their country where they are likely to suffer harm or death. RILA clients have few financial resources; the majority have incomes at or below 150% of the Federal Poverty Level. Our gift will support RILA general operating costs involved in the multi-year process of securing asylum status for these immigrants.
Members chose as the third recipient of the year The Child and Family Network Centers. The Centers provide high-quality preschool education and family support services to Alexandria families with incomes up to 250% of the federal poverty level. Programs are located in three neighborhoods, easily accessible to families that need them. Members’ gifts will fund the a first outdoor classroom for children ages 3 and 4 to give them greater access nature’s many lessons.
Members, from left, Charlene Crowley and Renee Boyle, presented the $6,300 donation for the outdoor classroom to Barbara McLaughlin, executive director.
Alexandria Tutoring Consortium
Members selected Alexandria Tutoring Consortium (ATC) and its Book Buddies program for funding at our May meeting as our second gift of the year. ATC helps academically at-risk students learn to read. The 27-year-old program recruits and train community members then matches them with kindergarten – 2nd graders in 14 Alexandria’s Public Schools who are struggling readers. Book Buddies staff of former classroom teachers train the volunteers, provide weekly lessons for tutors and students, and supervise sessions, which are held at schools during the school year.
Our gift will be used to purchase books for the children to take home and keep. Usually books are given in May to celebrate a year of hard work learning to read, and help prevent “summer slide,” which strikes many students who have little summer enrichment. Our gift will enable ATC to given each child a book at the beginning of the school year to encourage their love of books. ATC currently tutored 255 children in the 2023-24 school year and hopes to expand to 275 in the upcoming 2024-25 school year.
Culmore Clinic is a nonprofit healthcare center serving adult residents of Fairfax County who cannot access to health insurance, and whose income is no more than 300% of the federal poverty threshold. Members chose the clinic to help many patients/immigrants living in the Bailey’s Crossroads/Seven Corners corridor in Falls Church. As a primary care clinic, healthcare providers diagnose, treat, and monitor many common health conditions at no cost to our patients. Culmore Clinic offers onsite medical care, mental health counseling, women’s health screening, laboratory services vision exams, medication management and health education. Culmore Clinic will use our donation for its Medical Specialty Referrals program to enable patients to access specialists when their health conditions require further care.
Lost Dog and Cat Rescue Foundation (LDCRF) will use our final donation of the year to renovate the dog play yard that serves the rescue care center’s estimated 1,000 dogs here each year. Since it was established in 2001, LDCRF has saved the lives of more than 45,000 homeless pets, most of whom were facing the threat of euthanasia at over-crowded municipal shelters. The Center provides loving care to each animal rescued while they await adoption and their forever home.
Upcycle Creative Reuse Center in Alexandria aims to inspire all people to explore and create by engaging the community in art-engaging experiences with recycled materials. Funds from 100 Women Who Care second donation of the year will be used to fund “Tinker Time: Creative Aftercare Programs and Materials for Alexandria’s Youth.” The Center accepts recycled materials from the community for its programs and makes them available to teachers and the public.
Clifton Lion’s Club and its program that provides weekend food for children from low-income families in western Fairfax County who ordinarily receive free breakfasts and lunch at school was chosen as our second charity of the year. Our gift will enable the Lions to provide food for weekend breakfasts, lunch, dinners and snacks for some 600 children in Clifton, Centerville, Chantilly and Fairfax Station in western Fairfax County.
Community Lodgings was chosen as the first charity of 2023, specifically its weekender bags program, Community Lodgings’ mission is to lift families from homelessness and instability to independence and self-sufficiency through Transitional Housing, Affordable Housing and Youth Education Programs. An estimated 113 students in grades 1-12 participate in the afterschool and summer programs where they receive a snack or supper every day, help with homework, tutoring, and recreation and enrichment opportunities like arts, sports exploration and more. The weekender bags program provides students who receive free breakfast and lunch at school during the week with non-perishable, no-cooking-needed food for the weekends.
2022
2Unstoppable was chosen as our last charity to support in 2022. The organization is dedicated to improving the outcomes of women with cancer through exercise. With our donation, the organization will build their program 2Unstoppable Strong, a program that pairs women with a buddy who enjoys the same physical activity, from pickle ball to yoga to walking, for supportive and motivating relationships. Exercise has been shown to improve survival and reduce recurrence, combat side effects and help patients cope with cancer, treatment and life afterward.
The Spitfire Club was chosen as our third-quarter donation recipient. Based in Alexandria, the Spitfire Club is a weekly after-school literacy program for elementary school-age girls from diverse, low-income families. Through “girl-positive” books, the program seeks to build girls’ literacy and social-emotional skills and a love of reading. The Girls Lead unit this fall will give 75 girls the chance to read, play, and bond around curriculum focused on leadership skills development.
The Women’s Home was selected as the second quarter recipient of our collective giving. Since 1963, The Women’s Home has provided structure and professional support for women in early recovery, to build a solid basis for sustained sobriety. The home serves a population of women who typically do not have the resources for longer-term help, or for whom other recovery attempts have not been successful. Their mission is to provide low-cost, quality residential recovery care to women with a focus on lifestyle changes. Residents learn tools to stay sober and how to “live life on life’s terms.” It is one of the few such programs in the DMV region. The Women’s Home plans to use the 100 Women Who Care donation to provide one-, two-, and three-month scholarships to make it possible for women to afford help.
Falls Church City Public Schools Choral Boosters Association was selected as the first quarter recipient of the new year. The Boosters Association was organized in 2019 by parents grateful for the ways in which the schools’ vocal music programs support their children, not only musically, but also emotionally and socially. Chorus is a safe haven for students who feel marginalized in other areas of life, but school budgets often struggle to adequately fund it. The Boosters make up for the financial shortfalls and ensure that all students may participate, regardless of economic status. Since access to summer enrichment activities varies widely by income level, Boosters plan to use the 100 Women Who Care donation to enable lower-income students with an interest in music to enroll in arts-focused summer camps.
2021
Team Joyner Foundation was chosen as the nonprofit to support for our fourth quarter. This all-volunteer, nonprofit organization provides scholarships to Falls Church High School students with a financial need. Each year two academically promising seniors with financial needs to receive receive $2,000 scholarships and others receive scholarships of smaller amounts to attend community colleges. Most recipients are working one or more jobs while in high school. The Clayton (Coach CJ) Joyner Memorial Scholarships are dedicated to the memory of a popular swim coach who passed away at a young age. Due to the covid pandemic, Team Joyner Foundation supporters were not able to conduct their usual fundraisers that subsidize the scholarships.
The Heart Leaf Center was selected as our nonprofit to support for our third quarter. Formed in response to the mental health needs of children resulting from the pandemic, The Heart Leaf Center’s mission is to improve access to high-quality play therapy mental health services for children and families through low-cost counseling and professional education. Our collective donation of $4,000 will help pay mental health counselors while keeping their vital services affordable to families by using a sliding fee scale based. The Center, less than a year in operation, is expanding its team of mental health professionals who are bilingual, to be able to treat clients in their native language.
ALIVE! was our second quarter selected nonprofit. Founded in 1969, ALIVE! serves Alexandrians in need of basic services including the distribution of food, helping people pay rent, utilities and medical bills, providing housewares and furniture and runs the oldest transitional shelter in Virginia of its kind for women and children. Recently, ALIVE! with key community partners, created the Alexandria Eviction Prevention Partnership, AEPP, to help people facing evictions connect to resources to stay in their homes, and in the worst circumstances transition in the best way possible during an eviction by providing hotels nights and storage. AEPP has set up shop with volunteers in neighborhoods where there are high levels of poverty and where eviction cases are high to help provide information, complete applications for available support, and work with tenants to understand what they can do and how to navigate the available options for assistance. Many clients facing eviction have language and literacy barriers and poor access to internet. Their case worker and volunteers are able to connect the to the places they need to go, trace applications and help them complete forms and apply for available assistance to pay off back-rent and stay housed. The other partners for the AEPP include, Christ Church Lazarus, Northern Virginia Affordable Housing Alliance, and Legal Services of Northern Virginia. Our collective $6,150 donation was used to let people know about their outreach events, train volunteers, and provide internet and cell phones to volunteers serving and responding to clients. The AEPP had 400 people seek help in its first month of operations, and continues to field 25-50 calls per week in addition to seeing clients at two outreach events each week.
Beacon House was our first quarter 2021 selected nonprofit. Beacon House runs afterschool and summer programs for youth ages five through eighteen to support their mission of providing children in the Edgewood neighborhood of Northeast Washington, DC with a safe, nurturing, and life-expanding community in which to increase their academic achievement, discover their talents, and to grow into healthy adults who achieve their greatest potential. Their programs focus on closing the education achievement gap – and thus improving the economic trajectories – of children in Ward 5 for whom generational poverty is most persistent. They provide healthy food, social/emotional development and mentoring, enrichment, homework help, tutoring, recreation and family engagement. The population they serve is 96% African American and 4% Hispanic and the majority of the families live in the Edgewood Community where the average household income for a family of 3 is $12,000 per year. Almost all of their students qualify for free or reduced lunch. Our collective $6,000 donation support their summer school camp program.
2020
Safe Haven was our fourth quarter 2020 selected nonprofit. Safe Haven is a drop-in, day shelter for the homeless, the hungry, and anyone who needs a place of respite and a good meal. The shelter was established in 1996 when a First Christian Church member discovered several people who were homeless sleeping in our outdoor sanctuary and recognized a need for a “safe haven” where folks could go to get out of the elements, have a good meal or two and find a place of spiritual comfort. Safe Haven has evolved from serving 15 people a day to an average of over 100 people a day. Our collective $6,700 gift was used to provide more support for those in need. Safe Haven is offered in partnership with Fairfax County and New Hope Housing.
AYUDA was our third quarter 2020 selected nonprofit. AYUDA’s mission is to advocate for low-income immigrants through direct legal services, social and language services, training, and outreach. AYUDA envisions a community where all immigrants succeed and thrive. Our collective $5,300 donation was directed towards their Client Support and Empowerment Fund, which provides filing fee and litigation assistance for those residents of Northern Virginia needing this type of help.
Bethany House was our second quarter 2020 selected nonprofit. Since 1979, Bethany House of Northern Virginia has been a place of recovery for women and children escaping the nightmare of domestic violence. Bethany House provides an emergency phone line to help women with resources needed to care for their families by escaping dangerous home situations. Next, a safe place is provided for the women and children to recover. Their clients stay 4 – 6 months and receive counseling and training in how to be self-sufficient. An individual program is constructed to meet the needs of each unique family in our care. They also provide a two-year aftercare program to ensure that our families succeed after leaving the shelter. Our donation of $6,375 was used for emergency hotel and food costs due to 14-day quarantine requirements necessary during the COVID-19 crisis.
Additionally, this quarter members also donated another $1,225 for COVID specific aid relief that six of our previously awarded nonprofits presented to us for immediate consideration. Six nonprofits, including, Britepaths, Koinonia Foundation, Langley Residential Support Services, Loudoun Hunger Relief, Second Story, and Shepherd’s Center of Oakton-Vienna each received between $200 and $400 for food cards, pantry supplies, and games and art supplies for residents who were sheltering in place.
Healwell was our first quarter 2020 selected nonprofit. Healwell provides massage therapy in clinical settings to patients as an added treatment modality. In addition to providing massage, they are collaborating with hospitals and other healthcare facilities to create and conduct research about the feasibility and effect of massage therapy on people living with illness. They also provide education to other therapists about healing in clinical settings and plan to expand their services to the homeless in area shelters. Our collective donation of $4,575 was used to help launch the homeless outreach massage program.
2019
Dar Al-hijrah Islamic Center‘s Sewing Academy was our fourth quarter 2019 selected nonprofit. The DAH Sewing Academy is part of a progressive self-sufficiency track of classes to help refugees, single moms, and women in the nearby family shelter move toward financial stability. The women receive 100 hours of hands-on instruction, and upon graduation, each receives a brand new sewing machine so she can make a living from home, even if she has to care for her kids or other family members. Recently, the sewing program has been expanded to offer advanced graduates a professional externship experience, and in the coming months, DAH will launch a Sewing Cooperative in which the women can become members and earn an even more regular income stream from their work. Our collective donation of $4,525 was used to help this program.
Second Story was our third quarter 2019 selected nonprofit. They envision a community in which all young people are safe, live in a nurturing environment and have the opportunity to reach their full potential. Second Story offers long- and short-term safe havens for teenagers experiencing a crisis such as abuse or mental health, young adults who are homeless and trying to complete high school, and young mothers that are fleeing situations of domestic violence. In addition, Second Story provides preventative after school programs for youth in neighborhoods experiencing gang violence and the threat of human trafficking. Their programs step in at a critical juncture of a young person’s life, lifting them back up when they fall, and staying the course, ensuring that they have opportunities for learning, growth, and success. Our collective donation of $4,056 made a difference to the lives of approximately a dozen of our young community members looking to reach their potential in life.
F.E.A.S.T. was our second quarter 2019 selected nonprofit, given in memory of long-time member, Doris Gazin. F.E.A.S.T. (Families Empowered And Supporting Treatment for Eating Disorders) is a global community of and for caregivers of loved ones suffering from eating disorders. Their mission is to support caregivers by providing information and mutual support, promoting evidence-based treatment, and advocating for research and education to reduce the suffering associated with eating disorders. Our collective donation of $6,358.50 was used to launch a new series of materials for outreach for grandparents, and start a special Doris Gazin Fund for Grandparent Training (specific name to be determined). Doris long believed that F.E.A.S.T. could be doing more to help grandparents understand and support caregiving for families facing these serious but treatable brain disorders. With her stellar example, it will happen.
Friends of the Alexandria Mental Health Center is an all volunteer run nonprofit that was established in 1984 and has since been working to foster the recovery and well-being of Alexandrians with low-income who are participating in behavioral health programs through the City Department of Community and Human Services. Friends provides financial assistance when special and emergency needs outpace participant incomes and/or fall through the cracks of other organizations. Their overhead is less than 1% and they have no paid staff or office space. Services provided include personal care, health care, housing costs, and other client needs. Our $4,650 donation helped families requiring their services.
2018
Northern Virginia Family Services Training Futures is a workforce development program that helps under- and unemployed adults secure professional careers with potential for advancement. Our collective donation will go towards offsetting the enrollment fees the participants pay for the program. A participant’s fee covers costs associated with textbooks and software licensing/certifications. While it is an investment in the program by the participant, it can be a financial hardship for some. Our $2,850 donation served as a sort of “scholarship” or financial aid fund to mitigate the participants’ direct costs.
Koinonia supports adults and children in the Franconia/Kingstowne area by providing food, clothing, learning and emergency financial assistance to adults and children in need. The $2,900 in funds collected during the Q3 2018 meeting helped to support this mission in our community.
Northern Virginia Association for the Education of Young Children (NVAEYC) has a mission to promote high-quality early learning for every child from birth through age eight. Specifically, they connect practice, policy, and research to support all who care for, education, and work on behalf of these young children in Northern Virginia. The $3,100 in funds collected during Q2 were directed to NVAEYC’s scholarship program, which provides funds to aid those people working in early education with their academic degree, their certification credential, or further professional development.
Falls Church High School Band Aides is a small nonprofit with a budget of only $40,000/year. They support the high school band to keep on marching! Described during the presentation as a small band with a lot of heart, they are state champions and rely on the support from the community to be able to keep this important program as part of the school curriculum. Our funds will go to help support the purchase of new instruments for the students. On February 1, we selected the Band Aides to receive a $3,300 donation to support these efforts.
2017
Friends of Guest House helps Northern Virginia women successfully reenter the community from incarceration. The program statistics prove that this type of programming works. As an example, without re-entry support, 70% of ex-offenders nationwide re-offend within two years. Compare that to graduates of Friends of Guest House, fewer than 10% re-offend. Monies raised will support their efforts in helping women navigate the post-incarceration environment in constructive ways. At our November 2 meeting, we selected Friends of Guest House to receive a $3,600 donation.
Comfort Cases gives children entering foster care the basic essentials to help them through the start of a new life in an unfamiliar home. The organization provides backpacks or duffle bags filled with sleep away necessities such as pajamas, slippers, soap, shampoo, other toiletries, coloring books, stuffed animals and blankets to children entering the foster care system. On August 3rd, our members selected Comfort Cases (Northern Virginia chapter) as the recipient of a $3,500 donation.
Team Joyner Foundation provides scholarships to worthy, low-income high school student athletes from Falls Church High School. Coach Clayton Joyner grew up locally and became a high school and summer league swim coach in Fairfax. He passed away at a young age of what is believed to be a genetic heart disorder. His mother established this 501(c)3 in his honor. Scholarships are needs and grades based. Two students per year are selected and each receive a $2,000 grant to attend Northern Virginia Community College. At our May 4th meeting, Team Joyner Foundation was selected to receive $3,800 in funding to support funding these scholarships.
Shepherd’s Center of Oakton-Vienna promotes and supports independent living for mature adults. They help people maintain a productive and positive lifestyle, while helping people stay in their homes as long as possible. This organization provides volunteers to provide services such as transportation to/from medical facilities, minor home repair and decluttering advice, respite care, health advocacy, workshops and luncheons. Volunteers will also just visit when needed. At our February 2nd meeting, Shepherd’s Center of Oakton-Vienna was selected to receive $3,300 in funding to help support these efforts.
2016
Fauquier FISH (For Immediate Sympathetic Help) helps those with urgent and unexpected needs as well as those who live with continuous economic hardship in Fauquier County. Our funds will be earmarked specifically for the food pantry to feed 250 underserved families during the week of Christmas when all pantries tend to shut down for the holidays. With our $4,300 donation, the pantry will be able to source a week’s worth of healthy (and fresh) food to go along with the 250 hams that Smithfield has already donated, ensuring these families will be able to eat during the holiday.
Vecinos Unidos (Neighbor’s United) has been making a difference in the lives of students in grades 1-6 since 1997 by providing homework assistance and summer enrichment programs. On August 4,100 WWC NoVa selected Vecinos Unidos as its 3rd Quarter funding recipient and received $4,400 for its programs.
Langley Residential Support Services provides support and training to people with intellectual disabilities so they can realize their dream to have lives that are like those of everyone else. On May 5, 100 WWC NoVa selected LRSS to be its 2nd Quarter funding recipient and received $4,600 to be used towards its programs.
Balint Charities provides books and band instruments to schools and early childhood centers in lower socioeconomic neighborhoods, thereby nurturing a child’s capacity for educational success through early intervention of reading and music. On February 4, Balint Charities was selected to be the 1st Quarter 2016 funding recipient and received $5,000 to be used towards its programs.
2015
Postpartum Support Virginia advocates, educates, and provides support for women experiencing perinatal mood and anxiety disorders. On November 6, 100 WWC NoVa donated $5,200 to fund a new outreach and education program to the underserved Spanish speaking mothers in Arlington and Alexandria.
Life With Cancer enhances the lives of those affected by cancer by providing information, education and support. On August 6, 100 WWC NoVa members donated $5,100 to Life With Cancer’s Transportation Program, which will ensure patients can get to and from the care and services they need while going through treatment.
Doorways for Women and Families creates pathways out of domestic violence and homelessness toward safe and stable lives. On May 7, 100 Women Who Care Northern Virginia members donated $5,100 to Doorways to be used for their important services.
Generation Hope provides direct scholarships and one-to-one mentoring to teen parents attending college in the Metro DC area. On February 5, our members donated $5,100 to be used towards their program.
2014
Rainbow Therapeutic Riding Center provides therapeutic equestrian activities to individuals with physical, educational, emotional, intellectual and other challenges in Prince William County and surrounding Northern Virginia areas. On November 6, our members raised $5,000 to be used towards scholarships for children and adults with disabilities as well as the Wounded Warriors they serve.
Fauquier FISH (For Immediate Sympathetic Help) helps those with urgent and unexpected needs as well as those who live with continuous economic hardship in Fauquier County. They have a local food bank, provide utility assistance, holiday groceries to families, collect and give school supplies for kids, and offer a program called Food4kids, which is a back pack program that provides food to children who are in the free breakfast and lunch program who may not have enough to eat over the weekend. On August 7, our members earmarked its $4,300 donation to Fauquier FISH and its Food4kids program.
Comfort Cases gives children entering foster care the basic essentials to help them through the start of a new life in an unfamiliar home. The organization provides backpacks or duffle bags filled with sleep away necessities such as pajamas, slippers, soap, shampoo, other toiletries, coloring books, stuffed animals and blankets to children entering the foster care system. On May 1, our members selected Comfort Cases (Northern Virginia chapter) as the recipient of a $4,300 donation.
Falls Church-McLean Children’s Center provides a comprehensive high-quality, early-childhood education program to young children throughout Fairfax County, Falls Church and neighboring communities, regardless of their family’s economic resources. On February 6, our members donated $3,700 to the Center that will be used to guide 75 two- to five-year-olds in building essential skills to be conscientious and caring individuals, fully prepared to excel in kindergarten and later in life.
2013
Britepaths (formerly Our Daily Bread) serves the needs of Fairfax County families who are in financial crisis, especially during the holidays, and throughout the year. It provides qualified clients temporary food assistance, emergency financial assistance, financial education and mentoring services. At least seven families avoided eviction during the winter because of the $3,900 donation provided by our members at our November 2013 meeting.
Loudoun Hunger Relief (formerly Loudoun Interfaith Relief) is the largest food pantry in Loudoun County that provides emergency food supplies. It serves hard-working families who do not have enough resources to provide food for themselves and their families. The organization received $3,800 from our members at our August 2013 meeting.
Encore Stage & Studio builds life-long appreciation for live theater by involving young people in all aspects of theater arts, including onstage, backstage, classroom and audience. The nonprofit was the recipient of $3,700 at our May 2013 meeting.
WeCanRow DC is a volunteer-directed, not-for-profit that provides education and support to breast cancer survivors through an introduction to the sport of sweep rowing. The program begins where surgery and physical therapy leave off, creating new opportunities for women to physically and emotionally heal. The organization received $3,500 in February 2013 that was directed towards its annual Learn to Row weekend.
2012
Loudoun Therapeutic Riding was formed to empower and improve the lives of people with cognitive, psychological and physical disabilities through the benefits of equine assisted activities and therapies, while serving their industry through training and education. $1,900 was donated in November 2012 by the members of 100+Women Who Care Northern Virginia to the nonprofit’s therapeutic riding scholarships for families with financial need.