Join us for the 11th Annual MLK Day of Service

Join us for the 11th Annual MLK Day of Service. Let’s make it a day on, not a day off. Instead of taking the holiday off, we are asking you, your friends, and family to participate in campus service projects that will benefit students, Alexandria residents, and the homeless population in our community. This year, we are partnering with the NOVA Financial Stability Program, NOVA Student Life, and Volunteer Alexandria.

January 20, 2020 | 10:00 AM – 1:30 PM
Northern Virginia Community College Alexandria Campus
Center for Design, Media and the Arts
3301 Netherton Drive, Alexandria, VA

Got new hats, gloves, scarfs? Bring them! We will use them to enhance our homeless kits.
Got juice box packs, bottled water packs, or multi-pack single-serve bottled juice packs? You can bring that too! Drink donations will help stock our campus pantries.
T-shirts will be given to individuals who donate hats, gloves, scarfs or drink packs.
Registration information is coming soon!

 

 

A Decade of Service with Impact on Our Community

Braving 15 degree temperatures and extreme wind gusts, more than 270 volunteers from our NOVA Campuses, K-12 Schools, and our local community gathered at the Alexandria Campus to make the 10th Annual NOVA Serves Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service a day “on”, not a day “off”.  To celebrate his legacy, we formed partnerships with the NOVA Financial Stability Program, NOVA Student Life, Volunteer Alexandria, and Project Linus to render service to our students and community. This years’ service projects included:

  • The Linus Project (Kids 7+) – Volunteers created 30 no-sew fleece blankets for children in local hospitals and Title I schools.
  • Kindness Rocks (Kids 4-7) – Participants painted 40 kindness rocks to bring back to local neighborhoods.
  • Green Bag Food Sort – Volunteers sorted thousands of donated food items to re-distribute to NOVA’s six campuses.
  • Toiletry Kits – Participants sorted and created 200 toiletry kits for our homeless winter emergency kits.
  • Homeless Winter Emergency Kits– Participants assembled 200 homeless winter emergency kits for campus distribution.
  • Emergency Preparedness Kits Volunteer Alexandria partnered with NOVA to create 600 emergency preparedness kits to distribute within the Alexandria community.

We collected over 900 pairs of new socks.  These socks were donated to the Carpenter’s Shelter in Alexandria.

In preparation for the big day, NOVA launched a college-wide campaign and competition focused on item-specific donations for each of its locations. The following campuses collected the items listed below:

  • Alexandria Campus – ready-to-eat meals
  • Annandale Campus – feminine hygiene products
  • Brault/Pender Campus – shampoo and conditioner
  • Loudoun Campus – cereal and oatmeal
  • Manassas Campus – toothpaste and toothbrushes
  • Medical Education Campus (MEC) – toiletries
  • Pender Campus – granola bars and fruit cups
  • Woodbridge Campus – pasta and sauce

Kudos to Pender Campus, who contributed over 500 boxes of granola bars and fruit cups.  They were the recipient of the coveted “Golden Gloves” for doing their part to knock out hunger in the fight against hunger and other insecurities. Special thanks to the amazing committee who worked arduously to bring this event into fruition- Jackie Artis, Maro Bentley, Courtney Boland, Patricia Cooper, Ella Gilliam, Twyla Jones, Kirstin Riddick, Rochelle Thompson, and Sarah Yirenkyi.

Jan 21, 2019 – 10th Annual MLK Day of Service

Join us for the 10th Annual MLK Day of Service.  Let’s make it a day on, not a day off.  Instead of taking the holiday off, we are asking you, your friends, and family to participate in campus service projects that will benefit students, Alexandria residents, and the homeless population in our community.  This year, we are partnering with the NOVA Financial Stability Program, NOVA Student Life, Volunteer Alexandria, and the Linus Project.

January 21, 2019 | 10:00 AM – 1:30 PM | Northern Virginia Community College Alexandria Campus | Center for Design, Media and the Arts | 3301 Netherton Drive, Alexandria, VA

Got new socks?  Bring them!  We are collecting them for donations to our local homeless shelters.  T-shirts will be given to individuals who donate socks (while supplies last).

We would love to see you there!  To register please go to: http://bit.ly/NOVAMLKday10

 

MLK Day – A Day On!

272 volunteers rolled up their sleeves to participate in Northern Virginia Community College’s (NOVA’s) 9th Annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service. In addition to donating hygiene products, students, faculty, staff, and community members of all ages participated in 5 concurrent service projects to benefit NOVA students and Shelter House families. To kick off the service projects, NOVA President Dr. Scott Ralls, Alexandria Campus Provost Dr. Annette Haggray, Alexandria Mayor Allison Silberberg, and Shelter House CEO Joe Meyer provided insightful words and encouragement. As a collective, we answered the call to serve by:
• Preparing 250 baby formula packets
• Sorting 500 pounds of food for the college campus pantries
• Preparing 1275 laundry packets for Shelter House
• Collecting over 5000 hygiene products
• Assembling 1000 hygiene kits for the college campus pantries
January 15, 2018 truly was a day on. Special thanks to everyone who did their part to achieve greatness through service.
“Everybody can be great because everybody can serve.”
– Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.


Photo by Neil (Kevin) Mattingly

9th Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day Of Service

Join us for the 9th Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day Of Service. The service event will take place on Monday, January 15, 2018 from 10:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the Alexandria Campus, The Center for Design, Media and the Arts, our new building!

This year’s event will consist of four service projects: Food Inventory/Sorting, Baby Formula Packing, Basic Needs Hygiene/Products Drive and Laundry Supply Packing and Distribution.  NOVA will work with WSSN (Financial Stability Program),  United Community Ministries, Capital Area Food Bank, and other Community Partners to provide much needed resources to NOVA students and the Northern Virginia homeless population.

For more info and to register, please go to http://bit.ly/NOVAMLKday9

Contact: Kirstin Riddick | kriddick@nvcc.edu

The Food Kits are Assembled… What’s Next?

In partnership with the Stop Hunger Now organization and the West Springfield Rotary Club, on Jan 16, the 8th Annual NOVA SERVES: MLK Day of Service, over 250 NOVA faculty, staff, and students, local K-12 students and community members successfully assembled 24,800 food kits (= 4,133 individuals in need).

The food kits are en route.  The destination will be revealed soon.

Where have the assembled food kits been shipped to in the past years?

2015:

This shipment was being sent through Reach Now International to their partner Fundacion Castillo Del Ray in Panama. Fundacion Castillo Del Ray is a nonprofit organization that provides meals to six elementary schools and one high school throughout Panama. In these schools, Foundation Castillo Del Ray feeds more than 1,500 students on a daily basis. This food also would help the schools to allocate resources to improve their infrastructure, enhance teaching tools and provide clothing for the students.

2014:

This shipment was being sent through Youth Build Haiti Rebuilding Academy (YHRA) in Haiti. The Youth Build Haiti Rebuilding Academy (YHRA) is a five-year initiative designed to improve the livelihood prospects of Haitian youth and mobilize young people in Haiti to play a significant leadership role in rebuilding the earthquake devastated country. The program works alongside IDEJEN (the Initiative for the Development of Young People Outside of School), Haitiâs largest youth-serving NGO. Over the five year period of implementation, the YHRA would reach at least 9,000 young people and engage them in post-earthquake rebuilding projects focused on the rebuilding and building of homes, schools, health clinics, sanitation blocks and green infrastructure. The program includes six months of intensive on site skills training, leadership development and basic education, followed by six months of follow up support as young people seek viable opportunities for employment and self employment. Project activities are delivered out of centers built by YouthBuild and IDEJEN students.

2013:

Your meals would support the work of ORPHANetwork’in Nicaragua

ORPHANetwork‘s mission is to equip orphans and at risk children in developing countries to fully realize their God-given potential. They serve abandoned, abused, and at-risk children in Nicaragua through various infrastructures including: the local church, local school systems, and orphanages.  ORPHANetwork supports 155 feeding programs throughout Nicaragua. Through these programs, almost 18,000 children are nourished each weekday. The communities serve are some of the poorest in Nicaragua and the feeding programs prevent children from becoming “social orphans.” By guaranteeing one nutritious meal to these children each weekday, the probability that they will be able to continue living with their families increases significantly. The programs also serve the community holistically by drawing the children to school, monitoring their health, teaching on health and hygiene, working with pregnant mothers on pre-natal and infant health, providing a space for families to work together and connecting them to the local church. ORPHANetwork additionally supports six orphanages, which are home to over 300 children.

AND

Your meals would support the work of Salesian Missions in the Philippines

Salesian Missions is a network of 34,000 Priests, Brothers and Sisters around the world who work to enable poor and suffering children to live better lives and build brighter futures. The Salesians of Don Bosco operate 5,000 schools and technical training centers, 23 colleges, 216 clinics and hospitals, 225 orphanages and shelters, and run a wide variety of social and economic development activities throughout the world. In each country, the Salesians combine the aspects of an orphanage, a school, a church, and a children’s recreation center, in addition to varied social programs. The Salesians work to be truly present among the people in their communities on all levels, so they understand the problems facing those they serve and are able to assist in the most effective manner. Across the Southern Philippines, the Salesians of Don Bosco serve needy families who lack sufficient food and money to cover their basic needs. In addition to family support, the Salesians operate several children’s homes, technical training centers and outreach programs. The programs are located across the Southern Philippines in Cebu (9 programs), Eastern Samar (1 program), Iloilo (1 program), Negros (5 programs), Davao (4 programs) and Bukidnon (1 program). This shipment, in particular, would be used primarily to support the victims of Typhoon Bopha which ravaged the area of Davao Oriental. The municipality of Baganga was especially affected. Families lost their homes and livelihoods and this food will be a beacon of hope in a time of great loss.

8th Annual NOVA SERVES MLK Day of Service: January 16, 2017

Mark your calendars for Monday, January 16th!

Join us for the 8th Annual NOVA SERVES: MLK Day of Service. The service event will take place on Monday, January 16, 2017 from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at the Alexandria Campus. This year’s event will consist of assembling 30,000 food kits in partnership with the Stop Hunger Now organization and the West Springfield Rotary Club.

Join the movement to end hunger in our lifetime! Help us reach our goal to package 30,000+ meals. Working together we can create a world without hunger.
novaserves201701promote

*Stop Hunger Now- Since 1998, the organization has coordinated the distribution of food and other lifesaving aid to children and families in countries all over the world. Stop Hunger Now created its meal-packaging program in 2005. The program perfected the assembly process that combines rice, soy, dehydrated vegetables and a flavoring mix including 21 essential vitamins and minerals into small meal packets. Stop Hunger Now works with international partners that ship and distribute the meals in-country. The majority of Stop Hunger Now’s meals supply school lunch programs. Due to the ease of assembly and transport, meals can be shipped to areas in crisis. This process for distribution, through school feeding programs in hunger-stricken regions, is seen as a practical means to end hunger.

2017 MLK Day of Service
Our registration is filled to capacity. Hope to see you next year!

50th Anniversary NOVA Day of Service

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Hello NOVA!

As part of NOVA’s 50th Anniversary, and our campus theme of Come Home to Serve…..we are having a packing party for Comfort Cases and you are invited!

Thousands of children in Northern Virginia enter the foster care system each year. Most carry little more than the clothes on their backs. Comfort Cases is on a mission to provide essentials to help these brave children on their journey to find a home.  Comfort Cases would like to request your participation in our Spring Packing Party on May 6th from 10 AM – 12 PM at the Schlesinger Center. Volunteers will assist organizing donated items and preparing cases for distribution.

Please register to attend:
http://goo.gl/forms/RSZ7GJ9xPt

If you can’t make it to the packing party, you can still participate! We are also collecting items to go inside the comfort cases from 4/11 – 5/6/16.

Items can be dropped off at TILT (Bisdorf Building | AA-343), The Women’s Center (Bisdorf Building | AA-331), and The Office of International Students (Bisdorf Building | AA-193).

50Here’s a list of the items needed:
* Back packs, duffle bags or small suitcase
* Stuffed Animals
* Pajamas or athletic pants/shorts & tees
* Hair brush or Comb
* Toothbrush & Toothpaste
* Books
* Travel Size Toiletries
* Activity books & Crayons

Items for children over 10 years old would be especially appreciated.

To learn more about Comfort Cases, go to http://comfortcases.org/.

Thanks so much for your support in this endeavor!

 

CONTACT:
For more information, please contact Kirstin Riddick | kriddick@nvcc.edu

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7th Annual NOVA SERVES MLK Day of Service: January 18, 2016

Mark your calendars for Monday, January 18th! <!

Join us for the 7th Annual NOVA SERVES: MLK Day of Service. The service event will take place on Monday, January 18, 2016 from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at the Alexandria Campus. This year’s event will consist of assembling 30,000 food kits in partnership with the Stop Hunger Now organization and the Springfield Rotary Club.

Join the movement to end hunger in our lifetime! Help us reach our goal to package 30,000+ meals. Working together we can create a world without hunger.

*Stop Hunger Now- Since 1998, the organization has coordinated the distribution of food and other lifesaving aid to children and families in countries all over the world. Stop Hunger Now created its meal-packaging program in 2005. The program perfected the assembly process that combines rice, soy, dehydrated vegetables and a flavoring mix including 21 essential vitamins and minerals into small meal packets. Stop Hunger Now works with international partners that ship and distribute the meals in-country. The majority of Stop Hunger Now’s meals supply school lunch programs. Due to the ease of assembly and transport, meals can be shipped to areas in crisis. This process for distribution, through school feeding programs in hunger-stricken regions, is seen as a practical means to end hunger.

Registration form can be found at: NOVA Serves_MLK 2016

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