On Feb. 13th and 14, Appalachian Spring hosted a gift-wrapping fundraiser for Character Counts. Over $400 was raised for Character Counts, a national, nonprofit, nonpartisan, character education initiative designed to help youngsters and adults develop and practice the basics of good character: trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring and citizenship. The money will be used in funding such programs as the Annual "Do The Right Thing" Essay & Poster Contest and Ethics Day with South Lakes High School. Sixteen volunteers from Reston's business community lent their time to help make the event a success.
Kids R First raised funds to provide over 95,000 units of school supplies to 9,500 needy students in 58 schools in the Dulles area of Fairfax and Loudoun Counties in
Bryan Kobick, a boy scout from Reston Troop 1970, conducted a winter coat drive for his eagle project to benefit the residents of the Embry Rucker Shelter in Reston. Bryan and his fellow scouts distributed over 600 flyers in Reston neighborhoods on Jan. 24 asking residents to donate used winter coats and jackets for the shelter. The scouts collected over 135 coats from various Reston neighborhoods. Crest Cleaners supported the project by donating dry cleaning services for all the coats and jackets. The coats will be presented to the Embry Rucker Shelter in Reston on Thursday, Feb. 19.
George W. Weston M.D., Byron D. Poindexter, M.D., and Robert K. Sigal, M.D., of The Austin-Weston Center for Cosmetic Surgery present a check for $3,858 in donations from its 3rd Annual Cosmetic Surgery Expo to Reston Interfaith's Kerrie Wilson, B.J. Silvey, and Lynn Lilienthal. At the Expo, the surgeons joined their patients, prospective patients and local residents to educate the public on the latest cosmetic surgery procedures and techniques. The Austin-Weston Center for Cosmetic Surgery is located at 1825 Samuel Morse Drive in Reston. Reston Interfaith is a nonprofit human service agency.
Sarah Robinson, of Reston, 2003 graduate of Thomas Jefferson High School, is featured in Brandeis University newspaper "The Justice." The Brandeis U Crew Team stopped in Reston Feb. 14 traveling to winter training on Lake Lanier, GA. Twenty-five members of the team were hosted by Sarah's parents, Susan Russell-Robinson and Rob Robinson, of Reston.
The League of Reston Artists (LRA) presents a contemporary juried art exhibition of small visual art works (maximum size 144 square inches) sponsored by Walker and Company in Reston. This exhibition features 51 works of art by 40 artist members of the League of Reston Artists. Walker and Company donated $300 in prize money for this exhibition and Lorraine Oerth Kirstein served as juror. The following are the winners as selected by Kirstein:
Best In Show: Amy Thompson -- "Glad Hearts" --Watercolor; Equal Merit Awards: Deborah Remmers -- "Mishchief” -- Monoprint,
Judy Karpinski -- "Red #1" -- Digital Photography, Anne Leonard -- "On The Balcony" -- Mixed Media, Carolyn Ann Day -- "Glowing Color" -- Paper Collage; Honorable Mentions: Jan Sherfy -- "Southwest" -- Mixed Media; Leo Deege -- "Grand Tetons" -- Oil; Vicky Eicher --"County Fair Lights" -- Color Print from Slide; and Kimberly Stein -- "Tuscan Cypress" -- Watercolor. Through the month of February, this exhibition is open during regular business hours Monday – Friday 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. and is free and open to the public. Walker and Company, 12007 Sunrise Valley Drive, Reston. For directions, see www.leagueofrestonartists.org.
Reston artists Anna Hayoz, Cynthia Hull and Lois Salazar are among those whose works are exhibited at the Waterford Weavers Gallery in the Fairfax Arts Center that is featuring a wide assortment of unusual Valentines, using techniques including handmade papers, handspun yarns, tatted lace, woven papers and felted hearts. Gallery hours: Thursdays and Saturdays 10-6 p.m., Fridays 10-8 p.m. and Sundays 12-5 p.m.. 3949 Chain Bridge Road, downstairs from the Fairfax Post Office. Free parking. 703-385-4800.
Alicia Harder, 12, of Reston was named one of Virginia's top youth volunteers for 2004 by The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards, a nationwide program honoring young people for outstanding acts of volunteerism. Harder, a seventh-grader at Herndon Middle School, has been organizing an annual holiday cookie and fund-raising event since she was 6 years old to benefit a local homeless shelter. Harder won an award of $1,000, an engraved silver medallion, and a trip to the Nation's Capital.