Alexandria Kiwanis Club President Peter Carvalleas presented a $1,000 check to Major Tony Barrington, Alexandria Salvation Army, last Thursday to show the club's continuing support for the Salvation Army's interim housing service program.
"We adopted this house several years ago during my presidency and we continue to support it and the program's mission," said Windsor Demaine, past president of Alexandria Kiwanis Club, following the ceremony in front of 1807 Mount Vernon Avenue. He and six other club members gathered at the site to present their annual gift to Barrington and Howard Roy, the program's director.
"This is a program for single women and single mothers. It is designed to aid them in transitioning from shelter housing to independent housing," Barrington said.
"In addition to housing, they receive life skills training and counseling. There are also programs for children. The object is to help them from homelessness to having a home of their own," he said.
There are three homes in the local Salvation Army's program. In addition to the house "adopted" by the Kiwanis club, directly across Mount Vernon Avenue from Salvation Army headquarters, there is a second residence next door and a third on Bellefonte Avenue.
"In all we are providing a home for seven families at the present time," Barrington said. "Each family can stay in one of the apartments in a house for up to a year." The Kiwanis' adopted house contains four separate apartments.
Demaine, Frank Becker, and Thomas DeMik, all members of the local Kiwanis Club also serve on the Salvation Army Board of Directors. In addition to Carvalleas, they were joined at the ceremony by Kiwanis members Ray Peters, Michelle Gulley and Steven Blood.