<sh>Arc March 2005
<bt>The Arc of Northern Virginia is inviting the public to join a send-off for Mark Brobston on his 100-mile walk to Richmond, where he will join the rest of The Arc, its affiliates and friends for "A Life Like Yours," the Arc March 2005. The send-off will be from 7-8 a.m. on Sunday, Sept. 25 in the Arc of Northern Virginia parking lot at 100 N. Washington St., Falls Church. Call 703-532-3214, ext. 204, to RSVP.
The Arc of Virginia will conduct a march through Richmond to the State Capitol on Saturday, Oct. 1, beginning at Mayo Island at 10 a.m. The Arc is a statewide organization celebrating its 50th anniversary as Virginia’s major family advocacy network for persons with mental retardation and related developmental disabilities. The Arc is sponsoring its march to raise public awareness about the critical needs of persons with disabilities and about the role state government plays in financing mental retardation services in communities across the Commonwealth.
<sh>McLean House Fire
<bt>Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department units responded to a house fire at approximately 3 a.m. Tuesday, Sept. 20 in McLean. The single-family home is located at 6228 Cottonwood St.
According to the Fire Department, the first firefighters on the scene saw smoke coming from the eaves of the home. Firefighters brought the fire under control in approximately 15 minutes. The American Red Cross is assisting the one displaced resident. There were no injuries, firefighters say.
Damage is estimated at $50,000.
According to fire investigators, the cause of the fire was accidental — an electrical anomaly in the garage.
<sh>School Supply Drive
<bt>The Old Firehouse Teen Center (OFTC) is sponsoring a “Children-Helping-Children” clothing and school supply drive. The drive began on Tuesday, Sept. 13 and will continue until Friday, Sept. 30. Donations can be dropped off at OFTC Monday-Friday, 2 p.m.-6 p.m., or during the Friday night dance, from 7 p.m.-9 p.m. The teen center is located at 1440 Chain Bridge Road. OFTC is collecting new clothing, toys and school tool kits for children of evacuees for World Vision-United States, in Washington, D.C. OFTC is asking residents to create the school tool kits by compiling the following items: six wooden pencils (without designs); six medium blue or black ink ballpoint pens; one wide-ruled, one-subject notebook; one package of wide-ruled, three-hole-punched filler paper; one barrel-style pencil sharpener; one large, pink eraser; one package (24-count) regular-sized crayons; one 12-inch ruler (including metric measurements); one large (or two small) glue sticks; and one pair ambidextrous, blunt-tip school scissors. After collecting the supplies, residents should place the items in a two-gallon, resealable plastic bag. Call OFTC at 703-448-8336, TTY: 703-827-8255. For more on World Vision, visit www.worldvision.org.
<sh>Cajun Concert
<bt>"Gumbo," at the State Theatre Sept. 25, is a melting pot of musical flavors covering many genres to honor the musical mecca of New Orleans which has been temporarily lost. The show features Americana/country, jazz, blues, R&B, big band, swing jazz, funk and rock by some of the Washington, D.C. area's most talented artists, including Mary Anne Redmond, a Wammie Award-winning vocalist from Great Falls. The mission is to raise as many funds as possible to help hurricane victims rebuild their lives and to renew America's Gulf Coast. All of the revenue will go to the American Red Cross. 4 p.m.-midnight. Presented by Fatskeys Music LLC and Chuck Levin's Washington Music Center. The State Theatre is at 220 Lee Highway, Falls Church. Call 703-237-0300 or visit www.thestatetheatre.com or www.fatskeys.com.
<sh>Students Raise Funds
<bt>The McLean Community Center’s (MCC) Fall Community Flea Market on Saturday, Sept. 10 provided five McLean area students the opportunity to help Hurricane relief efforts. Kent Gardens Elementary School students Sheerin Tehrani and Marielle Moore, Lycee Rochambeau de Washington student Noushine Sadeghi, McLean High School student Krista Moore and Langley High School student Ida Cossitt collected $650 during the four-hour sale. The funds were donated to AmeriCares, which is providing health care services in the hurricane-stricken region.
<sh>Bake Sale Raises Over $4K
<bt>Twelve-year-old Great Falls resident Melanie Kent held a bake sale to raise money for the Humane Society's Hurricane Katrina disaster relief efforts on Monday, Sept. 5. Melanie and her friends managed to sell enough baked treats to raise $955 in three hours. She also collected $160 from her neighbors and her veterinarian, and that, combined with three matching contributions, made for a grand total of $4,115 for her chosen cause. Further donations are being accepted. Checks can be made out to the Humane Society of the United States and can be mailed to Melanie Kent at 10105 Walker Woods Drive, Great Falls, VA 22066.
<sh>Disaster Relief for Pets
<bt>Animal Nannies of McLean (ANOM), a professional petsitting company, is spearheading a local effort to raise funds for the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals' (ASPCA) Disaster Relief Fund. Donations will help the ASPCA provide food, shelter, rescue, relocation and medical care to animals still in the city. Checks may be made out to ANOM with a memo for “ASPCA Hurricane Relief.” Animal Nannies will contribute $50 plus an additional $5 for each donation received by Sept. 21. Mail checks to: Animal Nannies of McLean, P.O. Box 6961, McLean, VA 22106. Call 703-749-9000.
<sh>Cardinal Contributes to Cause
<bt>Cardinal Financial Corporation, headquartered in Tysons Corner, delivered $32,000 to the American Red Cross National Capital Area headquarters in Fairfax, Virginia. This initial check represents the first week of employee contributions and the Cardinal corporate matching funds in support of the Hurricane Katrina relief efforts. Cardinal is matching employee contributions, dollar for dollar, up to $50,000. In addition, Cardinal's 20 banking offices and eight offices of George Mason Mortgage, a Cardinal subsidiary, began accepting monetary donations from the public for the effort on Sept. 6.
<sh>FEMA Teleregistration Line
<bt>Evacuees from Hurricane Katrina who have come to shelters in Virginia can register for disaster assistance by telephone or online from wherever they are staying. They do not have to be in their home states to register. The Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) can take disaster registrations by toll-free telephone number, 1-800-621-3362, or 1 800 462 7585 (TTY) for the hearing impaired, or online at www.fema.gov. The toll-free telephone numbers will remain open 24-hours a day, seven days a week until further notice. Multilingual operators are available at these numbers to assist disaster victims. Due to the extraordinary scale of devastation, applicants are encouraged to call late in the evening or very early in the morning, or on weekends. The best time to call is after midnight, when call volume is at its lowest.
<sh>Charities Needing funds
<bt>FEMA listed the following agencies as needing cash to assist hurricane victims:
* American Red Cross, 800-HELP-NOW (435-7669) English, 800-257-7575 Spanish
* America's Second Harvest, 800-344-8070
* Adventist Community Services, 800-381-7171
* Catholic Charities USA, 800-919-9338
* Christian Disaster Response, 941-956-5183 or 941-551-9554
* Christian Reformed World Relief Committee, 800-848-5818
* Church World Service, 800-297-1516
* Convoy of Hope, 417-823-8998
* Lutheran Disaster Response, 800-638-3522
* Mennonite Disaster Service, 717-859-2210
* Nazarene Disaster Response, 888-256-5886
* Operation Blessing, 800-436-6348
* Presbyterian Disaster Assistance, 800-872-3283
* Salvation Army, 800-SAL-ARMY (725-2769)
* Southern Baptist Convention Disaster Relief, 800-462-8657, Ext. 6440
* United Methodist Committee on Relief, 800-554-8583
<sh>Finding Best Places to Give
<bt>These are two web sites in which you can find charities listed.
www.give.org — managed by the Better Business Bureau
www.guidestar.org — managed by Philanthropic Research