Carol and Emily Shiflett of Oakton will bicycle from Providence to San Francisco this summer with Bike & Build, a nonprofit organization that mobilizes young people to raise money and awareness for the affordable housing cause. The Shifletts will be departing from Providence on June 1 with 29 other young adults from across the country. The group will travel for more than two months and will help build affordable housing in five locations including Lawrence, Kan. and Hopland, Calif. In order to participate in the trip, each rider must raise at least $4,000 to help fund student-led affordable housing efforts nationwide.
Carol is a fourth-year architectural design student. She is currently a project manager on the ecoMOD project, a design/build/evaluate architecture studio at the University of Virginia that focuses on affordability, sustainability and modularity. Emily is a second-year mechanical engineering student. Both Shifletts spent spring break in Mississippi and New Orleans helping with the relief effort there.
Edna Knicely of Vienna will be a contestant in the 22nd annual Ms. Virginia Senior America Pageant at Oakton High School June 10. Knicely grew up in Raleigh, N.C. and came to work for the Southern Bell Telephone Company in Virginia after high school. She has been actively involved with the Kennedy Center and Parents Without Partners. As a result of her past pageant performance, Knicely has done modeling for commercials and print jobs, the latest being a group picture for Social Security Part D. The winner of the Ms. Virginia pageant will receive a trip to the Ms. Senior America Pageant in Las Vegas in November.
Louise Archer Elementary student Claire Russell, a 9-year-old cancer survivor and former patient of Inova Fairfax Hospital, will give back to those who cared for her in the Radiation Oncology Department by joining her Girl Scout troop in donating $350 to the Inova pediatric indigent fund. This check will be presented to the Radiation Oncology Department Thursday, June 1 and will be used to help families with financial concerns. The pediatric indigent fund provides patients with medication, clothing, transportation and other needs.
Helen and Charles Brewer of Vienna were recently honored by Opportunities, Alternatives and Resources (OAR) of Fairfax County Inc. for their volunteer work with jail inmates, former offenders and their families. The Brewers received the “Volunteers of the Year” award at OAR’s Volunteer Recognition Ceremony and 35th anniversary celebration on May 17. OAR is a private, nonprofit, community-based organization committed to helping offenders who are, or have been, incarcerated and wish to assume productive roles in the community. Families of offenders are also assisted.
The Brewers have been OAR volunteers since 1996 and have contributed close to 1,000 hours of service. Their activities have included staffing the Family Outreach desk at the Adult Detention Center, as well as mentoring offenders to help them achieve a successful re-entry to the community upon release. Charles Brewer is currently mentoring his 21st client. Helen Brewer mentored 10 clients and then took on the responsibility of interviewing inmates for eligibility for mentoring services.
Dr. George Bitar, who has an office in Vienna at the Lofty Salon and Wellness Center, is a candidate for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's Man of the Year. The society's Man and Woman of the Year running will conclude on June 10 at the Grand Finale Gala at the Andrew Mellon Auditorium on Constitution Avenue, at which time the winner of the campaign will be announced. Candidates are raising funds for the society. The public can participate by making an online contribution, purchasing a raffle ticket for a Toyota RAV4 or buying a table/ticket for the gala. Visit www.leukemia-lymphoma.org.