<lst>Send announcements, which are open to the public at no or minimal cost, to The Loudoun Connection, 7913 Westpark Drive, McLean, VA 22102, e-mail to loudoun@connectionnewspapers.com or fax to 703-917-0991. Deadline is Friday, two weeks before the event. Photos/artwork encouraged. For more information, call Matthew Razak at 703-917-6457. For additional listings, visit www.connectionnewspapers.com.
ECHO (Every Citizen Has Opportunities, Inc.), 71 Lawson Road, Leesburg, needs sponsors to provide a gift for the annual Every Citizen Has Opportunities Holiday Party, Friday, Dec. 14. Each of the 120 clients receives a wrapped present at this event. Also, volunteers are needed to help with the Holiday Gift-Wrap fund-raiser at Dulles Town Center, 21100 Dulles Town Circle, Dulles. Gift-wrap training is available. Proceeds benefit Every Citizen Has Opportunities. Call 703-779-2100.
Ashburn/Sterling Masonic Lodge No. 288 is holding its installation of officers, Dec. 19, 7:30 p.m., 43881 Waxpool Road, Ashburn. Visit www.AshburnLodge.org or e-mail info@AshburnLodge.org or call 703-470-2188. The public is welcomed.
The CountrySide Women's Club isplanning to hold two annual events, the Holiday Evening Social and Ornament Exchange Brunch for members and their guests. For information about the club, that is open to all women of CountrySide and surrounding area, and the many activities offered contact Teresa at 703-444-3035.
The Lions Club of Sterling, in cooperation with Melodee Music of Sterling, will be hosting the annual Lions of Virginia James A. Bland Music Scholarship Competition, Feb. 3, at 1:30 p.m., at Meldoee Music, 46077 Lake Center Plaza. Admission free.
Individuals who wish to compete can pick up applications at Melodee Music; by calling the club, 703-723-0077; writing the Sterling Lions Club, P.O. Box 45, Sterling, VA 20167-0045; or e-mailing sterlinglions@comcast.net. Deadline for applications is Jan. 19. The contest is open to any musically gifted child, vocalist or instrumentalist; must be a Virginia resident in elementary-high school or home-schooled at those levels and cannot be a previous winner at the state level of the competition. For more information, visit http://sterlinglions.googlepages.com or http://www.valionsorg/Bland.html.
UMFS, a nonprofit family support group, will hold monthly support group meetings for adoptive families the third Tuesday of each month, 12:30-2 p.m., at the Ashburn Library, 43316 Hay Road, as part of the Adoptive Family Preservation program. Free, but preregistration required. Call Lisa Mathey, UMFS adoptive parent liaison, 703-347-5049 or mathey88@yahoo.com or Jodee Mellerio, UFMS adoptive family specialist, 703-941-9008, Ext. 23 or jmellerio@umfs.org.
The Ashburn volunteer knitters meet every second Tuesday of each month at the Ashburn Library, 43316 Hay Road, Ashburn. LaDonna Snellbaker leads a knitting group that creates small blankets, caps, and hats. Items are donated to area hospitals. All levels of skill welcome. Beginner knitters need to bring bamboo needles and worsted weight yarn (Lyon Brand Woolease). Recommended for ages 12 and up. Advance registration required, go to www.lcpl.liv.va.us or call 703-827-5922.
The Ashburn Ruritan Club is a 501C(3) nonprofit community-service organization focused on community service, fellowship and goodwill. The club aims to improve the Ashburn community by providing merit-based scholarships and support for under-funded educational programs. To join or attend a meeting, contact the club at 866-670-5984 or at ashburnruritan@onebox.com. The meetings are held the second Tuesday of the month in the Ashburn Library.
The South Riding Lions Club, which focuses on helping the vision and hearing impaired in Centreville, Chantilly, Herndon, South Riding, meets the first Thursday of each month at the Pleasant Valley United Methodist Church, 43987 John Mosby Highway, Chantilly. New members welcome. Call Jim Vertrees, 703-327-3538.
Crochet Club, at the Leesburg Senior Activity Center, 215 Depot Court, Leesburg. Meets Fridays, 9 a.m.-noon. Free. Call 703-737-8039.
Walking club, at the Leesburg Senior Activity Center, 215 Depot Court, Leesburg. Meets Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, 10:30 a.m. Free. Call 703-737-8039.
The Ancient Order of Hibernians is an Irish-Catholic fraternal organization, visit cunninghamaih.com. Its two main goals are to preserve Irish heritage and to nurture Catholic faith. The club meets the second Tuesday of every month at the Sterling Ruritan Club. Contact Bob Anderson at 703-858-7167 or Ned Woisard at 703-724-0524.
The Ashburn-Sterling Masonic Lodge meets on the second Tuesday of each month at 6:45 p.m. for dinner at the lodge, located at 43881 Waxpool Road, Ashburn. Visit www.AshburnLodge.org or e-mail info@AshburnLodge.org or call 703-470-2188.
The Loudoun County Public Library Board of Trustees will hold its monthly meetings on the third Wednesday of the month at 7:30 p.m., at the Ashburn Library, 43316 Hay Road, Ashburn. Call 703-777-0368 V/TTY or visit www.lcpl.lib.va.us.
Ashburn Assembly No. 11, International Order of the Rainbow for Girls meets on the first and third Wednesdays of each month at Ashburn-Sterling Masonic Lodge. Contact the mother advisor, Clarissa Jones, at 703-724-0675 or e-mail momclarissa@vaiorg.org.
The Loudoun County NAACP meets at 7:30 p.m., on the third Monday of every month, at the Mt. Olive Baptist Church, 216 Loudoun St., S.W., Leesburg. Contact 540-687-8230 or 703-777-8270.
Countryside Quilters meet the first and third Tuesday of each month, 7:30 p.m., at the Community Lutheran Church, 21014 Whitfield Place, Sterling. Guild activities include book and fabric exchanges, workshops, speakers, field trips and community service projects. Call Leanne, 703-304-6721.
MADD Loudoun announces the new MADD Loudoun Victim Support Groups for families/significant others who have been impacted by a drunk-driving crash. The group is for families, significant others who lost a loved one, for injured survivors and their families. The MADD Loudoun Victim Support Group will meet on the third Wednesday of each month, 7:30 p.m., at 210 Wirt St., Leesburg.
The Ashburn Ruritan Club is collecting used TI-83 calculators to donate to Ashburn high schools. To donate, contact the club at 866-670-5984 or at ashburnruritan@onebox.com.
La Voz of Loudoun, a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit organization, received a $1,000 donation to support the English and Family Integration Program from Dominion Virginia Power. The program provides English language instruction, life skills instruction and information to the parents and family members of at-risk youth. The program helps to provide encouragement and support to recent immigrants as they integrate into the Loudoun Community and is the result of a collaboration between La Voz of Loudoun, the Loudoun Community Services Board (LCCSB) After School Program and the Fields of Leesburg Management Company.
MOMS Club of Ashburn Village Area, an organization offering support to mothers and children holds meetings on the third Monday of each month. The group also covers Ashbrook, Regency, Cameron Chase, Belmont Country Club, University Center, the Courts and Ridges and more. The club offers play groups, activities, field trips, Moms' Night Out and more. Prospective members always welcome. E-mail ashburnmomsclub@yahoo.com or visit http://www.geocities.com/ashburnmomsclub.
The Loudoun Walking and Volkssport Club invites the public to check out its self-guided year-round walks. The club offers eight walks in the county that can be done any day at just about any time. Each has a choice of distance, 5 and 10 kilometers. The club offers these walks as part of its community outreach efforts. Contact Bob Wright at
703-737-2175 or rwright2@jhu.edu.
The Senior Center at Cascades Marketplace, 21060 Whitfield Place, Sterling, has a walking club, which meets Thursday mornings, at 10:30 a.m. Walks take place outside, so wear loose comfortable clothing and sneakers. In case of inclement weather, walkers will be transported to the Dulles Town Center to walk around the "track."
Help Save Loudoun meets at 7 p.m., the last Wednesday of each month at the Cascades Library, 21060 Whitfield Place, Sterling. Visit www.helpsaveloudoun.com.