Great Falls Friends and Neighbors Scholarship Fund Board members and scholarship recipients: front row: Scholarship Fund President Ricki Harvey, (recipients Lea Lines, Kelly Hogan and Martina Atabong) Anne McVey, Jan Lane; back row: Allison Granstedt, Kristen Trimble, Annette Kerlin and Laura Bumpus.
Why Play Bridge?
Great Falls Friends and Neighbors
12th Annual Bridge Jamboree
Saturday, Nov. 14
Christ the King Church, 10550 Georgetown Pike, Great Falls
The Great Falls Friends and Neighbors (GFFN) 12th Annual Bridge Jamboree is scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 14 at Christ the King Church, 10550 Georgetown Pike in Great Falls.
“It’s a little different from running a marathon,” said Holly Kuga, of the social and enjoyable fundraiser. “We play bridge for a philanthropic purpose.”
“I find it relaxing and challenging and no matter how much I’ve played bridge and think I’ve seen all the permutations and combinations, the very next turn I get, I say, ‘Hmmmm, how do I play this?’” said Kuga.
“It’s an all-day event,” she said.
Register by Nov. 4, 2015.
Great Falls Friends and Neighbors gave its members a glimpse of the power of their efforts.
“We are a women’s organization. Everyone benefits,” said Ricky Harvey, the organization’s Scholarship Club President. “When you educate a woman, you really help children, then you help families, then you help communities.”
Great Falls Friends and Neighbors women’s club presented Martina Atabong, 35, with a scholarship at Riverbend Golf and Country Club in Great Falls in September.
“I’m so excited, I’m so happy, deeply touched,” said Atabong, a single mother originally from Cameroon, who is on the Dean’s list at George Mason University. She received her associate of science degree from Northern Virginia Community College and plans to graduate with a nursing degree in 2016.
She is the first in her family to attend college. “I’ll use this opportunity,” she said during the luncheon on Friday.
A BRIDGE JAMBOREE is one way the group raises money to give the scholarships.
The Great Falls Friends and Neighbors (GFFN) 12th Annual Bridge Jamboree is scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 14 at Christ the King Church, 10550 Georgetown Pike in Great Falls.
“It’s a little different from running a marathon,” said Holly Kuga, of the social and enjoyable fundraiser. “We play bridge for a philanthropic purpose.”
“I find it relaxing and challenging and no matter how much I’ve played bridge and think I’ve seen all the permutations and combinations, the very next turn I get, I say, ‘Hmmmm, how do I play this?’” said Kuga.
“It’s an all-day event,” she said.
GREAT FALLS FRIENDS and Neighbors gave Kelly Hogan, of Woodbridge, a dance scholarship named for Bette Carter, one of the founders of the Great Falls women’s club.
“It’s encouraging that people are supporting the arts,” she said. “It’s helping me, who I am as an artist and as a dancer.”
And they also honored Lea Lines, who grew up in Springfield. Lines holds a 4.0 grade point average at George Mason University and hopes to become a neonatal intensive care, pediatric intensive care or labor and delivery nurse. Lines re-entered academia after her youngest child enrolled in elementary school.
“My family comes first,” she said.
She is a member of two honors societies and volunteers for her nursing major and in the community.
“There are so many costs associated with my major; lab coats, equipment and everything,” she said. “This is going to make a big difference,” she said.
About 125 members of Great Falls Friends and Neighbors attended the luncheon.
“We love putting a face to the story,” said Harvey. “We love helping the next generation.”
THE WOMEN’S CLUB has more than 200 active members.
Great Falls Friends and Neighbors has existed for 35 years, and is a result of a 2011 merger of two local clubs, the Great Falls Woman's Club and Newcomers of Great Falls.
Another fundraiser, a cooking demonstration at L'Auberge Chez Francois, is planned for January 2016 to benefit the charity, Kids R First.