Georgetown South carnival, food fair to raise funds for terminal cancer patient, mother of 4

October 24th, 2015 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., will see the largest event ever held in Georgetown South.

It is planned to be a community clean-up, small business expo, yard sale, resource center, food fair, carnival and fundraiser. We will be inviting all of the town home communities in the City of Manassas.

The centerpiece and impetus for the event is a fundraiser for one of our residents Reyna Torres Alatriste. Reyna is the mother of four children ages 3 to 11. She is receiving treatment for gastrointestinal cancer and has been given six to nine months to live.

Her desire is to return to Mexico to be cared for by her mother as she leaves this world. At the same time, she will be taking her children to be raised by their grandmother who they have never met.

The goal of the fundraiser is to set up a bank account in Mexico that Reyna’s mom can use to care for her children as they grow. The event location is on a common area in Georgetown South that spans the length of two and a half blocks.

Picture that covered with people of all ages as they come together to help one of their own. There is plenty of parking nearby at the Grant Avenue Shopping Center. We will have a 100-table yard sale with proceeds from the yard sales going to Reyna’s Fund.

Our Resource Center will consist of services that would be helpful to the all of attendees including the Word Alive Church presenting their SHARE MENU food packages, voter registration, immigrants first providing free legal consultations, Hogar Hispano, the Mexican and El Salvadoran consulates, the New Majority, Centreville Labor Resource Center, Chapel Springs Assembly of God ESOL Class Registration, the VA Extension Service with homeownership and renters’ rights class registration, the Pregnancy Resource Center, Project Mend a House, Habitat for Humanity and the Women, Infants and Children’s Clinic.

Our food fair will have vendors selling take away plates of carne asada, beans, rice and tortillas, Peruvian chicken, pupusas from El Salvador, the real deal Mexican tacos, Bolivian Saltenas, and the best Fish Fry you will ever taste.

Our Small Business Expo will consist of Georgetown South residents that want to showcase their business for all of the community and city to experience. Our carnival will entertain children of all ages with amusement rides, moon bounces, slides, pony rides, face painting, and kids’ games and activities.

Our community clean up includes seven roll off locations throughout the community where people can clean up and clean out in preparation for winter.

This is Georgetown South’s way of introducing its new and improved self to the City of Manassas as a Community that cares for its own. 

This post was submitted by Meg Carroll, community manager at Georgetown South.