Call to Action: Help AARP pack meals for struggling seniors

Good Morning Prince William

• If you’re a veteran or the spouse/caregiver of a veteran and you live in Manassas, Manassas Park or Prince William County, you’ll want to take advantage of the “Wills for Veterans” program, which provides a Will, Powers of Attorney and/or Medical Directives, free of charge. The program consists of 3 mandatory sessions on Sep. 21, Oct. 5 and Oct. 19, all at Manassas Senior Center.  Please contact Barbara at (703) 792-7175 or email [email protected] to learn more.
• Mark your calendars for Wednesday September 11th to join the AARP Foundation’s Annual Meal Pack Challenge on the National Mall at 12th street and Jefferson Street from 9am-4:30 pm. The goal is to pack a million meals for struggling seniors across the region. If you can spend just 2 hours with them you can help 166 seniors. Please sign up at: mealpackchallenge.org.
• Prince William Forest Park needs volunteers for their Annual Heritage Fest on Saturday September 14th, 11am-5pm. Duties include parking assistance, maintenance crew, directing visitors, hay wagon rides and more. Please email Kaley to volunteer at: [email protected].
• Historic Dumfries is looking for volunteers to be Outreach Heroes during their upcoming Fall Festival October 19. Training provided, and you’re supplied with a kit with crafts, activities and promotional material to hand out during the event. Contact Lisa at [email protected] or call (703) 221-2218 to learn more.
• The wonderful staff at ACTS have an urgent need for admin volunteers who can help in either their Finance department or their Crisis program. Volunteers in Finance must be at least 18, and will help with various admin support projects 1-2 times a week.  A background in accounting is a must.  Volunteers for the Crisis program must be at least 21, and will help with data entry 1-2 times a week.  Crisis volunteers can help either in the Dumfries or Manassas satellite office.  Volunteers must pass a criminal background check for all opportunities.  Please contact Shirley at (703) 441-8606 or email [email protected] to learn more.
• The St. Lucy Project gathers and distributes food to area food pantries. Volunteers are needed at their Manassas warehouse to help with unpacking, sorting and assembling boxes of food to go out. Hours of operation Monday – Friday 9:30am-3:30pm. They may have weekend hours as well. Please call Elizabeth at (703) 479-2975 to learn more.
• Project Mend A House is looking for volunteers for their home improvement and senior safety projects throughout the community. Please go to their website for the volunteer application at: pmahweb.org.
• Habitat for Humanity is signing up volunteers and groups for their upcoming Fall Build Days. It’s a fantastic way to get in a good day’s work and help a local family obtain a safe, healthy home to live in! Please call (703) 369-6708 to learn more.
• Habitat is also recruiting volunteer Elves to make their two ReStores Merry and Bright for the holidays! Volunteers are needed to sort, clean, research and price seasonal merchandise.  Get an early jump on the holiday spirit by helping them get ready!  Be prepared to lift up to 20 pounds and use Internet search engines to research items.  Please sign up on Habitat’s volunteer calendar at habitatpwc.volunteermatrix.com/.
• Jehovah’s House Thrift Store located at 17740 Main St. in Dumfries is searching for donations of gently used/new clothes, household goods, appliances, furniture, jewelry, etc. Volunteers age 16+ are also needed to help out in the store – bilingual volunteers are particularly needed! Please visit jehovahshouse.org/volunteer to fill out an online form or call (571) 418-1095 to learn more.
• NAMI – National Alliance on Mental Illness needs volunteers to share their lived experience of mental health condition as they gear up for the new Ending the Silence Program in area middle and high schools. Please call Pat at (703) 992-5708 to learn more.
• Mason Community Arts Academy invites military kids to their Songwriting Workshop series at the Hylton Performing Arts Center on Saturdays, September 28th-November 2 from 1-3pm. This workshop is free and open to military kids ages 10-17. Space is limited. Please call (703) 993-5970 to register.
• Prince William Food Rescue is up and running and needs your help to pick up donated food and deliver it no more than 5 miles or 20 minutes. To be a Food Rescue hero all you have to do is download the app to your phone and complete your profile.  The app alerts you that there is a food rescue and you can claim it if convenient.  This is definitely 21st century and how cool to have an opportunity to share leftover food with an entity that can use it.  Please visit their website at: pwfoodrescue.org to learn more.
• Virginia Cooperative Extension is starting their new volunteer training to become a Master Financial Educator on October 1st. Please visit their website at: pwcgov.org/money to learn about this wonderful program of empowering people in financial management.
• House of Mercy food pantry is very low.  Please pick up an extra few items for them when shopping.  Food items most needed are: fresh fruit and vegetables, meat and dairy products, spaghetti, Mac n cheese, canned soup, vegetables, beans and olive or vegetable oil.  They are located at: 8170 Flannery Court Manassas which is right off Wellington Road.  Volunteers are also needed in both the pantry and thrift store. Please register online at: houseofmercyva.org.
• The American Red Cross is recruiting volunteers to help with blood drives, present disaster preparedness to elementary age kids, promote Red Cross school clubs and supporting other volunteers in the community. Please call (703) 584-8444 to learn more.
• The Retired and Senior Volunteer Program is looking for volunteers age 55+ to drive veterans or spouses to their doctor’s appointments. It’s very easy to help these individuals get the care they need while remaining in their homes. RSVP members receive a mileage reimbursement and additional insurance coverage at no cost to the volunteer.  Please call Jan at (571) 292-5307 to learn more.
• Soles4Souls collects new and gently worn shoes to create sustainable jobs around the world. Drop off points are the DSW Shoe Store in Woodbridge and Gainesville, Core Effects Personal Training in Woodbridge and Mt. Zion Baptist Church in Triangle.  Please visit their website at: Soles4Souls.org to see all the cool stuff they are doing.
• Catholic Charities needs volunteers to teach English, citizenship, GED and computer classes at their Hogar Center in Manassas. They also have a need for math, science and social studies teachers. Come be part of their team giving families a better opportunity for success. Please call Emily at (703) 851-6388 to learn more.
• The Chinn Center needs volunteers on Sunday September 15th for their 6th Annual Kids Triathlon. Kids start in the pool with laps and move out to the bike course and then end on the run course. Volunteer positions include keeping the kids safe and on course. The event starts at 7am and volunteers need to report by 6:15am.  Teenagers age 14+ are very welcome for this event! Please call Beverly at (703) 792-8616 for more info.
• Food for Others needs volunteers to pick fresh fruit and vegetables at the Hollin Farm to distribute to families in need. They work every Sunday through October 20th.  Please visit foodforothers.org/ and click on the rotator slide for Hollin Farm to sign up.
• Girls on the Run Northern Virginia is looking for volunteer coaches for the Fall 2019 season, including a volunteer coach to work with the Heart & Sole team Tuesdays and Thursdays at the Boys & Girls Club of Manassas. You will be trained to facilitate the easy to follow curriculum with small groups of girls in grades 3-8, twice a week for 10 weeks. The program runs from September 23rd-November 24th to inspire girls to be strong, confident and healthy.  Please email Meagan to learn more at: [email protected].
• Walk to End Alzheimer’s is Saturday October 19th in Manassas. Volunteers are urgently needed to help with set up, clean up, refreshments, advocacy, route monitoring or the finish line brigade. Gather your friends and families to join in the event. Please email Ben at: [email protected] to learn more.

If you are looking for other opportunities, please don’t forget to call my wonderful team at Volunteer Prince William.  Jan can help you with the Retired and Senior Volunteer (RSVP) opportunities at (703) 369-5292 ext. 1 and Bonnie can help you with opportunities available in Disaster Preparedness at (703) 369-5292 ext. 3.  Please visit our website at volunteerprincewilliam.org.  Thanks so much for all you do in our community.