Prince William County could soon be home to a new inline hockey rink at the Hylton Boys and Girls Club in Dale City, following an in-depth discussion by the Board of County Supervisors during their December 17, 2024, meeting. The facility results from a partnership between the Boys and Girls Club, Prince William Ice Center, the Washington Capitals, and George Mason University.
Seth Hendler-Voss, the county’s Director of Parks and Recreation, introduced the project, describing it as “an exciting partnership opportunity to bring a new recreation amenity to Prince William County.” He outlined the proposed location and the collaboration required to make the rink a reality.
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Press Release:
Prince William County has successfully completed substantial improvements along 5,000 feet of Prince William Parkway and 1,500 feet along Discovery Boulevard, including enhancements at the intersection of Discovery Boulevard and Hornbaker Road.
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Press release:
The University of Mary Washington and George Mason University have renewed existing partnerships designed to accelerate student success and open the door to additional agreements between the two schools beginning as early as next year.
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Greetings, Prince William: Happening in 3 weeks - Volunteer Prince William’s Fall Reverse Raffle & Dinner in support of Untrim-A-Tree, October 19, 6:30 p.m. at Prince William County Fairgrounds 10624 Dumfries Road, Manassas 20112! Doors open at 6pm, the raffle begins at 7pm. Tickets are $100, and include dinner for 2, two drink tickets per ticket and the opportunity to win prizes leading up to the Grand Prize of $10,000! It’ll be a fun evening of good food, networking, and a chance to win the Grand Prize, all to support a cause which will guarantee vulnerable children in our community have a Merry Christmas on December 25! Tickets can be purchased on our website, www.volunteerprincewilliam.org.
- Support our veterans by giving the gift of a lift! Our VETS program has an ongoing need for volunteers age 21+ to provide transportation to local veterans and their spouse on weekdays to medical appointments, shopping, etc. If you’re a veteran looking to connect with fellow vets or looking to fill up your day, this is a meaningful experience. Schedules are flexible, and you’ll feel great as you provide a ride, a friendly face and help this population meet their needs! Please visit https://bit.ly/4eWwrdB for details, email [email protected] for more information. . This opportunity is made possible by a grant from Potomac Health Foundation.
- You can help senior citizens facing food insecurity! ACTS needs dedicated volunteers to deliver boxes of food to homebound seniors and people with disabilities in eastern Prince William County Monday-Thursday, 11 a.m.-1 p.m.. Volunteers need a valid driver’s license and can use any size vehicle, though a van may be provided if necessary. Boxes can weigh up to 40 pounds. Volunteers typically call or text recipients to notify them that their delivery is on the way. You’ll feel great as you ensure that those who are unable to leave their homes receive the food they need! Note: Client Intake Volunteers are also needed! Duties include assisting clients with booking appointments, registering new clients, and ensuring every client receives the support they need. Familiarity with client intake software and fluency in Spanish is helpful, but not necessary! For more information, please email [email protected].
- BEACON for English Language and Literacy is recruiting volunteers to teach adult ESOL students! They have an Urgent Need for In-Person Evening Volunteers for the current Fall semester, along with their upcoming Winter session which begins on December 2 (online and morning teaching options are available for the Winter semester). Morning classes meet on Monday and Wednesday 9:30am-11:30am and evening classes meet on Tuesday and Thursday 7pm-9pm. No teaching or language experience is required, and training is provided. To learn more, please sign up for a virtual information session at Info session sign-up or contact Seth at 571.428.2524.
- The hard-working staff at Boxes of Basics reports they have an URGENT need for short-sleeved shirts for both Boys and Girls since they’re currently providing clothing for over 100 children weekly! Boys’ sizes range from 5 through 16, for Girls’ sizes from size 6 through 16. You can do one of three things to help: 1) Donate gently used, clean clothing; 2) Shop at home on their Amazon wish list: https://a.co/ig2zwK3; or 3) Pick up some shirts on your next shopping trip! You’ll feel great as you help vulnerable kids have fresh, clean clothing they can wear to school, playtime, etc.!
- Brain Injury Services (BIS) has an ongoing need for volunteers to be PALS (Providing a Link for Survivors) for survivors of brain injury. This is a one-to-one friendship program for brain injury survivors; the program connects BIS clients with volunteers who can help them socialize in the community and rebuild social skills through friendship. Once a month outings for coffee, walks, chess, lunch, etc. can help a client get their life back on track following such a traumatic occurrence! Please visit www.braininjurysvcs.org/volunteer/ for more information.
- Do you enjoy supporting live concerts? Clearbrook Center of the Arts located in Lake Ridge needs volunteer Event Stagehands age 18+ to contribute to the smooth running of their events. Jobs include guiding show bands to their designated staging areas, assisting bands with load-in/breakdown and helping with stage setup/breakdown. You get to enjoy some great live music and get Free admission to a future Clearbrook concert of your choice! To view the concert schedule, please visit www.clearbrookcenterofthearts.org, visit their SignUp Genius page at https://signup.com/go/gjAhPZb to volunteer.
- Education Majors and Retired Teachers! The Literacy Engagement Action Project (LEAP) at George Mason University is seeking volunteers age 18+ to provide literacy tutoring for students in grades K-5 at Boys & Girls Club in Dumfries and the Community Center in Georgetown South in Manassas. This is a paid internship running through the school year on Tuesday and Thursday evenings. Training and materials are provided. Interns must successfully complete a background check. You’ll get excited as you help a child open new worlds through literacy and reading! Please visit https://leap.cehd.gmu.edu/ to learn how you can get involved.
- It’s that time again – Historic Manassas, Inc. needs volunteers to support the upcoming Fall Jubilee October 5, 6 a.m.-6 p.m. in Old Town Manassas! Volunteers of any age are welcome, volunteers under age 16 must volunteer with an adult over 18. Duties include setup, keeping trash picked up, helping to monitor Kids Areas and the Stage Area. You’ll have a fun time enjoying all the sights, food, and music of this event while you help to promote the advantages of visiting Old Town! Please visit https://bit.ly/3Sp91TJ to sign up.
- “Farm livin’ is the life for me…” Prince William Soil and Water Conservation District is hosting Farm Field Days October 9 and 10, 8am-1pm at the Prince William County Fairgrounds, 10624 Dumfries Road, Manassas 20112. Volunteers are needed to support this event which educates 4th graders about agriculture and farm life. Duties include helping set up, check in volunteers, monitor various agricultural stations, set up/monitor the concession stand and guide student groups from one station to the next. No farm experience is needed! Lunch will be provided to volunteers once the event ends. This should be lots of fun as you help educate students about farm living! Please visit https://bit.ly/3smBobx to register. Questions? Please call 571.379.7514 to learn more.
If you are looking for other opportunities, please don’t forget to call our wonderful team at Volunteer Prince William at 703.369.5292. You can also visit our website at www.volunteerprincewilliam.org. Thanks so much for all you do in our community.
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Prince William County is navigating challenges as it seeks to balance the growing demand for data centers with its aspirations for technological innovation and education, particularly around the George Mason University SciTech Campus.
This dynamic was discussed at the Prince William Board of County Supervisors meeting on September 10, when leaders and stakeholders expressed concerns over how the expansion of data centers could impact the county's economic growth potential, particularly at the college's Innovation District, outside Manassas.
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George Mason University’s Potomac Science Center in Woodbridge is raising funds for a new dock and a boat to enhance its environmental research and education efforts. Dr. Chris Jones, the academic director of the Potomac Environmental Research and Education Center, discussed the initiative at The Health of Our Waterways Gala event on June 28, 2024, held at the science center in Belmont Bay.
The new dock will enable students and researchers to access the Potomac River for hands-on learning experiences. Dr. Jones emphasized the importance of fieldwork, stating, “Rather than just giving lectures or showing videos about sampling and studying aquatic organisms in their habitat, we go out and collect them, experience them, make measurements in the field, and demonstrate the concepts that they’ve learned in lab and lecture in the real world.”
The center’s current location poses challenges due to shallow waters extending 500 feet from the shore, making it difficult to launch boats. Dr. Jones explained, “We ended up here by a process. Let’s just say that we needed donation of land on the water, and there was not a lot of thought put into how would we access the water once we were there.”
The proposed dock will include a long raised walkway to deeper water, with five boat slips, including one at channel depth for larger vessels. “We have to have a long gangway, essentially just a raised walkway to get out to near where the water is deep enough to have boats,” said Dr. Jones. The project is estimated to cost between $1.2 million and $1.4 million. An initial architecture and engineering study is expected to cost $300,000.
In addition to the dock, the center aims to acquire a trailer-able boat, costing around $70,000, to facilitate access to different parts of the Potomac River, including areas near the Chesapeake Bay. “The boat that we’re asking for does not require a pier. It is trailerable, so we can keep it on a trailer out here and drive near where we want to sample, launch it, and go out and sample,” Dr. Jones said.
This boat will allow for more reliable sampling and studying of diverse aquatic environments. Dr. Jones highlighted the research opportunities, particularly in studying stratification in estuaries and the impact of anoxic (low or no oxygen) conditions on bacteria. “Up here, the river is well mixed from the surface to bottom. But in a classic estuary, you have stratification where the freshwater glides over the salt water, leading to potential anoxic conditions.”
The university has already received $100,000 from the College of Science dean for the initial design study but requires additional funding to complete the project. The center’s efforts to enhance its research infrastructure aim to provide students with valuable hands-on learning opportunities and contribute to understanding aquatic ecosystems.
George Mason University’s Patriot Pitch Competition awarded its top prize in the General Entrepreneurship Track to Zachary Suh, a 19-year-old freshman from Ashburn studying marketing.
Suh’s venture, ElderlyEats, aims to provide senior citizens with nutritious and culturally familiar meal plans.
“ElderlyEats is basically a meal plan company that’s catered to the specific needs of the elderly’s dietary nutrition,” said Suh. “We have dietitians on our team that vet our meals carefully to the nutrition of elders.”
Unlike popular meal kit services like HelloFresh and Blue Apron, ElderlyEats focuses on creating meals for seniors with conditions such as dysphagia and diabetes. His personal experience inspired Suh with his grandmother, who struggled to find suitable meals due to Alzheimer’s and dysphagia. “We ordered these dishes, but she couldn’t actually eat them. So we had to almost like puree it up for her,” he explained.
The company emphasizes traditional dietary ingredients to provide familiar flavors, addressing a gap left by mainstream meal services that cater to younger demographics. “We’re focusing on developing these menu items that are just pureed completely. We’re looking at rice porridges, soups, stuff like that,” said Suh. “A big thing about these major meal plans is that they’re focusing on a very young demographic, so their meals are very catered to, you know, kind of trendy cultural foods.”
Suh’s journey into entrepreneurship was influenced by his brother, a successful entrepreneur who received investment from Y Combinator. “My brother definitely influenced that. I actually competed with him at UVA when I was a high schooler in another entrepreneurship competition, and that kind of exposed me to it,” Suh said.
Despite the challenges, Suh is committed to growing his business and hopes to continue in the field of entrepreneurship, potentially opening a restaurant in the future. “If I was able to successfully exit my company, then I’d probably open up a restaurant. But I think I’ll definitely stay in the world of entrepreneurship,” he stated.
Suh encouraged aspiring entrepreneurs to pursue their passion and start small businesses. “Whatever you’re passionate in, that’s what you’re going to put the most hours in and the most work in,” he said. “You just got to start. You can’t just keep saying you’re going to do something. Break your big goal into smaller plans and just execute through that.”
As a freshman, Suh has made significant strides with ElderlyEats and looks forward to further developing his venture while completing his studies at George Mason University. “I really have no idea right now where I see myself in the next five years,” Suh admitted. “But I’m just going to keep working on ElderlyEats and see where it takes me.”
Local and state leaders, alongside George Mason University faculty and partners, cut the ribbon at the newly constructed, 1,946-square-foot Nanofabrication Facility on its Manassas Campus.
George Mason University has unveiled a new logo, concluding a three-year-long rebranding effort aimed at unifying the university and its athletic program under a modern and inclusive identity. The updated logo reflects the university's status as a top 50 national public university and emphasizes its commitment to innovation and diversity.
![Zachary Suh, 19, is the George Mason University’s Patriot Pitch Competition winner. Suh’s venture, ElderlyEats, aims to provide senior citizens with nutritious and culturally familiar meal plans. [Submitted photo]](https://www.potomaclocal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/JWB-041124-GMU-BizPitch-0925-final-3-1260x840.jpg){kind=link}
![Zachary Suh, 19, is the George Mason University’s Patriot Pitch Competition winner. Suh’s venture, ElderlyEats, aims to provide senior citizens with nutritious and culturally familiar meal plans. [Submitted photo]](https://www.potomaclocal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/JWB-041124-GMU-BizPitch-0979-final-1260x840.jpg){kind=link}
![Zachary Suh, 19, is the George Mason University’s Patriot Pitch Competition winner. Suh’s venture, ElderlyEats, aims to provide senior citizens with nutritious and culturally familiar meal plans. [Submitted photo]](https://www.potomaclocal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/JWB-041124-GMU-BizPitch-1257-final-3-1260x840.jpg){kind=link}