NVFS Celebrates its Positive Community Impact During the Road to Independence Gala

NVFS celebrated the Road to Independence Gala on May 5th at the Wolf Trap Pavilions. Attendees heard stories of transformation from Carla Portillo and Lamiaa Farrag, who shared how they are meeting their goals with resources and guidance from NVFS’ Early Head Start and Healthy Families programs. The event raised funds to support NVFS’ work in the community, ensuring that our neighbors and families are connected to support services to build a thriving future. We invite you to view photos of the event.

Thank you to our NVFS supporters, donors, volunteers and team members for making the event a success!

5 Parenting Tips to Help Girls Recognize Healthy Relationships

April was Abuse Prevention Month. Each year we join the Pinwheel for Prevention campaign hosted by Prevent Child Abuse of America - the nation's oldest and largest organization committed to preventing child abuse and neglect. The month is an opportunity to educate and recommit to our work of helping build healthy families. One of the many activities we engaged in was a pinwheel mural which captured the whimsy of childhood while allowing our Healthy Families staff to express their dedication to the children and families they serve. Congratulations to Dounia of NVFS' Healthy Families Prince William for winning the pinwheel decoration contest.

Also, our Youth Initiatives teams identified 5 tips for caregivers to help their girls recognize healthy relationships. Experiencing healthy relationships subsequently helps girls identify unhealthy ones. Although we focus on girls because they are particularly at risk for abuse, these caregiving tips are useful for any child. Check out the full blog here.

Nominate Your Outstanding Company for a CARE Award

For over 30 years, the CARE Awards program recognizes exemplary companies across the DC Metro Region for their outstanding culture and employee engagement strategies. CARE Award-winning companies proactively make our region a better place for everyone to live, work, and play by incorporating outstanding employee wellbeing programs, focusing on diversity and inclusion, and engaging actively with their communities.

If your company is interested in applying for a CARE Award, please visit our website to access the application, which is due June 20, 2023. If you have any questions, please email [email protected].

International Leaders Learn from NVFS’ Work to Support Torture Survivors

The NVFS Multicultural Center hosted the Inter-Governmental Consultations on Migration, Asylum and Refugees (IGC) last week. The delegation learned about how the NVFS Program for Survivors of Torture & Trauma (PSTT) supports survivors by providing mental health care specialized for their experiences, access to medical care, legal services and other NVFS services to support their journeys to wellbeing. The Multicultural Center provides mental health services in a culturally and linguistically sensitive manner, in multiple languages: Amharic, Arabic, Dari, Farsi, French, Spanish, and English. Mental health services in these languages can be difficult to access due to a lack of multi-lingual practitioners.

Learn more and support the work at NVFS' Multicultural Center work.

Volunteer Spotlight: Monica Rodriguez

A big thank you to Monica Rodriguez who volunteered 120 hours at NVFS’ Multicultural Center for her Spring 2023 Psychology Class at Marymount University. Monica greeted clients, helped with checking them in, directed clients to appropriate staff, fielded phone calls from our neighbors seeking assistance and provided administrative support to the Legal department.

Dr. Sarah F. Fischer, Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice at Marymount University recognizes the importance of volunteering. “Thank you for giving (our students) such an outstanding opportunity and experience at NVFS... an excellent organization with exemplary professionals to learn from!”

College and university students help our neighbors on their journey to wellbeing while gaining valuable work skills, discovering new career possibilities, and being able to add that volunteer experience to their resume. 

To Intern or Volunteer at NVFS contact the Community and Volunteer Engagement Team at [email protected].