Back2School Supply Drop-Off is Next Week!

It’s no secret that many for many families money is tight which makes school supplies a luxury for a family struggling to pay their bills. A backpack full of new school supplies can give a child the confidence they need to begin the school year right AND help ease the financial burden for the family.

Check out these three easy ways to help prepare the children from NVFS programs to follow their dreams:

• Donate today!
• Buy supplies off our Amazon Wish List or Shop and Drop them off to us next week. (Thursday, 7/29 from 9am-1pm or Friday 7/30 from 1pm-5pm at 11884 Grand Commons Ave. in Fairfax)
• Volunteer to help us sort supplies and stuff backpacks.

YOUR support of the Back2School drive will make a tangible impact on a student’s success - both in the classroom and beyond.

Help NVFS Earn a Chance at Receiving a Grant of Up to $100,000 Through A Community Thrives Challenge

A Community Thrives is a crowdfunding challenge from the USA Today Network and the Gannett Foundation. This unique campaign brings together the Northern Virginia community in support of mental health services for immigrant children, youth, and adults. If NVFS meets its goal to raise $6,000 by August 13th, we will be eligible for additional grant awards up to $100,000 in funding from the Gannett Foundation!

Throughout the past year requests for mental health services grew exponentially while resources were stretched to their capacity. The long-term effects of the heightened anxiety, depression, stress, and isolation from the pandemic will continue to unfold. Your gift to NVFS’ Mental Health Can’t Wait campaign through the A Community Thrives challenge will provide affordable, accessible, language specific, and culturally sensitive services through the NVFS Multicutltural Center to our neighbors struggling with a mental health crisis.

NVFS & Arlington County COVID Technology Project a Success!

Since the initial shutdown in March 2020, access to technology has been a necessity to all and yet unattainable for many. With everything from school, to work, to even medical and counseling appointments moving online, families without access to computers and the internet were being left even more under-resourced than before. To address this need, NVFS and the Arlington County Community Development Fund, along with other non-profit partners, joined forces to create technology kits, which included a ready-to-use laptop with hotspot connection, and helpdesk support, for families who wouldn't otherwise have access.

Here's a snapshot of the impact of this work from the program recipients:

This technology has been of great help to me personally and to my family because I have been able to receive my sessions with my mental health counselor through telemedicine, as well as any appointment that any member of my family has with their primary doctors. I am so grateful to have this technology that has helped us survive the COVID pandemic.

I got my new job using the laptop provided.

We were able to stay connected and stay well informed about what was going on in the world as we dealt with the pandemic. It was helpful in letting us have zoom meetings with our relatives during the pandemic as well.

I have a laptop now, so it's helping a lot in connecting me back home, as well as my daughter can take her class back home on laptop instead of my phone. I am very glad and excited for the laptop. Thank you so much.

NVFS Receives a $25,000 Grant from Safeway Foundation Nourishing Neighbors

NVFS is grateful to they Safeway Foundation Nourishing Neighbors Program for its continued generosity. Over the past year, food insecurity has increased for many of our neighbors, who may be unaware of existing federal nutrition programs for which they may be eligible. This $25,000 grant will help continue our work to connect qualified individuals and families with existing federal meal programs such as SNAP, WIC, P-EBT, and free or reduced school nutrition programs.

Thank you to the Safeway Foundation and their generous customers for partnering with us to help relieve food insecurity in our region. To learn more about the NVFS Hunger Resource Center and how you can get involved, click here.

Celebrate National Thrift Shop Day with the NVFS Clocktower Thrift Shop on August 17th!

Thrifting is more popular than ever and at the NVFS Clocktower Thrift Shop in Falls Church you can stretch your dollar, find the perfect retro accessory, or uncover a new-to-you treasure. Join our Facebook group (@nvfs.thrift) for all the latest news, finds, and sales. (Hint: There is an upcoming sale to celebrate National Thrift Shop Day!)

To learn more about how your purchases and donations to the NVFS Clocktower Thrift Shop supports our neighbors in need, check out nvfs.org/thrift-shops.