Archive for January, 2010

170 people, including 36 new members, generously contributed $65,000  for the Giving Circle’s 2010/2011 priority gifts!  Thank you for your contributions of money and time to a great cause.

Still haven’t made your membership investment?  It’s not too late for you to make a difference.  Please send your check (our preferred form of payment), payable to WGCA/ACT to

The Giving Circle, Membership Chair
P.O. Box 1627
Alexandria, VA 22313.

Or give online by clicking the Donate button to the right.

Please welcome new members Kelly Abramson, Susan Hahn, Janet Hawkins, Jean Kee, Cheryl Malloy, Sherry Schiller, LaRue Sloan, and Jennifer Veech.

Do you have other friends who would enjoy being part of the Giving Circle?  More house parties are coming up. Caren Camp’s is next and it has a new date. Please bring a friend or two and join us at her home, 208 S. St. Asaph Street, on March 2 from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm. RSVP to Pamela Larson.

Jenny Considine will also host a combined membership and Baskets for Books event on Saturday, March 6, from 10:00 am to noon before the St. Patrick’s Day parade at Jefferson Court (between S. Pitt & S. Royal off of Wilkes St.). RSVP to Pamela Larson.

• need to expand playgroups throughout the City;
• desire for a mechanism to help various organizations collaborate on their efforts;
• the importance of engaging fathers; and
• the observation that transportation, childcare and language barriers continue to be obstacles that keep parents from attending workshops, classes or other programs they need.

The next gift committee meeting is February 11 at 7:00 pm in City Hall, Room 2000.  All interested members are invited to attend this meeting.  We will discuss the responses to the RFI in the context of what investments the Giving Circle will make for 2010-2011. This is an opportunity to learn more about how your Giving Circle investment will be used and and to be a part of that decision.

If you would like to review the responses to the RFI or want more information about the gift committee, please contact Peggy Stypula or Karen Snow.  We hope to see you on the 11th.

Give the gift of literacy by supporting the Giving Circle of Alexandria’s annual book drive with Wright to Read.  The book drive runs from February 1 through March 14.  The goal is to collect books for 1200 summer reading packs to be distributed to City of Alexandria students.  What can you do to help?

GATHER BOOKS FOR THE BOOK DRIVE

Here’s the list of books we need and there are several ways to help gather the books:

• Donate new and gift quality used books (without torn pages or writing) appropriate for K-6th grades.  Bring your books to

• Purchase new books for the book drive at Hooray for Books in Old Town.  Make your purchase by phone or in person and receive a 15% discount by mentioning “Summer Reading Packs.”  Hooray for Books will store the books and deliver them to the Book Sort for you.  How easy is that?  HOORAY!

• Purchase new books from your favorite retailer.

Drop off your books, or have them shipped to Wright to Read, 414 N. Washington St., Ste.101, Alexandria, VA 22314. 703-299-9855. Note this is a NEW LOCATION.

COME TO BASKETS FOR BOOKS TO RAISE MONEY:

Join Giving Circle Members and their families for an afternoon of shooting hoops and other basketball games as they raise money to purchase books for the Book Drive.  Wright to Read can purchase books at a steep discount ,so money raised at these events will go a long way to helping us meet our goal of 1200 summer reading packs.  You may also bring your own book donations to these events.

• Sunday, February 28 from 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm at Burgundy Farm Country Day School
• Saturday, March 6 from 10:00 am to 12:00 before the St. Patrick’s Day Parade at the home of Jenny Considine, Jefferson Court, (between S. Pitt & S. Royal off of Wilkes St.)
• Hold your own Baskets for Books event.  Contact Tricia Karppi to find out how!

PACK AND SORT BOOKS:

Join us Sunday, March 14 from 1-4 pm to pack and sort the books into the summer reading packs.  Location: TBA.

This event was fabulous, with hundreds of volunteers doing important work to benefit all sorts of worthy local causes. Our project to assemble New Baby Welcome Baskets for Healthy Families Alexandria (HFA), a Giving Circle priority gift recipient, and the Alexandria Department of Health Field Nurses was a smashing success!  Check out the photos on our website.

Our goal was create 100 New Baby Welcome Baskets, yet we collected goods for and assembled 150! I am grateful to all of you for donating your time, talent, supplies, and cash to this project.  Healthy Families Alexandria and the Field Nurses are so pleased to have their very bare storerooms restocked…and at-risk new mothers who receive these valuable parcels will appreciate this thoughtful helping hand.

Again, thank you so very much for supporting new parents, HFA, the Field Nurses, the Giving Circle of Alexandria, and  me!

All the best,
Hallie Smith

P.S.
Spring cleaning?   Please keep in mind that Healthy Families Alexandria will happily accept your donations of new and used winter coats (adults and children 0-5 years),  clothing (maternity and children 0-5 years), towels and bedding (sheets, blankets, comforters and pillows), port-a-cribs and regular cribs and strollers at their office at 5249 Duke Street (just past the Beatley Library).

December’s “Circle Time” coffee was fun.  We had a nice mix of old friends and new faces.  Let’s do it again! Our next gathering will be Friday, January 15 from 9:00 to 11:00 at Mancinis, corner of Mount Vernon Ave. and Monroe in Del Ray. Drop by when you can for however long you can stay.  Just like last time, renewal checks and children are welcome! If you can’t make it this month, we’d love to see you next month.

In the meantime, where would you like to have these gatherings?  We’d like to vary the location so we have a change of scenery and so everyone’s neighborhood has a chance.  Cast your vote and let us know.

We are beginning the 2010 nomination and election process for The Giving Circle Board of Directors.  This is an exciting time for The Giving Circle membership and an opportunity for those of you who want to get more involved to do so. We encourage members to become active in the leadership of The Giving Circle, so if you have the time and interest, please let us know.

• Please review the Leadership Opportunities available this year,
• then use the online Nominating Form to nominate yourself or another Giving Circle member to a leadership position.
• Please submit your nominations by January 31, 2010.

We are looking for the Officers and Directors-at-Large, all of whom will serve on The Giving Circle Board of Directors. Many of The Giving Circle’s Officer and Director positions are up for election this year.  The remaining positions will be subject to election in 2011.

This Spring, the Board of Directors will consider nominations received from members and will recommend a slate of Officers and Directors-at-Large to the membership for election. We will send out the Call to Vote for the 2010 election in April.  Any member who contributed $100 or more to The Giving Circle between January 1, 2009 and April 15, 2010 will be eligible to vote in this election.

If you want to learn more about The Giving Circle Officer and Director-at-Large positions or have questions regarding the nomination process, please attend one of the Nominating and Membership Involvement Open Houses noted below, where you will have a chance to speak to current Giving Circle Officers about the open positions.  Refreshments will be provided and children are welcome.

• Wednesday, January 20, 9:30 to 11:00 am at the home of Sue Setliff, 306 W. Masonic View Ave., Alexandria, VA  22301
• Thursday, January 21, 7:00 to 8:30 pm at the home of Tracy Nickelsburg, 303 W. Masonic View Ave., Alexandria, VA  22301

Nominations must be received by January 31, 2010. If you have any questions, please contact me at (703) 282-5096 or tnickelsburg@mindspring.com.  I look forward to hearing from you regarding The Giving Circle’s future leaders and would enjoy seeing you at one of the Open Houses.