Board Elections are Coming Up….Are You Eligible to Vote?
Many thanks to those of you who nominated or accepted a nomination for the Officer and Director positions on next year’s Giving Circle Board. The nominations period is now closed and the voting process will begin soon.
Are you eligible to vote for your Board?
You are eligible to vote if you made a contribution of $100 or more to The Giving Circle between January 1, 2009 and April 15, 2010. Please email Beth Delucenay if you are unsure about your contributions during the last year.
If The Giving Circle has your current email address, you will receive your election materials by email in the third week of April. Otherwise, we will send your information by post.
We look forward to receiving your vote, and we will announce the results at our Spring Celebration in May!
Sincerely,
Tracy Nickelsburg
Nominating and Election Coordinator
Photo Credit: Vaguely Artistic /Creative Commons
Many Thanks from Your Membership Team
Our sincere thanks to Caren Camp and Jenny Considine for hosting Giving Circle parties in March. Both parties were so much fun, and really gave us a chance to catch up and be inspired by all we do!
Mark your calendars:
Our next Giving Circle open house will be at the home of Sherry Schiller, on May 6th at 6pm. 801 Duke Street. Please join us to reconnect, bring a friend, all are welcome. May 6 has turned out to be a very busy night in Alexandria due to the Campagna Center’s Toast to Fashion, so Sherry Schiller’s membership open house is postponed. We’ll let you know the new date as soon as we have it.
Board elections are coming up so make sure your vote counts. Check with Beth to determine whether you are eligible to vote. Or go ahead and renew NOW. Although checks are our preferred method of payment, if paying online is your preference, that’s OK! Just click the Donate button on the right.
Thank You For Your Hard Work on the Book Drive!
Thank you! Thank you!
The Giving Circle and Wright to Read produced nearly 800 book packs for the needy children of Alexandria. Thanks so much to those who donated books or money to purchase books. To reach our goal of 1,200 packs, we still need your help.
We are looking for 450 new or gift quality book donations for students going into Kindergarten, 4th grade and 5th grade. While you are spring cleaning, please search your bookcase for books to donate (or visit a local bookstore), and look for these types of books:
Going to Kindergarten, need about 100 books – board books, books with a few words or one sentence on each page, rhyming books, and vocabulary building books. Dr. Seuss beginner books and books with Kindergarten in the title are great.
Going to 4th Grade, need about 200 books – the earliest solid chapter books. Charlotte’s Web and Ralph S. Mouse books are good choices.
Going to 5th Grade, need about 150 books – chapter books and biographies. Diary of a Wimpy Kid and Roald Dahl books (such as James and the Giant Peach) are good choices. We have received many “girly” books at this level and could use some Hardy Boys books to balance.
Drop off your book donations at the Wright to Read offices at 414 N. Washington Street from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm, Monday through Friday. Or email Tricia Karppi to make arrangements for the books to be picked up from your house. Packs are distributed in late May and early June.
Thank you!!
The Book Drive is in the Home Stretch! But we still need your help to meet our goal…
Thank you for all your donations and support for Basket for Books! We are still short of our of 1200 Book Packs. There are THREE easy ways to help:
1) DONATE BOOKS. 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.
- 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.
2) TOO BUSY TO SHOP? CONSIDER A MONETARY DONATION. Since Wright to Read can purchase books at a deep discount, your donation goes a lot farther! Each summer reading pack costs about $6.00. Email me, Tricia Karppi, to let me know how much you would like to contribute. Make your check out to The Giving Circle / ACT, write “Baskets for Books” in the memo line and mail it to me at 8206 Collingwood Court, Alexandria, Va 22308.
3) Join other Giving Circle Members at the Book Sort and Pack on Sunday, March 14 from 1:00 to 4:00 pm at Wright to Read, 414 N. Washington St., Suite 101. Volunteers may park in the lot behind the building. Enter the parking lot from Columbus Street, then walk through the covered garage and through the red door to enter the building.
Thank you for your support and I hope to see you on Sunday!
March Notes from Peggy
Despite the snow last month, there is a lot going on!
Congratulations to ALIVE!’s Child Development Center for achieving a 4 star rating in Virginia’s Star Quality Initiative. This initiative recognizes quality childcare programs committed to continuous improvement.
Read on to find out more about how this Initiative helps parents identify quality childcare near them and just how significant an accomplishment this rating is for the ALIVE Child Development Center, recipient of a Giving Circle Developmental Grant.
Take a moment to learn about the work Giving Circle member, Sherry Delaney, is doing with The Safety Net Project. The Safety Net Project is a program of her own creation and based on a philosophy similar to that of our Giving Circle. This is an inspiring story, so grab a cup of tea and scroll down to find out more.
We have some fun opportunities for service and socialization coming up:
- Membership Open House on March 2, 6:00 to 8:00 pm at the home of Caren Camp, 208 S. St. Asaph Street.
- Baskets for Books on March 6 from 10:00 am to noon at the home of Jenny Considine, Jefferson Court between S. Pitt and S. Royal off Wilkes St.
- Book Sort on March 14 from 1:00 to 4:00 pm at Wright to Read, 414 N. Washington St. Suite 101.
- Circle Time on Tuesday, March 16 at 7:00 pm at the Del Merei Grill, 3106 Mount Vernon Avenue (where Calvert Grill used to be).
Continue reading for more details about these events. And go ahead and mark your calendars now….after all this snow, I bet many of us could use a little fun!
The Book Drive Continues
Only a couple more weeks left in our annual book drive with Wright to Read and we still have a lot of work to do! The goal is 1200 summer reading packs for Alexandria children. There are several ways to help:
GATHER BOOKS FOR THE BOOK DRIVE
Donate new or used gift-quality books appropriate for K through 6th grades, purchase books at Hooray for Books (15% discount when you mention “summer reading packs”) and let them store and deliver them for you, or purchase books from your favorite retailer. Find out more about donating books.
COME TO BASKETS FOR BOOKS TO RAISE MONEY
PACK AND SORT BOOKS:
When you sponsor a book for an entire grade, Wright to Read purchases 150 copies of that book to be included in the Summer Reading Packs. Check out the details and donation levels.
