We are beginning the 2011 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;
- Use the online Nominating Form to nominate yourself or another Giving Circle member to a leadership position;
- Please submit your nominations by January 31, 2011.
We are looking for Officers and Directors-at-Large, all of whom will serve on The Giving Circle Board of Directors. Certain Giving Circle Officer and Director positions are up for election this year. The remaining positions will be subject to election in 2012.
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 2011 election in April. Any member who contributed $100 or more to The Giving Circle between January 1, 2010 and April 15, 2011 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.
- Thursday, January 20, 9:30 to 11:00 am at the home of Cathleen Phelps, or
- Friday, January 21, 7:00 to 8:30 pm at the home of Pamela Larson.
RSVP by clicking on Cathleen or Pamela’s name above, and an e-mail will go to our Nominating Chair, Tracy Nickelsburg; she will provide home address information for the Open House of your choice.
If you have any questions, please contact Nominating Chair Tracy Nickelsburg or at 703.282-5096. We look forward to hearing from you regarding The Giving Circle’s future leaders and would enjoy seeing you at one of the Open Houses.
Part of last year’s Priority Gift to our community was a contribution of up to $20,000 to evaluate the effectiveness of Playgroups in our City and explore possibilities for improving and expanding the playgroup model.Giving Circle Founding Member Karen Devlin, together with September Jones of the Alexandria/Arlington Smart Beginnings Program have set this initiative in motion by way of a Playgroup Summit that took place in December. Several organizations with a vested interest in early childhood education and parental engagement participated in the event, which took place at the Campagna Center.
The purposes of the Summit were to:
- Obtain and share information on the various playgroup models operating in the City,
- Establish the unique characteristics of playgroups to reach at-risk families, provide opportunities to connect parents with community resources and facilitate development of social skills of children under age five.
- Identify the best way to reach at-risk families
- Determine whether there is a need or desire to have a comprehensive playgroup strategy in Alexandria
The Summit was successful in bringing together individuals who represent diverse organizations in the community who are interested in improving and expanding playgroups, such as the Center for Alexandria’s Children, the Office of Early Childhood, the Department of Human Services for the City of Alexandria, the Alexandria City Public Schools, the City of Alexandria’s Health Department, the Campagna Center Early Head Start Program, Preschool Prevention Team, Northern Virginia Family Services, Healthy Families Alexandria, and Stop Child Abuse Now. The summit was also attended by George Washington University faculty.
The conversation is just beginning and we are on the cutting edge! There is more to come in the next few months. Stay tuned to find out how our Giving Circle will have an opportunity to assist direct providers in improving and expanding the playgroup model throughout Alexandria.
Jane Hess Collins of Get out and Give Back hosted a sharing session amongst area giving circles where we could compare notes, share stories and ask questions of each other. This was a great event! Why don’t we do this more often? It was fascinating to find out where we are the same and where we are different and somewhat reassuring to find out how similar some of our challenges are. Mostly it was exciting to meet like-minded women from the broader community committed to finding a way to make the world a better place to be.
Find out more from Jane’s article in Washington Life about giving circles as a form of philanthropy, how they work and why people join. Find out more about Jane Hess Collins on her blog, Get out and Give Back. While it’s an easy read, it’s also thought provoking and inspirational.
What difference will you make today? You could renew or become a member of the Giving Circle and be part of a strategic and sustaining gift to families and children in need right here in Alexandria. If you have already renewed your membership in the Giving Circle, THANK YOU! If not, make the click and renew online.
It’s that time of year again! Time for lots of list-making, shopping, cooking, baking, wrapping, delivering and wondering what we have forgotten to do.
It is also a time when many people feel moved to share their blessings with others. There are many food drives, community collections and other events that encourage us to help our neighbors. These activities remind us to be thankful for all we have and help us feel part of our larger community.
We love this about Alexandria: that there are so many ways to be a part of the fabric of the City. Being a part of the Giving Circle of Alexandria is one easy — yet enriching — way to be involved in the life of this vital City.
If you have renewed your membership with the Giving Circle, THANK YOU!
If you have not yet made your membership contribution, please take a few moments to renew at the Giving Circle website. You will have the satisfaction of crossing something off your list and your contribution will become part of a large and sustaining gift to a program that supports children and families in Alexandria. It is hard to make that level of impact with a gift as an individual; giving as part of the Circle enables your gift to make a real difference in someone’s life. So far, we have raised $25,000 for next year’s gifts and we need your help to reach our goal of $75,000.
We have a very special Circle Time coming up on December 13 — see Membership below for more information.
Thank you for all you do! We wish you the happiest of holidays and we hope to see you soon.
Cathleen Phelps and Karen Snow
Please join us for a members-only Circle Time at the new Spice and Tea Exchange at 320 King Street, in the arcade across from City Hall on Monday, December 13 from 10 am to 12 noon.
Attendees will enjoy unlimited tea or coffee, along with scones and savory breads. Shop co-owner Joy Quinn will also offer samples. And, just in time for that last-minute holiday shopping, all Giving Circle member purchases on the 13th will receive a 10% discount.
If you haven’t renewed or joined yet, just bring along your checkbook, knowing that your tax-free membership donation goes a long way to help make our beautiful city better every day!
Please RSVP to Pamela Larson so she knows you are coming.
On Tuesday, November 9, The Giving Circle of Alexandria awarded $10,000 in grants to two local agencies.
AHSCC's Bonnie Baxley(L) with Giving Circle Members
The Alexandria Homeless Services Coordinating Committee (AHSCC) received $5,000 to pay for at least 15 service providers from 15 agencies serving the homeless in Alexandria to receive 2-day training entitled “Out of Poverty.”
Training will certify each participant to be a facilitator of the program, and once certified, such staff can train other staff. “Out of Poverty“ is a structured 50-hour curriculum for homeless families designed to “foster personal transformation” and intervene in the poverty cycle and build a different future.
Friends of Guest House & Giving Circle Members
Friends of the Guest House received $5,000 to initiate “Good Parenting Training” to Alexandria mothers who have recently been released from prison. The mission of Guest House is to assist non-violent, female ex-offenders leaving jails and prisons with housing, counseling, employment and with medical, legal and social services. The program funded by The Giving Circle of Alexandria will train about 25 female ex-offenders each year and in turn, benefit approximately 50 children.
