Former Alexandria City Councilman Frank Fannon is hosting his 18th annual Alexandrians Have Heart food and clothes drive in Old Town on Saturday, Feb. 14.
Fannon started the drive after getting elected to City Council in 2008, and says that he’s hoping this year to deliver a record six Ford F-150-sized truck beds full of food and clothes to ALIVE!, Carpenter’s Shelter and Christ House.
Some Alexandria businesses closed and others encouraged civic involvement last week during nationwide strikes protesting immigration enforcement.
In Old Town, businesses like fibre space, Friends to Lovers Bookstore and Ms. Moxie’s Moon Shop made posts encouraging actions such as donating money or supplies and contacting lawmakers to protest U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement after agents shot and killed Alex Pretti and Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis and detained a 5-year-old child.
Friends of Guest House residents will have a comfy new year, as more than 75 sets of new pajamas and cozy socks were donated to the nonprofit and handed out on Christmas Eve.
The donations are enough to keep the residents outfitted with pajamas for an entire year, and were made possible by Maureen Clyne, a local realtor, who started the holiday effort seven years ago.
If you visited Charles E. Beatley, Jr. Central Library recently, you might have noticed a colorful collection of pom-poms planted in the grounds outside.
The whimsical pom-pom garden encouraged donations to the Alexandria Library’s annual Yarn Storm drive, which collected some 400 hats, mittens and scarves for donation to an Alexandria shelter.
In a room packed with toys and books, the Alexandria Sheriff’s Office gathered more than 50 gift bags for kids today (Tuesday), hoping to spread cheer to children of inmates this holiday season.
Since last month, the office has collected gifts for the families of 55 inmates, with kids receiving five gifts each. It’s all part of Operation Elf, the office’s annual holiday toy drive.
An Alexandria nonprofit that teaches trades to underserved youth received 100 refurbished laptops and $10,000 from AT&T and Human I-T today (Thursday).
Apprentices at Cornerstone Craftsman will each receive one of the laptops after they graduate from high school. The donations were made by AT&T after Garrett McGuire, the company’s regional director of external and legislative affairs, spoke with Alexandria Mayor Alyia Gaskins about workforce development.
An Alexandria nonprofit is requesting donations of women’s pajamas for its residents who are transitioning back into the community after incarceration.
Friends of Guest House, located at 1 E. Luray Avenue, is collecting women’s pajama sets to provide for its residential program participants during the holiday season. Realtor Maureen Clyne has collected hundreds of sets since starting the annual effort seven years ago.
Science kits, race cars, Legos and sport balls.
Those are just some of the donation ideas Volunteer Alexandria is calling on the community to contribute to its annual holiday drive, Toys4ALX, which closes next Thursday, Dec. 11. Volunteers are aiming to collect more than 3,500 new, unwrapped toys for 700 kids and counting across the city.
A number of local toy drives are still accepting donations, hoping to bring joy to thousands of kids in and around Alexandria this holiday season.
The deadline to donate to the following toy and gift card drives is just around the corner.
The historic Woodlawn & Pope-Leighey House site is collecting non-perishable food donations in exchange for admission discounts this holiday season.
Now through Dec. 29, guests who bring one canned good to the Woodlawn admissions desk can receive a 10% discount on individual tour admission. The food drive comes as the museums aim to provide non-perishable, shelf-stable foods in “waterproof food pantries” outside the front gates at the Quaker Meeting House.
A nonprofit affordable housing provider in Alexandria has distributed Thanksgiving meals to 300 families in need, following its annual holiday food drive.
The drive organized by Housing Alexandria surpassed its collection efforts in 2024 by 15%, according to a release. Each meal provides enough food to feed a family of four, totaling more than 1,000 servings of food.
