More
Post Content

ALIVE! and Volunteer Alexandria collect 33.5K pounds in first citywide food drive

Marion Brunken, executive director of Volunteer Alexandria (on left), and Jenn Ayers, executive director of ALIVE!, celebrate reaching the goal of collecting more than 33,500 pounds of canned goods and cooking oil during the month of July (courtesy photo)

ALIVE! and Volunteer Alexandria exceeded their goal and collected more than 33,500 in last month’s first-ever citywide food drive.

The nonprofits collected 33,511 pounds of food from 38 locations across Alexandria last month.

“Thank you, Volunteer Alexandria, for hosting this food drive for us and the community,” said Jenn Ayers, ALIVE! executive director, “Donations like the ones we’ve received go a long way to keeping our costs down and provide a healthy variety of food to people who need help.”

The food collected will feed thousands of Alexandria families needing assistance. The effort was so successful that Volunteer Alexandria Executive Director Marion Brunken said that there will be another food drive next summer.

“We are thrilled to have exceeded our goal by over 3,000 pounds for our first community food drive and thank everyone who was able to help in some way,” Brunken said.

While the food drive was successful, ALIVE! always needs more donations. Food can be dropped at the ALIVE! Food Warehouse (801 South Payne Street) on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.; on Thursday from 9 a.m. to 7 pm. and on Saturday from 9 a.m. to noon.

The food drive was sponsored by Ting Internet, Fitness Together and the Rotary Club of Alexandria.

Volunteer Alexandria and ALIVE! wanted to thank the following organizations:

0 Comments

ALIVE! food drive aims to collect 30,000 pounds of food this month

Volunteers sort food at ALIVE! (Photo via ALIVE!/Facebook)

As the number of Alexandrians needing food assistance keeps rising, Volunteer Alexandria is asking residents to donate toward the first ever city-wide food drive.

Volunteer Alexandria has a goal to collect 30,000 pounds of canned food items by July 28 for ALIVE!‘s food bank.

“Hunger does not take a summer break and we thank everyone for donating cans and for volunteering to support this month-long food drive,” said Volunteer Alexandria Executive Director Marion Brunken. “Our goal is that this initiative becomes an annual event in the summer.”

Donations to local food banks usually dry up in the summer months, said ALIVE! Executive Director Jenn Ayers.

“Right now our service numbers are very high,” Ayers said. “We’re serving nearly 5,000 households per month through all our food programs (distributions, pop-ups, pantries and ALIVE! food hubs). At the peak of the pandemic we served about 6,000 households.  Last year this time we were down to about 3,000 households, so the need for food is still very high.”

Pre-pandemic, ALIVE! served about 400 households per month, Ayers said.

Ayers also said that financial donations are welcome, as last fiscal year the nonprofit spent about $550,000 in $1,000 payments to more than 500 families. Now with funds all used up, she says that the need is growing.

“We think people are really having trouble just making ends meet, what with inflation, the rising cost of living, increased rent, and all of that having an impact on food security,” she said. “We’re also seeing a higher number of people calling for support with rent or trying to prevent eviction, as well as seeking food. So so it’s all compounded together.”

ALIVE! needs:

  • Canned meat and fish
  • Canned vegetables and fruits
  • Canned beans
  • Cooking oil in plastic bottles

There are 16 food donation collection points:

The food drive is sponsored by Ting Internet, Fitness Together, and the Rotary Club of Alexandria.

The next ALIVE! food distributions will be held Thursday from 4 to 6 p.m. at William Ramsay Recreation Center (5700 Sanger Avenue), and on Friday from 10:30 a.m. to noon at the Old Town Community Church (212 S. Washington Street).

2 Comment

Volunteers needed to deliver food to Alexandria families on Thanksgiving week

Meals on Wheels volunteer Susanne Young (via Senior Services of Alexandria/Facebook)

(Updated at 12:30 p.m.) Senior Services of Alexandria needs help delivering food to families with children this upcoming Thanksgiving week.

Volunteers need to pick up and deliver meals in the morning throughout the week.

“Volunteer drivers must use their own vehicle and have a valid driver’s license and current insurance requirements,” according to Visit Alexandria. “Volunteers should also possess the ability to lift 10-20 lb. containers into your vehicle and should be able to climb stairs, if necessary.”

To volunteer, email [email protected].

Meals on Wheels volunteers are needed until Dec. 1.

2 Comment

From tour guides to youth sport coaches, there are a bunch of opportunities to volunteer in Alexandria

Want to lend a helping hand? Alexandria is full of summer volunteer opportunities.

Volunteer Alexandria’s website lists plenty of ways for residents to give back.

Here’s a roundup of some of the opportunities this summer:

Distribute food for ALIVE! — “Assist ALIVE! feeding food insecure City of Alexandria residents in local Alexandria neighborhoods throughout the city during weekdays. Volunteer roles include bagbing food, handing out perishable and nonperishable items, breakdown after the distribution, load and unload the truck.”  Click Here to sign up.”

Sexual Assault Center hotline operator — “The Sexual Assault Center (SAC) offers support to victims of sexual assault and their families and friends. Trained volunteers and staff are available 24 hours a day to provide crisis intervention and emotional support, advocacy with medical, police, and court systems, short-term individual and group counseling, and information and referrals. In addition to services for individuals, the staff is also available to provide training, information, and presentations to local schools and organizations. The Sexual Assault Center offers information and support for sexual assault (i.e. rape, attempted rape, fondling, indecent exposure, etc.) survivors and their family and friends, sexual harassment and stalking victims, and individuals of any age, race, ethnicity, immigration status, sexual orientation, gender identity, physical ability, etc. Click HERE to learn more.”

Mentor for girls — “Space of Her Own is looking for mentors to build long lasting bonds with 9- to 11-year-olds through art projects after school.
Information sessions are scheduled at August 9 and 10 at the Lee Center. Click HERE to sign-up.”

Volunteer for Back to School Community Day — “On Saturday, August 27, UNCUT Youth needs volunteers to setup, breakdown, and provide support for their event – a day of food, games, raffles, and giveaways. Click HERE to sign-up.”

Youth sport coaches — “Coach an assigned group of children and focus on skill development, safety, fair, play, sportsmanship and fun. Work to esatblish and improve team unity and spirit. Click HERE to learn more.”

Tour guide at Carlyle House — “Carlyle House Historic Park, a colonial house museum in Old Town Alexandria, seeks volunteer docents to give public tours of the building. Carlyle House Docents commit to volunteering at least 2 weekday shifts per month or 1 weekend shift per month. Click HERE to express interest.”

Mentoring and tutoring at Casa Chirilagua — “The Arlandria-based organization Casa Chirilagua is seeking volunteers for its after-school programming. Click HERE for a full list of opportunities.”

Job counselor at Together We Bake — “Are you looking for a meaningful way to get involved with TWB? We are recruiting volunteers to act as Job Counselors for our upcoming sessions. This is a great opportunity to work one-on-one and build impactful relationships with Team Members while helping them discover and expand their career goals. Click HERE to learn more.”

Alexandria Symphony Orchestra concert volunteer — “The ASO needs your help to usher at performances and perform other duties. You can watch the performance once patrons are seated. Come hear this great orchestra if you love symphony. Click HERE to learn more.”

0 Comments

Volunteer Alexandria’s Theresa Kramer-Burgess uses social media to help the city

If you’re an Alexandrian on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter, there’s a pretty good chance you’ve seen Volunteer Alexandria posts written by Theresa Kramer-Burgess.

If the Volunteer Alexandria needs something, Kramer-Burgess lets everyone know about it on social media. Sometimes she posts more than a dozen times a week on each platform.

Kramer-Burgess has been Volunteer Alexandria’s social media coordinator since 2017, and Executive Director Marion Brunken says the nonprofit would be helpless without her.

“Staff and all (Volunteer Alexandria) Board members love what Theresa does, and appreciate your time and talent she gives to us and the community,” Brunken said. “Without her, we really wouldn’t be where we are today.”

There are dozens of volunteering opportunities available in the city, and Volunteer Alexandria staff struggled with social media until Kramer-Burgess took the responsibility off their hands.

“We need to take care of each other,” Kramer-Burgess said. “I love seeing results that have an impact on people’s lives and in the community. If I can be a small part of that, that’s something that as the human I feel I need to do. We should all do something to try to improve things in the world, whether it’s picking up a piece of trash or letting people know that something is available.”

Kramer-Burgess lives in the Alexandria area of Fairfax County, and has been in marketing for 30 years. She describes herself as a behind-the-scenes type of person, and says the first few months of the pandemic were challenging. The need for volunteers increased exponentially, and she worked upward of 20 hours a week posting about availabilities.

“To see people answer the call and give of themselves and sign up for opportunities — it’s just been so amazing to see,” Kramer-Burgess said. “It’s been gratifying and restores one’s faith in people.”

Things have calmed down now, and now Kramer-Burgess gives about five hours a week to the cause. She also says she has no plan to walk away from her duties.

“It’s a part of my life now,” Kramer-Burgess said. “If they take my computer away from me, I guess I’ll have to stop, but no. I don’t have an endpoint. I never thought I’d be doing it for five years, but it fits in with my life.”

Photo via ALIVE!/Facebook

2 Comment
×

Subscribe to our mailing list