nonprofit

‘Arlington Fun Ride’ Planned for Saturday

By ARLnow.com

Dozens of bicyclists will hit the trails around Arlington this weekend for the second-annual “Arlington Fun Ride.”

The family-friendly event, which will take place from 8:00 a.m. to noon on Saturday, is a fundraiser for the non-profit, Barcroft Park-based Phoenix Bikes shop. Registration is $5 for individuals and $10 for families. The first 280 registrants will receive a t-shirt, free food from Chick-Fil-A and refreshments.

The ride begins at 8:00 a.m. at Barcroft Park (4200 S. Four Mile Run Drive), and takes riders on a 17-mile loop around Arlington via the W&OD, Custis, Mt. Vernon and Four Mile Run Trails. Children’s activities, including a bike rodeo, kids dance fitness class, cycling safety instructions and a health fair, begin at 10:00 a.m.

“The Fun Ride promotes family fitness and provides support for Phoenix Bikes, a community bike shop empowering at-risk youth,” organizers say. “Our environmentally and fiscally sustainable bike shop helps Arlington teens become successful social entrepreneurs and benefits the entire community.”

The ride’s 25+ sponsors include Arlington County and Arlington Public Schools. County Board member Walter Tejada will serve as the ride’s Grand Marshall.

As Recession Lingers, AFAC Hits All-Time High

By ARLnow.com

The Arlington Food Assistance Center reached an all-time high number of families served last week, a dubious milestone the organization attributes to the on-going recession.

AFAC served 1572 families, or 4006 individuals, last week. The previous high was hit on Nov. 21, 2009, when AFAC served 1524 families during its traditionally busy Thanksgiving distribution week. Last month, AFAC saw its highest average monthly number of families served: 1450.

“Most of the individuals, I would say, are affected by the recession,” AFAC Executive Director Charles Meng told ARLnow.com. “The issue remains that unemployment among the lower income brackets in Arlington County is still very high. Those individuals are still not finding jobs, or are getting jobs that pay minimum wage.”

Meng said that while Arlington’s unemployment rate is among the lowest in the country, the relative prosperity has not trickled down to lower-income individuals, who are having a hard time finding full-time employment that pays the bills. According to Meng, it takes a wage of about $12.50 to $13.00 per hour to live in Arlington.

“Rents are high and the price of various commodities are higher here than elsewhere,” he said. “We do see some of our clients getting jobs, but they’re not full time and they’re not at a living wage for Arlington County.”

While previous growth in the number of individuals served by AFAC came from senior citizens, Meng says the latest growth came from an increase in families utilizing AFAC’s S. Nelson Street, Clarendon and Gunston distribution sites. The organization operates about a dozen distribution sites around the county.

The good news, according to an AFAC press release, is that donations are increasing.

“Food donations are beginning to increase with the start of the school year and cash donations are on the rise,” the organization said. “Both should continue to increase through the holidays.”

Meng said AFAC can meet current demand, but added: “We can always use donations.”

Arlington 9/11 Softball Tournament Canceled

By ARLnow.com

The annual First Responders Cup softball tournament, played in South Arlington, has been canceled this year due to rain.

Tournament coordinator George Barusso wrote on the tournament’s web site that organizers are “very disappointed to pull the plug on this tournament but we don’t feel that we have a choice.” The girls fast pitch tournament, which was created after 9/11 to benefit local disaster relief and military charities, was to get underway today.

Coaches, Players and Fans,

For the first time in our ten year history, we’re cancelling the entire First Responders Cup event. As hard as we’ve tried to make this work in some form or fashion, Mother Nature continues to work against us. After consulting with Arlington County and umpire officials, always with an eye to the safety of the players, we believe that cancelling now is the right decision. We’d held out hope all along that we could resuscitate the fields for a scaled down tournament on Sunday. But the professionals who work fields everyday say that maybe we have a 30% chance for Sunday and that’s simply not enough to keep from inconveniencing everyone if we have to cancel later. So we’re very disappointed that we will not have any teams engraved on the First Responders Cup for 2011 but we know in the end that it’s the right decision.

Once again we are very disappointed to pull the plug on this tournament but we don’t feel that we have a choice. Nevertheless, we are already looking forward to seeing all of you in September 2012, when I’m confident that the sun will shine down on the 11th Annual, First Responders Cup.

Best to you all…thank you for your patience.

George Barusso
10th Annual, First Responders Cup
www.firstresponderscup.org

Kettler to Host Charity Hockey Game on Saturday

By ARLnow.com

The NHL season doesn’t start for another month, but local fans will be able to get their fill of hockey action this Saturday at Ballston’s Kettler Capital Iceplex (627 North Glebe Road), during the third annual Charity Hockey Classic.

The charity game, which benefits Inova Blood Donor Services, will pit the Booz Allen Hamilton Minutemen corporate hockey team against the returning champion Virginia Coaching Cardinals, a squad of local youth hockey coaches. John “Cakes” Auville and Eric “E.B.” Bickel — of the Sports Junkies morning show on 106.7 The Fan — will serve as guest coaches, along with Capitals teammates Matt Hendricks and Jeff Schultz.

The event, which is being held from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m. on Saturday, will also feature a silent auction, appearances by local celebrities, ‘Mites on Ice’ youth hockey exhibitions and “the ever-popular ‘chuck-a-duck’ contest,” according to a press release. Tickets are $10 for adults and free for kids. Organizers hope to raise $40,000 to purchase a blood testing machine for Inova.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Historic ‘Arlington Oak’ Toppled — A historic tree in Arlington National Cemetery is now firewood thanks to Hurricane Irene. The cemetery revealed last night that the ‘Arlington Oak’ at the Kennedy gravesite had been knocked down by the storm’s high winds and steady rains. “That tree had a significant legacy here,” said a cemetery official. [CBS News]

Firefighters Collecting for MDA — Arlington’s firefighters are out “filling the boot” at busy intersections to collect money for the Muscular Dystrophy Association. A medic crew was out at the intersection of Glebe Road and Columbia Pike last night, and the crew from Engine 109 was spotted out in the Shirlington area, among others. [Shirlington Village Blog]

Are Arlington’s Green Grants Worth It? — Arlington received $3.2 million in federal green energy grants in 2009, according to an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal. But was it worth it? One of the grants — $300,000 — was spent to place solar panels on the roof of the Arlington Central Library, a move expected to save some $150,000 over 10-15 years. The Journal opines that it may not be the best investment to give “one of the five wealthiest counties in America free money.” [Wall Street Journal]

Flickr pool photo by BrianMKA

Discounted Registration for 9-11 5K Ends Today

By ARLnow.com

Registration for the Arlington Police, Fire & Sheriff 9-11 Memorial 5K Run will get more expensive after today.

The annual race will be held on Sept. 10 this year. Registration is $25 today, $30 from Aug. 5 to Sept. 9 and $35 on race day. Teams (including firefighter, law enforcement and military teams) need to be registered by Sept. 1.

The race will kick off at 6:00 p.m. from the DoubleTree Hotel in Pentagon City (300 Army Navy Drive). Runners will follow a course that will take them past parts of the Pentagon. This year marks the 10th anniversary of the 9-11 terrorist attack on the World Trader Center and the Pentagon.

Proceeds from the race will benefit 9-11 related charities, including the Fisher House Foundation, the Wounded Warrior Project, Operation Purple, the Special Operations Warrior Foundation and the Pentagon Memorial Fund.

Organizers are looking for volunteers to work on race day. Volunteers will be asked to pass out food and water and assist with other race duties. Anyone interested in volunteering can find more information here.

Flickr pool photo by BrianMKA

Leadership Arlington Seeks “Rising Stars”

By ARLnow.com

Leadership Arlington, a nonprofit organization devoted to community-oriented leadership training, is seeking “rising stars” to join its Young Professionals Program. The application deadline is August 1.

The organization issued the following press release this morning.

Leadership Arlington is seeking rising stars with potential to apply for its Young Professionals Program. Do you know of a promising up-and-comer within your company?

This selective program provides affordable leadership skills training to your brightest employees in an interactive and experiential setting. Meeting twice monthly from September until January, the sessions focus on philanthropy, civic engagement, and leadership skills development.

“I really enjoyed the Leadership Arlington Young Professionals program. It helped me expand my horizons and grow as a person and member of my community,” said James Bierbower, E Group, Inc.

Benefits to local organizations include employee loyalty, retention, and workforce stability. As a program of the Leadership Arlington, participants have opportunities to connect with over 700 members in 500 organizations in the area. Additionally, members of the inaugural Class of 2011 expressed a renewed appreciation for Arlington, and the intention to plant roots in the community.

“I learned how to be a more active citizen in the Arlington Community by giving my time and talent to the community to make Arlington a better place for the people who live here,” said Brandon Jenkins, Marymount University.

Application deadline is August 1, 2011. Contact Liz Nohra, Chief Operating Officer, [email protected] to receive additional information. Please visit Leadership Arlington’s website at www.leadershiparlington.org to apply. Limited scholarships are available.

Arlington Goodwill Center Racks Up Donations

By ARLnow.com

Arlington residents are nothing if not generous. The county is home to one of the highest-performing Goodwill donation centers in the country.

The nonprofit’s Glebe Road donation center at 10 S. Glebe Road was ranked 6th out of 2,657 donation centers nationwide in 2010.

The center, which often has a line of cars waiting to donate snaking through its parking lot, racked up 121,254 donations in 2010, according to Goodwill spokesman Brendan Hurley. The location’s retail store, meanwhile, recorded 119,946 transactions.

All told, donations at the Glebe Road center kept 4,850,160 pounds of materials — including 370,000 pounds of computer equipment — out of landfills.

Jeff Bridges to Visit Barcroft Elementary

By ARLnow.com

Actor Jeff Bridges, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack and Gov. Bob McDonnell will help launch a new statewide anti-hunger campaign at Barcroft Elementary School (625 S. Wakefield Street) next week.

The Academy Award winner is the national spokesperson for No Kid Hungry, a campaign that aims to “end childhood hunger in America by 2015.” The organization says they hope to do so by creating “public-private partnerships at the state level to break down barriers that prevent kids from accessing the food they need.”

The Barcroft event, which is scheduled for Tuesday afternoon, is the launch of No Kid Hungry’s Virginia campaign. According to a press release, more than 218,000 kids in Virginia are facing hunger. The state campaign will specifically attempt to stamp out hunger this summer by increasing participation in food and nutrition programs like the Virginia Summer Meals for Kids Program.

Spearheaded by the anti-hunger group Share Our Strength, the Virginia No Kid Hungry campaign is receiving support from the Walmart Foundation, the Sodexho Foundation, Kaiser Permanente and Dominion Resources.

Photo via Wikimedia Commons

Arlington Free Clinic Receives Major Gift

By ARLnow.com

The Arlington Free Clinic (2921 11th Street South) has received a major charitable gift.

The McLean-based Campbell Hoffman Foundation has given the Free Clinic $677,500 for “continued integration of mental health services within primary care.” AFC says it will also use the funds for “primary and specialty care… and pharmacy services.”

“The funding will support and sustain our essential medical services in Arlington County,” said David Lee, MD, chair of AFC’s board. “We are truly grateful for the Foundation’s trust in our capacity to serve the community and for the opportunity to carry forward its important legacy of primary care.”

Moran Promotes Work of Arlington Free Clinic

By ARLnow.com

Rep. Jim Moran dropped by the Arlington Free Clinic (2921 11th Street South) yesterday to help promote the clinic’s mission of providing high-quality health care to low-income individuals.

Moran spent the afternoon helping to check in patients at the clinic’s front desk. Between patients, he talked about the clinic’s importance to the community.

“I wanted to give more visibility to the Arlington Free Clinic and the people they serve,” he said as a half dozen patients read magazines in the clinic’s sunny waiting room. “They desperately need this service. Otherwise they couldn’t afford their prescription medicine, or the preventive care, or the specialized care the clinic is able to refer people to.”

Currently, the clinic only accepts about 30 percent of patients who apply for care through a lottery system. Moran said that even with the new health care reform law that he championed, the Arlington Free Clinic will continue to play a vital role in the community.

“This is a valuable service,” he said. “This will supplement what we’re able to do through health care reform.”

Since it opened in 1993, the Arlington Free Clinic has been providing medical care to uninsured adults. The clinic relies on a team of 700 volunteers, including 170 physicians. AFC says it does not receive federal or county funding.

Moran’s volunteer work at the clinic was part of his “Jim Pitches In” series, which is intended to highlight the work of local non-profits. Last month Moran delivered Meals on Wheels to seniors in Alexandria.

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