Congratulations Lauren Poon on New Opportunities

Please join us in congratulating Lauren Poon, ALIVE! Development & Communications Manager, on accepting a new position with Easterseals. Her last day with ALIVE! will be on Friday, November 12th. Lauren has done an incredible job improving our overall communications and social media presence, ensuring we have an accurate and functional state of the art system for managing donors, working to coordinate many 3rd party events, and responding to donors. She also plans to remain in-touch and to serve in some capacity as a volunteer on our Development Committee. Please reach out to development@alive-inc.org or jayers@alive-inc.org with your development and communications needs until a new hire is onboarded.

Welcome John Shockley – ALIVE! Program Operations Director

ALIVE! welcomes John Shockley to its staff as a Program Operations Director. This new position oversees all things operations by linking ALIVE! programs and coordinating logistics and resources. John comes to ALIVE! with a desire to help the community and transition from working in the restaurant industry. He also has a degree in technical writing. Contact John at jshockley@alive-inc.org or 571-463-8568. He will be working out of the ALIVE! main office and the Food warehouse.

Thanksgiving Baskets

Food Needed for Thanksgiving Baskets! Help us fill 150 baskets by November 7th for Alexandria families in need. Click here for the list of accepted Thanksgiving food donations. Drop-off food donations on Thursdays 3:00 PM – 7:00 PM and Saturdays 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM to the ALIVE! Food warehouse (801 S. Payne Street). We are looking for a few more volunteers to assist with pick up and delivering Thanksgiving meals on Tuesday, November 23rd at 2:00 pm. If you are interested, contact Liza Feiler at lfeiler@alive-inc.org

Next ALIVE! Board Meeting – December 7 at 7:00 PM

The next ALIVE! Board meeting is Tuesday, December 7th at 7:00 PM. An agenda and read-ahead materials will be sent prior to the meeting.

Glean Produce for ALIVE!

Glean produce in Maryland for ALIVE! through Arlington Friends of Urban Agriculture, Plot Against Hunger. Drivers needed to haul gleaned produce, meeting on the day at the Food warehouse (801 S. Payne Street) at 7:00 AM or at USDA South Farm (9500 Cherry Hill Road, College Park, MD 20740) by 8:20 AM. To glean and drive vans or trucks, contact Tim Enright at fdcoordinator1@alive-inc.org and 703-419-5182. Sign up online with Plot Against Hunger here.

Welcome Pastor Kate Costa to Good Shepherd Lutheran Church

All are welcome to attend a celebration of the installation of Pastor Kate Costa at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church (100 West Luray Avenue) on Sunday, November 7th at 2:00 pm, with a reception to follow. The service will be livestreamed – visit www.gslutheran.net for the link. If you will attend in person, you may RSVP at this link; weather permitting, the reception will be held outdoors. RSVPs are helpful, but NOT required. Welcome to Pastor Kate, and welcome to all.

Matthew Gillette Celebration of Life

Matthew Ian Gillette, Del Ray Business Association board member, passed away at his home on October 19, 2021. The Celebration of Life is Saturday, November 6th at 3:00 pm at First Baptist Church of Alexandria (2932 King Street). To view his obituary, click here. To donate to a fund for his wife, Abby, and his daughter, Baby E, click here. DRBA hopes to host a spring event in Matt’s memory to raise money for his daughter’s education fund but wanted to support this immediate effort to help with funeral costs and other expenses.

Pavement Services Needed

First Christian Church (where the ALIVE! administrative offices are housed) needs the front entrance driveway repaved. Looking for a donation or discounted rate. Contact Pastor Tim Bobbitt at pastorfccalexandria@gmail.com.

AEPP Outreach

Meet with AEPP staff in-person for immediate assistance. The complete list of times and locations for November – December 2021 are available on the AEPP webpage.

  • Every Tuesday from 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM alternating between Charles Houston Rec Center (901 Wythe Street) and William Ramsay Rec Center (5650 Sanger Avenue). Get the flyer.
  • Every Thursday from 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM at Casa Chirilagua (4109 Mt Vernon Avenue).

Food Collection

Drop off donated food on Thursdays 3:00 PM – 7:00 PM and Saturdays 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM to the ALIVE! Food Warehouse (801 S. Payne Street). Donations must be from the current list of Accepted Food Donations. Visit the Food Program webpage page for details.

Food Distributions

Get the entire month’s calendar of ALIVE! food distributions. Calendar subject to change.

Weekend Food Distribution

  • Saturday, November 13 from 8:30-10:30 AM at Cora Kelly Elementary School (3600 Commonwealth Ave.), NVCC Alexandria Campus (parking lot B-1 via 500 Dawes Ave.), and William Ramsay Rec Center (5650 Sanger Ave.).

Upcoming Pop-Ups

  • Wednesday, November 3 from 10:00 AM until supplies run out at Casa Chirilagua (4109 Mt. Vernon Ave.)
  • Friday, November 5 from 4:30 – 6:00 PM at NOVA Juvenile Detention Center (200 S. Whiting St.)

Volunteer opportunities for ALIVE! food distributions available. Sign up online HERE. Congregations and groups interested in volunteering, contact Liza Feiler at lfeiler@alive-inc.org

Housewares Referrals

List of Needed Items updated. Check back regularly as the list can change as our inventory changes. Visit the Housewares webpage for the list of accepted items.

Send all Housewares referrals to housewares@alive-inc.org with the following information:

  • Client’s name, address, cell number, and email if possible
  • Number of adults and children (with ages) in the home
  • List of needed kitchen items, dinnerware, appliances, bed and bath linens

ALIVE! in the News

Visit the ALIVE! Newsroom on our website for news articles featuring ALIVE!’s work in the community.

  • ALIVE! attended The Chamber ALX 2021 Best in Business Awards as a Non-Profit of the Year finalist on Wednesday, October 20th at The Westin Alexandria Old Town.

Resource: Free Mental Health First Aid Trainings

Free Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) training is being offered through certified trainers affiliated with Alexandria’s Community Services Board. MHFA training gives information about the signs and symptoms of mental health conditions and provides one with an action plan for offering initial assistance. Some trainings focus on providing initial help to adults and some trainings focus on providing initial help to youth 12 through 18 years of age. Get the flyer.

Follow ALIVE! on Social Media

Don’t miss out on daily ALIVE! social media posts. No need to have an account to see what’s happening. Click on the hyperlinks below to view.