It’s not too late to donate to two wonderful organizations that the DWCNV has supported for many years and it’s always a good time to think of those less fortunate, especially during the holiday season.  Many families and children have been hurt in 2020 because of COVID-19 and their holidays could be brighter if you help out by donating.

Once again the DWCNV will support Fairfax County Firefighters and Friends to the Rescue and Britepaths through our Holiday Giving Program.  You don’t have to be a DWCNV member to donate, just a generous person!

For years, the Firefighters and Friends have organized a toy and gift card drive for children throughout Northern Virginia. The organization also uses our contributions to purchase winter coats for hundreds of children in our area–more than 3,000 coats every winter!

• gift cards to Target, Best Buy, Amazon, or Walmart. These stores have a huge selection of gift cards that you can print right from your computer! Many websites offer the ability to buy a gift card online and have it shipped to you for free! The gift cards go to older children who are often forgotten during holiday gift giving.

• checks of any amount made payable to Fairfax Co. Firefighters and Friends to the Rescue.

• grocery store gift cards to Giant, Wegmans, Safeway, Target, Walmart, etc.

• checks in any amount made payable to Britepaths.

We are planning to hold our next meeting in January.  This will be our Annual Meeting and we will be hearing from members of the General Assembly and others virtually.  Date to be determined, but it will be on a Sunday evening, 5-7 p.m.  Members, watch your email for details.  If you aren’t a member, but are a Democratic woman from No. VA, we’d love you to join us!  Men and Democrats from outside No. Virginia can be subscribers too.   Go to our Join Us page here and sign up!

The DWCNV will meet virtually on Zoom on Sunday, October 11th from 5-7 p.m. If you would like to join us, please email us at cliftonwomendems@aol.com to receive meeting link.    

Due to the pandemic, DWCNV will not be holding meetings this Spring.  Members should watch for emails with Political Action Alerts, absentee voting and election information, and other notices as Virginians “Stay at Home”.  https://www.governor.virginia.gov/newsroom/all-releases/2020/march/headline-855702-en.html

If you would like to find out more about our organization, please check out our About Us and Join Us pages on this website, or write to us at cliftonwomendems@aol.com.

For additional updates here in Virginia from our Governor, please go here:  https://www.governor.virginia.gov/

There will be brighter days ahead.   Please, be safe.

We are giving back to the Clifton Community and we hope you’ll join us. You do not have to be a member of the DWCNV to participate – all are welcome!

 The Democratic Women of Clifton and Northern Virginia will host the annual Spring Cleanup Event on April 28 from 1pm to 4 pm. We’ll be picking up trash along part of Clifton Road from the triangle to Braddock Road.

Come on down and bring your friends!  Sign up here:  https://www.signupgenius.com/go/5080845a5af2aa6fd0-ifits

Volunteers will meet in the driveway of Clifton Elementary, 7010 Clifton Road, Clifton, VA 20124.   You can help out for an hour or the whole afternoon, whatever works for our volunteers. Participants will be given a safety vest and a quick safety briefing. You and your team will be assigned an area along the road. For safety reasons, we do not recommend bringing children under 12 years old.

If you have work gloves, please bring them. We recommend that volunteers wear long pants, long-sleeved shirts and sturdy shoes.

Thank you ahead of time for your service to the Clifton Community! See you there on April 28.

For questions, contact cliftonwomendems@aol.com

Our Annual Meeting will be held on Sunday, January 20 at 3:00-5:00 p.m. at the Pohick Regional Library, 6450 Sydenstricker Road, Burke, VA 22015. Please note location change. The Clifton Town Hall is undergoing some remodeling now.

Our timely topic will be “Single Payer, Medicare for All, and Options for Expanding Health Care Coverage.” All are encouraged to attend.

Alison Cuellar, Professor, Health Administration & Policy at George Mason University, will talk about proposals for arriving at universal coverage including Medicare for All. There are many ways to consider single payer proposals, ranging from recent budget estimates, to shifts in public opinion, to what it might mean mean for consumers, health insurers, doctors, and hospitals. Professor Cuellar will provide an overview.

General Meetings

Our October General Meeting will be held at the Clifton Town Hall from 3 to 5 p.m.. On November 18, we will gather at the Clifton home of two of our members for a potluck dinner and our annual Holiday Projects get-together.

Our Sunday, October 21 General Meeting topic will be “Persuasive Progressive Messaging,” with Alane Dashner of Swing Left. Just in time for the holidays, learn how to talk to Uncle Bert at the Thanksgiving table! Ms. Dashner has insights and suggestions for civil discourse that communicates a positive progressive message, especially when speaking to those with opposing views.

On November 18 we will hold our Annual Holiday Projects meeting and Potluck Dinner starting at 3 p.m. at the home of members. We will hear from leaders of the two charities we support: Britepaths and the Fairfax County Firefighters and Friends to the Rescue Toy Drive. You do not have to be a member to donate to the charities, and we will soon provide more information about how to donate.

The Democratic Women of Clifton & Northern Virginia is proud of our commitment to the community. For many years now, we have coordinated the Adopt-a-Highway program by adopting Clifton Road from the triangle to Braddock Road. Members fill large orange bags with roadside trash. Our next fall clean up has been scheduled for Sunday, September 30th, from 1 to 4 p.m. Join us and get some exercise, meet new people and do something good for the environment!

We invite anyone from the community to participate – you do not have to be a member of the DWCNV nor a Democrat to help out! We will meet up in the driveway of the former Clifton Elementary School, where orange bags and vests will be distributed and participants will receive a safety briefing. This is great service opportunity for older students who need community service hours or just want to help out. For safety reasons we do not recommend bringing children under 12. Bring work gloves if you have them, and wear long pants and a long-sleeved shirt with sturdy shoes. Contact us at cliftonwomendems@aol.com with questions and to let us know you will be there. Looking forward to seeing you!