Democratic Women of Clifton and Northern Virginia

Archive for the ‘Member Messages’ Category

Roadside Clean up on Sat., Sept. 27th, 10 – noon!

Wednesday, September 7th, 2022

Clean Up in the Name of the DWCNV!

Saturday, Sept 17th from 10AM – Noon

As many of you know, the Democratic Women of Clifton and Northern Virginia (DWCNV) has adopted Clifton Road as a project through the Virginia Department of Transportation’s “Adopt-a-Highway” program. We clean up the road in the fall and in the spring, and the Department of Transportation picks up the trash bags we fill and gives us the honorary sign you see at the intersection of Clifton Road and Main Street.

This ongoing relationship has served us well since we have gotten many good comments from people who have seen our sign, and we help to keep our community beautiful at the same time. We need your help to keep this tradition going, and we will clean up on Saturday, September 17th (10am – noon). We will meet on the road going up to Clifton Elementary School.

We look forward to meeting many new members, and we provide the bags and the bright, shiny vests; all you need is a good pair of gloves. We are happy to sign approvals for middle school/high school “service hours”, and feel free to bring a friend or two with you!

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Celebrating our 17th Anniversary on Sun., Feb. 20th

Tuesday, February 15th, 2022

UPDATE 2/2/22: We had a wonderful meeting celebrating our 17th Anniversary. Our guest speakers were inspirational and we remind you to donate to the parenting program (PIO) in honor of our 17th in support of residents of Guest House. Details on how to do that are below.

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All members are invited to attend as we toast our organization and all the good work we have accomplished in those years. Continuing our tradition of building social relationships among our members, it will be nice to gather together at 5:00 – 6:30 P.M., even if it is only virtually for now. Information on how to sign up to receive Zoom log-in information has been sent to members. Contact us if you haven’t received that at cliftonwomendems@aol.com

Along with celebrating our longevity, we as a women’s group also acknowledge the importance of women helping women. Wanting to continue and expand that mission, we’ve invited a wonderful organization, Friends of Guest House (FGH), to celebrate with us. www.friendsofguesthouse.org

Executive Director of FGH and longtime DWCNV member, Kari Galloway, will speak to us on the 20th and describe their programs to help formerly incarcerated women in Virginia transition back into the community. Their good work includes providing housing, counseling, a workforce and life development program, mentoring, aftercare and outreach programs, and other essential services. Also, several former and current residents of Guest House will share their personal stories and tell how Guest House has made a difference in their lives. We have had FGH residents speak to us twice before–once at a meeting and again at another anniversary celebration long ago. We feel such strong support for what they do that we have asked them to come back. This is truly a meeting that you will not want to miss!

In honor of the 17th Anniversary of the DWCNV, we ask you, if you are able, to donate $17, any increment of $17, or any other amount to help FGH with their work. The funds we raise will support the Parenting Inside Out program (PIO) of FGH.

Kari Galloway describes this program as an experiential, evidence-based, parenting skills training class designed specifically for the unique population it serves at FGH. Family reunification has been found to be one of the most influential factors in preventing female recidivism. In two 12-hour classes, PIO addresses communication, problem-solving, emotional regulation, non-violent discipline, positive reinforcement, and how to use structure, routine, rules, rewards, and consequences for child guidance. With our funding assistance, the FGH hopes to train two additional co-facilitators to make the classes ongoing rather than offering PIO instruction only two to three times per year.

Please be generous in your support of this worthwhile program. You can donate electronically, starting now, by going to: Donate to Friends of Guest House. In the note line, please add DWCNV. You may also mail a check made out to Friends of Guest House to 1 East Luray Ave., Alexandria, VA 22301 and write Attn: Kari Galloway, Exec. Director, on the envelope and DWCNV on the memo line of your check.

We hope you will join us as we lift a glass and toast one another and 17 great years together!

DWCNV Steering Committee

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Thank You!

Tuesday, January 25th, 2022

Thanks to all members who donated to our two Holiday Projects!

Your very much appreciated Holiday Projects grocery store gift cards and checks were delivered to Britepaths recently for distribution in January and February. This hard working organization and their excellent programs and staff support local needy families! For more info: https://britepaths.org/

Pictured (L to R) Mila Cobos, Programs Manager; Jane Barker, DWCNV Co-Chair; Chris Garris, Programs Director

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Time to be Thankful and Give Back!

Tuesday, November 16th, 2021

Please join us this SUNDAY, Nov 21st from 10AM to Noon to give back to our community and clean up Clifton Road. And it’s a great way for teenagers to get some service hours!

We will gather outdoors at the Clifton Cafe afterward to celebrate a job well done!

Our Adopt-a-Highway section is from Newman Road at the triangle to Braddock Road. We will meet just off Clifton Road in the driveway to Clifton Elementary to get bags, safety vests and assignments. We suggest you wear gloves and sturdy shoes.

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Annual Holiday Giving Meeting

Tuesday, November 9th, 2021

Members and Subscribers,

Our next meeting will be held virtually on Sunday, Nov. 14th, 5-7 p.m. and we will be hosting our Annual Holiday Giving Program. We will hear from leaders of the two organizations we urge you to support at this time of the year – Fairfax County Firefighters and Friends to the Rescue and Britepaths – on what they do, why, and what the needs are.

The Firefighters host a huge toy and coat drive for needy kids all over No. VA mostly through the schools. Britepaths collects grocery store gift cards of any amount for needy families and gives them out in January and February, after the holidays, when the need is the greatest.

How To Donate

You may donate to each organization by snail mailing a check made out to these organizations, or by mailing grocery store gift cards for Britepaths to DWCNV, P.O. Box 143, Clifton, VA 20124. Store gift cards to stores like Best Buy, Walmart, Target, Amazon, etc. will be given to older children to pick out their own gifts – you can mail those too us too. Toys will be given to pre-school and elementary aged school children and may be dropped off at two Clifton locations, mailed directly to us, or we can arrange for pick up. Write to us for addresses. Money from your checks are used by the Firefighters to purchase warm winter coats for the children. Deadline to donate to the Firefighters is Dec. 6th and for Britepaths, Dec. 31st.

You do not have to be a member to donate to these two worthy organizations. All you need is a generous spirit! Email us and we will send you more information: cliftonwomendems@aol.com. Members and subscribers of the DWCNV, you should have received emails about this with details, but happy to resend so just let us know!

We will also be discussing the election and hearing from some members of the General Assembly and community members on upcoming 2022 legislation and how you may advocate.

To register for this Zoom meeting contact us at cliftonwomendems@aol.com. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the virtual meeting as we have done in the past.

Covid’s effects are still being felt by many families around here, so if you are able, please be generous.

We thank you in advance for giving! You make the world a better place!

We hope to “see” you on November 14th.

The DWCNV Steering Committee

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DWCNV General Meeting – October 9, 4-6 p.m.

Monday, October 4th, 2021

We are hosting an important virtual meeting this Saturday, Oct. 9^th from 4-6 p.m. The topic will be the November Election. We will hear from our Democratic nominees, discuss how, when and where to vote, registering to vote, participating at Clifton Day, and various ways that you can help our nominees win.

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Reminder – It’s the Time for Giving to DWCNV Annual Holiday Giving Projects

Wednesday, November 25th, 2020

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!

Suggested donations to Fairfax County Firefighters and Friends to the Rescue:

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.

How to donate: Mail checks or gift cards to DWCNV, PO Box 143, Clifton, VA 20124. Unwrapped, new toys can be mailed or delivered to Debbie Charms as well (address sent upon request). Donations will be accepted until December 1st.

Suggested donations to Britepaths:

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

checks in any amount made payable to Britepaths.

How to donate: Mail checks or gift cards to DWCNV at DWCNV, P.O. Box 143, Clifton, VA 20124.Donations to Britepaths will be accepted until December 31st.

For questions or to arrange pick up, email us at cliftonwomendems@aol.com or message us on our facebook page https://www.facebook.com/DWCNV

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Our Next DWCNV Meeting – in January – Virtually, of Course!

Wednesday, November 25th, 2020

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!

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General Meeting – October 11, 5-7 p.m.

Monday, October 5th, 2020

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.

Our topic will be the November Election. We will hear from members who have been writing postcards and calling. At this meeting we will include soapbox time and also take and answer your questions and have updates on how to vote, voter protection efforts, etc. We will also be hearing about the various ways you can help prior to the election and on election day. And we are happy to announce that we will be hearing from Representative Elaine Luria, 2nd Congressional District, and Representative Abigail Spanberger, 7th Congressional District.

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Postponed

Thursday, April 2nd, 2020

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.

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