Call to Action - November 21, 2023-Holiday Events
Greetings, Prince William - It's All About a Kid and a Toy! Volunteer Prince William has kicked off Untrim a Tree, which provides gifts for children attending Title I schools in the community, along with Senior Baskets for homebound senior citizens. Individuals, groups, clubs, families, etc. can come together to make Christmas possible for everyone! New location this year: Prince William County Fairgrounds, donation drop-off dates are December 10 (9am-8pm), or December 11-12 (12pm-8pm). An online donor form can be filled out at https://bit.ly/3QcHLYH or email utat@volunteerprincewilliam.org for more information. Breaking News: Volunteers age 16+ (under 16 welcome with a parent or responsible adult) are needed to sort toys and deliver Senior Baskets for Untrim a Tree. Volunteers are needed December 10 thru 12 to help accept donations, sort toys and place Senior Baskets in their correct storage place. Credit for service hours are available! Please visit https://bit.ly/3sDthrK to sign up and learn more. Senior Baskets will be delivered December 13 to the Woodbridge and Manassas Senior Centers. Please visit https://bit.ly/3QIohdl to sign up for Senior Basket Delivery. Questions? Please email jhawkins@volunteerprincewilliam.org.
- Get into the holiday spirit by being a Volunteer Bell Ringer for Salvation Army-Prince William Corps! Bell Ringers are needed through Christmas Eve for the entire County. Duties include ringing the bell, greeting the public, assisting donors, maintaining monitoring of the kettle and cash and any other duties as needed. Volunteers age 18+ welcome, volunteers age 12-17 are welcome to volunteer with an adult. You'll feel great knowing that all money raised stays in our community, supporting Salvation Army programs that help local families! Please visit https://registertoring.com to sign up and learn more.
- You can help foster kids have a wonderful holiday! CASA CIS' 3rd Annual Give the Joy of Toys fundraiser is now live, and they need help from the community to help purchase toys from their Amazon wish list. The toys will be delivered directly to their offices, and on December 6, their advocates have the chance to "shop" from the donated toys for gifts for their CASA kids! It's a wonderful fundraising event for both the children served and their advocates, who have so much fun coming to pick out toys and socialize with staff and other supervisors. Please visit their Amazon wish list here: https://a.co/h3YCTNI and call 703.330.8145 for more information.
- Calling All Elves! The folks at House of Mercy are converting their facility into Santa's Workshop and will be providing toys to over 1,000 children as part of their Christmas with Mercy Lots of Volunteer Elves are needed to make this a successful event, December 7 thru 16. Volunteers age 16+ are needed; volunteers age 12 thru 15 are welcome to volunteer with a parent or guardian. You'll be full of the holiday spirit as you make a Merry Christmas possible for these vulnerable children and their families! Please visit https://bit.ly/3MT1HOd to sign up and learn more.
- Manassas City Public Schools is accepting donations of new toys and gift cards to support families in need whose children attend Manassas City schools. Donations can be brought to the MCPS Central Office, 8700 Centreville Road Suite 200, Manassas 20110 through December 8. Please call 571.377.6096 or email mcowell@mcpsva.org to learn more.
- It's a holiday party for kids! The Healthy Families program of Northern Virginia Family Service is hosting a Holiday Party for their client families on December 8, at Manassas Church of the Brethren, 10047 Nokesville Road, Manassas 20110. Volunteers are needed to help set up (3:45pm-4:45pm), engage kids at various activities stations (5pm-8:30pm) and break down/clean up after the event. Volunteers age 16+ welcome, volunteers age 10-15 are welcome to volunteer with a parent. Think of all the fun you'll have sharing fun Christmas activities with these children! Please email ncannon@nvfs.org to sign up and learn more.
- Celebrate the holidays by supporting the Town of Dumfries Christmas Parade on Saturday, December 9! Volunteers age 18+ are needed to help with the check-in and line-up of parade participants, helping with the spacing of the parade to ensure participants aren't following each other too closely and parking. Volunteers need to arrive at Potomac Valley Church, 1006 Williamstown Drive, Dumfries at 7am on December 9. Please email yragland@dumfriesva.gov or call 571.363.5200 to sign up and learn more.
- Remember our fallen veterans by participating in Wreaths Across America, being held December 17, 10am-3pm at Quantico National Cemetery. To participate in wreath laying, please visit https://bit.ly/47vLqGB to register. It's a wonderful way to honor our veterans and Remember, Honor and Teach their service and sacrifice to younger family members. Volunteers are also needed on December 16 and 17 to provide support to this event. Please visit https://bit.ly/46b0SHi to sign up. For more information, please email NOVAVETS.WAA@Novavets.Org.
- Quantico National Cemetery is in Urgent need of sponsored wreaths for this year's Wreaths Across America, as their normal supplier is not available. You can sponsor a wreath by visiting https://bit.ly/49wCuCL, then scroll down to the button marked Sponsor Wreaths. The wreaths are $17 and will be used at Quantico. It's a wonderful way to support this program, especially if you are unable to attend in person. Please email NOVAVETS.WAA@Novavets.Org to learn more.
- Spread holiday cheer with Boxes of Basics! This holiday season, you can make local children's holidays brighter by sponsoring a Box of Basics. All items go to children in need, referred by local school social workers, other nonprofits and community organizations. Your generosity can help multiple kids. It's super easy: 1) Visit https://bit.ly/3MCjEA7; 2) Select a size/gender of Boxes of Basics and sign up; 3) Use the shopping list provided to help fill a box; 4) Deliver your unwrapped items at one of their convenient donation sites by December 20th. You'll feel great knowing your purchases will help a child meet their basic clothing needs! Please visit https://boxesofbasics.org/clothing-donations for a list of donation sites.
If you are looking for other opportunities during this holiday period, please don't forget to call our wonderful team at Volunteer Prince William at 703.369.5292. You can also visit our website at www.volunteerprincewilliam.org. Thanks so much for all you do in our community.
