Upcoming Events
- Monday, May 29
- Wednesday, May 31
- Friday, June 2
- Tuesday, June 6
- Wednesday, June 7
GIVE Day
Meridian High School Auxiliary gym
Mon., Jan. 16, 2023
10 a.m. - 12 noon
What is GIVE Day?
GIVE Day is a FCEPTA-sponsored initiative to get our PK-5th graders involved in community service. The event is planned and led by our 5th grade GIVE Day Ambassadors who decide on the causes they will support. GIVE Day is a month-long process that culminates on Monday, Jan.16, 2023 in the Meridian High School auxiliary gym between 10 a.m. and 12 p.m.
FCCPS is partnering with Food for Others for this Day of Service by organizing the assembly of ‘Power Packs’ of food for elementary school children in our region who may not have enough food to eat on weekends. These packets will be distributed to local schools by Food for Others, which is a food rescue non-profit organization based in Merrifield, VA. Each packet contains 2 individual servings of breakfast, lunch and dinner, along with snacks and drinks. The food needs to be non-perishable and single-serving size so it can all fit into a gallon size Ziploc bag.
In 2022-23, the Ambassadors will be supporting the following 5 areas. Information about each cause and how you can help is listed below.
How can YOU help?
Donate $$ or become an individual or corporate sponsor. Each Power Pack costs approximately $4, so consider donating a 10-pack for $40! All donations are tax-deductible.
Volunteer with your family on GIVE Day: Help assemble Power Packs, help check in donors at the at the INOVA Bloodmobile, make toys for animals, create a sustainable art project, pack sports gear for kids in Malawi and be a part of this amazing day for our community and students!
Spread the word: Talk to your kids about community service and why it is important. Reach out to community leaders and businesses to see if they would be willing to help.
Give Blood: Inova Blood Mobile will be on-site for adults and students over the age of 16 who would like to donate blood. Sign up to donate.
Chambers Theory Residential Property Management
Progressive Pediatric Physical Therapy
Capital Custom Homes (Bryton Homes)
Food Insecurity
On the MLK Day of Service, the 5th grade Ambassadors will organize the assembly of ‘Power Packs’ of food for elementary school children in our region who may not have enough food to eat on weekends via Food for Others. They are spending their time learning about food insecurity in our area and doing an education campaign around Oak Street to teach the community about this important topic via “Did you know” posters? Finally, they will hold a Dine-Out Fundraiser to raise money towards our Food for Others packing event. It will be at baddpizza on December 15 from 3-8 p.m. with 15% of sales going toward our event. If you would like to support them, please dine out with us!
Animal Welfare
Animal Welfare is saving and supporting animals in need. We would like to help animal shelters get more animals adopted and fostered. On The MLK Day of Service, we will have a station set up for everyone to make toys for small animals. Over the next couple of weeks, we will collect paper towels and toilet paper tubes for the project. Please donate cardboard tubes in the Oak Street Elementary lobby. Learn more about helping a local animal shelter on the Animal Welfare League of Arlington website.
Refugee Assistance
We are supporting refugees who have been forced to flee their homelands and come to the United States to resettle. Specifically, we will be supporting families in Falls Church through an organization called Welcoming Falls Church. Our group will hold a bake sale on December 17, 2022 at the City of Falls Church Farmers Market. You can support our work by donating baked goods for the sale or donating money, which will go directly to supporting refugees in our Little City.
Sports Gear to Africa
A group of 5th grade GIVE Day Ambassadors are collecting used sporting equipment for kids in Malawi, Africa through the Othakarhaka Foundation. If your child has outgrown his or her soccer cleats or aged into a larger size ball - send the old gear our way! We’ll take any used sports gear as the students (up to age 18) in Malawi could use it. Popular sports include soccer and netball (similar to basketball but without the backboard) - so any used cleats, shin guards, socks, balls and pinnies would be appreciated. Any gear that isn’t shippable to Africa will be donated to a local charity. Collection bins will be located at the City of Falls Church Community Center, Meridian High School, Mary Ellen Henderson Middle School, Oak Street and Mt. Daniel Elementary schools from Jan. 2 - Jan. 16, 2023.
Don't have sports gear? No problem - you can still support the initiative via monetary contribution as we will need to raise money to ship the sports equipment to Africa.
Sustainable Art
We are the Art and Environment GIVE day ambassador group. We are raising awareness for the environment through art, specifically through our tote bag project. We are helping the environment by raising money for tote bags and doing our part to prevent plastic bag waste. After buying our tote bags we’re going to have them available for the community to decorate on GIVE day, January 16th. To raise money for our tote bags we are having a bake sale at the Falls Church farmers market on January 7th. We would greatly appreciate a visit to our bake sale in January, an online donation to support GIVE day or simply a visit to the GIVE day event.
