This holy season renews our spirit and inspires our work to transform the lives of our vulnerable neighbors.

As a church without walls, we do this through personalized housing, ministry, health, and human services that benefit vulnerable individuals, their families and the community.

Happy Easter.
It was a chance meeting that introduced Kiisha Jennings to VOACC.

Kiisha Jennings saw firsthand how the pandemic was affecting small business in 2020. As the owner of the consulting firm, K. Jennings & Associates, she spent the beginning of the pandemic happy to still be in business. Then she started helping other small business do the same.
Kiisha Jennings
About a year later she started working with a local Baptist church, helping them build a program of resources for people struggling with the pandemic. She was doing outreach in the summer of 2021 at a local mall when she discovered our annual back-to-school drive, Operation Backpack®.

“I was so excited to find a place where I could help kids at this time, because so many other places were closing.”
Kiisha had always had a desire to help children. Prior to her starting her own business, she worked at a law firm that often did pro-bono, child advocacy work.

“I have a heart for children and I wanted to work to help restore the family.”

Over time, Kiisha began to shift her focus towards volunteer opportunities that support children in need. After she learned more about Operation Backpack®, and the work we do for transform the lives of children and their families, an amazing relationship was born.

This past year, Kiisha provided food and gifts to a family during our annual Adopt-A-Family program we operate during the winter Holidays. She spent time with the family and still stays in contact with the mother and her three daughters.

This year, Kiisha’s goal is to “adopt” and support more families in need. She's also helping to organize a team of mentors and tutors to support the kids in our programs.

“If you have a heart to give outside of yourself, VOACC is the perfect avenue to give.”
To learn more about how you can make a difference in the life of a child or family in need through Operation Backpack® this summer and Adopt-A-Family, click the buttons below.
National Disability Provider Names
Madison Landmesser Recipient of the
2022 Virginia DSP Award
Madison Landmesser, a Direct Support Professional (DSP) in our Intellectual/Developmental Disabilities Services program in Woodbridge, VA has been named the recipient of the 2022 Virginia DSP of the Year! Madison joins 50 other recipients chosen from a field of more than 300 outstanding nominees.

"I'm so thankful to Carrie Cortez and all the wonderful staff at VOACC in Virginia for giving me this wonderful opportunity. I still can't believe that I was nominated and won this award. 
Madison Landmesser, Virginia DSP of the Year
The award was given to her by the American Network of Community Options and Resources (ANCOR) which honors excellence in workforce providing long-term supports and services to individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Madison and her client at a local Petting Zoo.
Madison currently supports a man in our program who relies on her for daily living activities due to his disability. The consistent support she provides has helped him address behavioral challenges and live each day to the fullest. Madison also regularly interacts with the man's family members in the home. She helps to arrange drop off and pick up times, make sure everyone has everything they need for visits, and talks to them regularly regarding issues or medical appointments. 
Family members have commented on how they feel "listened to" by Madison. She has made their lives better through her relationship-building and creates a positive atmosphere for those she serves.

VOACC is overwhelmingly proud of Madison for her dedication and commitment to true community inclusion for the individuals we support.

Madison empowers autonomy and responsibility. This approach has allowed her to move toward supporting individuals in deeper ways.
To learn more about our Intellectual / Developmental Disabilities Services in Northern Virginia, click the button below.
On the verge of homelessness, VOACC stepped in to help a veteran and his family
Daniel Thompson and his fiancé Samantha Maturah. They will move into the home with their twin daughters.
Daniel Thompson is an Army combat veteran and Purple Heart recipient. He's also a dedicated partner and the father of two twin girls. After retiring from service, Daniel and his fiancé Samantha struggled for a time maintain their housing.

Daniel relied on his disability check to pay for the motel and feared that he and Samantha were on the verge of homelessness.
That's when Daniel discovered our veteran services in Virginia.

Through our programming, case managers help over 300 veterans and their families in over 31 counties in Virginia avoid homelessness. In addition to housing location assistance, we provided the Thompson Family funds they needed for their security deposit and monthly rent. We continue to provide rental assistance while they work on increasing their income.

We also connected the Thompson Family with Havens for Hero’s founders Barzel and Brenda McKinney, who were seeking two families to move into a renovated duplex in the Mayfield neighborhood of Fredericksburg, VA.
The duplex was in terrible condition after sitting vacant for many years.
The duplex today, almost complete for the Thompsons to move in.
The two homes include three bedrooms and 1.5 bathrooms with an open-concept floor plan in the kitchen area downstairs. The second unit of the duplex will be available to a veteran family in the next week or so. The home is meant to be transitional, as services are provided to bring stability for veteran families before they’re groomed for home ownership.

Daniel said the renovated 1,500-square-foot duplex is “wonderful” and “better than I could’ve imagined.”

We have also referred the Thompson Family to Easter Seals for employment search assistance, and are currently paying for them to stay in a hotel while they wait for final touches to be made on their new home. Once their home is ready for move-in, we will continue to support the Thompsons by purchasing them some furniture and providing them financial assistance to cover their utilities.

“I’m ecstatic,” Maturah said. “We finally have a place to call our home.”
To learn more about our veteran services program, visit www.voachesapeake.org/ssvf.
Hope you're not Tire-d
of bad jokes?

However, donating your car
(or boat or motorcycle or RV)
is not a joke.


Pick up is FREE and your donation is tax-deductible.

Click the image or give us a call at 1-833-300-5737
HAPPENING THIS MONTH
April is National Volunteer Month

Did you know? When Volunteers of America was founded, "volunteerism" had a different meaning.

To “volunteer” meant to serve others as a vocation. Early members of Volunteers of America called themselves “The Volunteers,” and carried on under the slogan “For God and Country.”

Now, over 125 years later, we have 16,000 dedicated paid professionals with 65,000 actual volunteers who are dedicated to helping others across the country. In Maryland, DC, Virginia and North Carolina, we employ nearly 800 full-time and part-time staff members and engage over 2,000 volunteers a year. We are incredibly grateful to have such talented and generous volunteers in our communities.

If you would like to become one of our volunteers, click HERE.

If you'd like to bring your passion to help others and work at VOACC please visit our Career Center HERE.
At VOACC we are always trying to keep our stakeholders informed on what's happening in our organization.

Recently we hosted another webinar as part of our People Like Us campaign, and a monthly Healing Conversation on The Wisdom of Healing through Listening Courageously.