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| Next Meeting |
The next ACCA board meeting will be
November 7 at the
9019 Little River Turnpike/Fairfax, VA 22031
Refreshments and fellowship
7:30 p.m.
Meeting
7:45 p.m.
Open to all visitors
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| Contact Information |
Mailing Address
7200 Columbia Pike
Annandale, VA 22003
Information
703-256-0100
Emergency
Assistance
(Fairfax County)
703-222-0880
Donations
(except furniture)
703-256-0100
Furniture Donations
703-256-9513
Email
accacares@verizon.net
ACCA Website www.accacares.org
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ACCA Celebrates 50th Anniversary
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Don Di Spirito delivers remarks on the ACCA vision at the 50th Anniversary Ceremony at Queen of Apostles Catholic Church. Photo courtesy of Ellie Ashford_Annandale Blog.
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A joyful service of celebration was held at Queen of Apostles Catholic Church on October 3 in honor of ACCA's 50 years of service to the community.
Pastors from several ACCA churches officiated at a service attended by scores of ACCA supporters. Mason Supervisor Penny Gross presented an official proclamation honoring ACCA. U.S. Representative Gerry Connolly placed a statement congratulating ACCA in the Congressional Record, a framed copy of which was displayed at the service.
Don DiSpirito gave the keynote address, "
An ACCA Portrait and Vision at 50 Years," in which he talked about the impact ACCA has had on the community, guided by the principle "doing what Jesus would do." Norman Hicks recognized past presidents of ACCA in attendance. Kathy Fredgren gave a moving statement honoring our recently deceased co-founder, Emily Ruffing, and performed a prayerful interpretation of Matthew 25.
Testimonial statements by two people whose lives have been touched by ACCA were an important part of the program. Jessica Pika praised the Child Development Center in glowing terms as she explained how important the quality preschool program has been in the lives of her children. Joshua Anton expressed great gratitude to ACCA for the Emily and Fred Ruffing scholarships he received, which allowed him to complete his university studies. The offering taken during this service was dedicated to the scholarship fund.
The beautiful service music was led by an ecumenical choir organized by Michelle Jacobeen, Music Director at Queen of Apostles Catholic Church. The evening ended with a wonderful reception organized by Karen Barnoski. Many thanks are due to Queen of Apostles Catholic Church for hosting this very special event. Special thanks also goes to Rev. Dr. Leopoldo Vives (Queen of Apostles Catholic Church), Minister Angela Sheppard (Mt. Pleasant Baptist Church), and Rev. Jeffrey Shankles (St. Albans Episcopal Church) for leading the service.
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Top Walkers Honored at CROP Walk
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Roberta Macauley of Church World Service (center) making remarks, with Diane McEldowney (left) and Nancy Boxall holding a recognition certificate for John Calvin Presbyterian Church and Sally Norris (right) of United Baptist Church with her recognition certificate and Camille Mittleholtz, CROP Walk Coordinator.
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About 55 walkers and volunteers took part in this year's Annandale CROP Hunger Walk on October 14 at Lake Accotink Park. Mason District Supervisor Penny Gross and
Roberta Macauley, the Annandale CROP Walk's Church World Service staff representative, greeted the walkers and volunteers at the start of the event.
Walk Coordinator Camille Mittelholtz presented a certificate of appreciation to John Calvin Presbyterian Church, which was named one of the "Cream of the CROP" top 100 congregations or teams nationally. Nancy Boxall, walk coordinator for John Calvin, and ACCA Vice President Diane McEldowney accepted the certificate for the congregation. Camille also presented a certificate to Sally Norris of United Baptist Church, recognizing Sally's milestone achievement of raising over $40,000 for CWS since 2009. For the 2017 walk alone, Sally raised more than $5,700 in donations. Congratulations to John Calvin Presbyterian Church and to Sally.
Walkers and members of participating ACCA churches also contributed items for CWS hygiene kits. Enough items were received to send 15 kits to CWS for distribution to people affected by recent hurricanes and other displaced people. The Annandale CROP Hunger Walk raises funds for Church World Service to combat hunger here and abroad. A portion of the funds is returned to ACCA for our work in the local community.
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Challenge Campaign Launches
ACCA kicked off its Annual Challenge Campaign for this month, with the announcement of its goal to raise $120,000 by the campaign deadline of January 31, 2018. The campaign starts with a base of $44,000 already pledged by several anonymous donors.
Funding from the Annual Challenge Campaign will enable ACCA to continue to respond to our neighbors in need by helping with rent and utilities, prescription drugs, food, furniture and affordable childcare. Checks to ACCA should be marked "Challenge" and mailed to 7200 Columbia Pike, Annandale, VA 22003.
The Catalogue for Philanthropy named ACCA "One of the Best" non-profits in the Metro Washington Area for a third time in 2017-18. Donations are also accepted online through the
Catalogue for Philanthropy and via
PayPal.
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Day to Serve Stocks Food Pantries
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Volunteers collected food for the ACCA and Dar Al-Hijrah Pantries at three local grocery stores.Visit the
ACCA Facebook page
to see more.
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On September 23, some 50 plus volunteers from the Annandale Ward of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (LDS) and Interfaith Communities for Dialogue (ICD) collected food for the ACCA and Dar Al-Hijrah (DAH) pantries at two Annandale Giant supermarkets and the Seven Corners Shoppers Food Warehouse as part of the national Day to Serve. Approximately 3,260 pounds of food and $166 in cash were collected for the ACCA Pantry at the two Annandale stores.
Volunteers at the Shoppers Food Warehouse collected about 1,350 pounds of food and $86 for the Dar Al-Hijrah pantry, about 40 percent more than last year. This marked the third time that ICD and the LDS have partnered in an interfaith Day To Serve effort. The Annandale UMC, John Calvin Presbyterian and Ravensworth Baptist churches are members of ICD.
Thanks to everyone who collected food and stocked the pantry shelves. Thanks also to those who shopped and donated during the event. So many in our community depend on the ACCA and DAH pantries to feed their families.
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Pastors and Partners Luncheon Held
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Watch the ACCA 2017 Pastors and Partners Luncheon video, compliments of Tuan Nguyen.
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The annual ACCA Pastors and Partners luncheon held October 19 at Annandale United Methodist Church (UMC) brought together 80 people representing ACCA churches, board members, and partners from the community. Giant Food on Columbia Pike, Annandale, provided a buffet luncheon.
The Rev. Chenda Lee,
Associate Pastor, Annandale UMC, offered an opening prayer and the Rev. Dr. Lisa Rzepka, Pastor, John Calvin Presbyterian, led the closing prayer. Edward A. Ryan, Fairfax Gang Prevention Coordinator, and officers and detectives from the Fairfax County Police described their work to prevent gang activity in Fairfax County, beginning with parents and students in middle school.
Fairfax County Supervisor Penny Gross and Deputy County Executive for Human Services Patricia Harrison were among the partners in attendance.
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Scouting for Food in Annandale
 The annual Boy Scouts' Scouting for Food drive will take place on Saturday, November 11. Scouts will be going door-to-door to collect non-perishable food items for donation to food pantries such as ACCA's. The Scouts pick up the donations and transport them to the ACCA pantry. Please support the Scouts and be generous!
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CDC Hosts Taste of Annandale Events
 Kids had a ball meeting some of their favorite book and cartoon characters at the ACCA Child Development Center during the Taste of Annandale. Click the photo above to see more fun and friendly visitors. Or read about the
Taste of Annandale here.
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Come and Give Thanks
 ACCA's annual Ecumenical Thanksgiving Service will take place on Tuesday, November 21 at 7 p.m. at the historic
Mt. Pleasant Baptist Church, 6477 Lincolnia Rd., at the corner of Lincolnia Road and Columbia Pike). The service will mark the end our 50th year of serving basic and emergency needs in the community. A time of fellowship will follow and we hope to hear many stories from you spanning our 50 years. The offering from this service will be dedicated to the Annual Challenge Campaign.
Please invite your friends and neighbors to join in giving thanks.
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ACCA Making a Difference
(An ACCA food pantry volunteer recently reported this story. Names are withheld to protect confidentiality.)
 "I volunteered to deliver food to a client today. The food captain sent me the case via e-mail. I went to the ACCA food pantry and prepared 12 bags of food. Then, I went to the client's apartment.
"The client's 24-year-old granddaughter came out to bring in the food. In talking with her, I discovered that she and her two small children had moved in to care for her grandmother because the grandmother had fallen and was wheelchair-bound. The grandmother was way behind on her bills and could not take care of herself. I also discovered that their electricity had been shut off two hours earlier.
"The granddaughter has a job and said that she would get her paycheck that day, but the electric company would not give them an extension before cutting off the power. I was sure that ACCA could help pay the utility bill and recommended that the granddaughter call social services. I also reported this to the social worker.
"Thankfully, the electric power was turned back on that afternoon. Because of ACCA, a family that includes a disabled senior and two children, had food and electric power that night.
"We do make a difference!"
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10th Annual Winter Clothing Drive
 ACCA's Tenth Annual Outerwear Clothing Drive to benefit day laborers, homeless men and women and children at the ACCA Child Development Center will take place November 27 - December Dec. 2. Please
gather usable outerwear garments, including winter jackets, sweaters, hooded sweatshirts, gloves and warm wool hats that can be shared with others. On Saturday, December 2 there will be an ACCA truck at St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church on Leesburg Pike from 1:30 - 2:30 p.m. and at St. Michael Catholic Church off of Ravensworth Rd. from 3 - 4 p.m. to receive clothing donations and provide a receipt if desired.
Donations can be also made by special arrangement by calling Don and Mary Lee Di Spirito, (703) 256-9513 or by sending an email to dondispirito@verizon.net or ddmld@verizon.net. Like last year, we will gather donations for a second time in mid-January.
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Transportation Volunteers Needed
Drivers
are needed for the Shepherd's Center of Annandale Springfield-ACCA transportation program, to provide rides to medical and therapy appointments for persons age 50 or older who cannot drive themselves. If interested, please contact the Shepherd's Center
at
703-941-1419
or
shepherdscas@vacoxmail.com
. In addition, ACCA receives referrals for rides for persons under age 50. If you are interested in assisting in providing these rides, contact Gail Coleman at
gv.coleman@verizon.net
.
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