Spring Update: Progress, Partnerships, and Preparing for Summer
This year has reminded us just how important community support can be. Bitter temperatures, snow, and ice affected much of our area during the first few months of the year, bringing a number of challenges for our volunteers and clients. Icy conditions even forced us to close the Food and Clothing Pantry for a couple of days to ensure everyone’s safety.
Despite the difficult weather, our winter coat program was a great success. Thanks to the generosity of our donors and the dedication of our volunteers, every available coat was distributed early, helping clients stay warm during the coldest weeks.
Another important milestone was the completion of our annual client registration. Many clients took advantage of early registration and received a small gift. This process helps our volunteers prepare for the year ahead and ensures that families can continue to access services in a timely manner.
We also saw an exciting development in our transportation efforts during Thursday Senior Openings. Thanks to the generous support of the Fairfax Area Agency on Aging and Fairfax County Human Services Transportation program, seniors living at the Lewinsville and Fallstead retirement residences now have transportation to Share’s Food and Clothing Pantry. This removes a key barrier and helps more of our senior neighbors receive the assistance they need.
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In March, we had the opportunity to celebrate our partnerships across the county. Share of McLean was proud to be represented at the annual Fairfax County Board of Supervisors meeting recognizing National Nutrition Month. We were honored to stand alongside fellow food banks and community partners dedicated to supporting families. Observed each March, National Nutrition Month encourages people to make informed food choices and develop healthy habits.
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We also had another successful Stuff the Bus event at the McLean Giant, collecting more than 1,300 pounds of nonperishable food. Many thanks to Fairfax County for organizing this event, the Giant staff for supporting shoppers, and our volunteers from the McLean Volunteer Fire Department, New Dominion Women’s Club, McLean High School Teens for Food Banks, and Share. Most of all, we are grateful to our neighbors who donated items from our Most Needed List.
In addition, Giant McLean hosted its annual Community Bag Program, through which Share received $1.00 for every reusable bag purchased during the month. This resulted in a 54% increase from the previous year. Thank you to Giant and our community for making this campaign so successful.
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Share’s New Beginnings Program continues to gain momentum. This program supports individuals and families transitioning from shelters into permanent housing. Volunteer groups such as Trinity United Methodist Church, 1906 Group, Principia Education, and Weaver and Associates have stepped forward in inspiring ways—collecting household items and décor and working alongside Share volunteers to furnish apartments. These efforts transform empty spaces into welcoming homes and provide stability and dignity during an important life transition. For suggestions on how groups can get involved with this program and other projects, please go here.
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As we look ahead to the summer months, we know that the need for food assistance will increase as many children who rely on school meals are home for the break. Donations become especially important during this time to help keep our pantry shelves stocked. Please see ways you can help here.
| | At the same time, we are in need of key furniture items, including beds (twin, full, and queen), dressers, small dining tables and chairs, and small sofas or loveseats. For more information on how you can help, please go to our furniture page. | | During the summer, we will be hosting our annual Back-to-School (BTS) event, which provides essential school supplies so students can start the new school year prepared and confident. With the continued support of our generous donors and volunteers, we look forward to helping families navigate the months ahead. For more information, please visit this link. | | | |
Finally, we encourage all Share members to attend the annual membership meeting to vote Officer and Board nominations for the upcoming fiscal year. This year’s meeting will be held on Thursday, June 11, 2026, at 7:00 p.m. at the McLean Community Center. Members who completed the membership form before March 1 will be eligible to vote. For more information, please go to our membership information page.
From navigating winter challenges to preparing for the months ahead, our community continues to make a meaningful difference. Thank you for supporting Share in every season.
| | More Than 57 Years of Partnership! | |
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As with so many great ministry ideas, the creation of Share began with the passion of one Immanuel Presbyterian Church (IPC) member, Ruth Charters. In 1969, Ruth helped found Share with other faith-based organizations with a simple but powerful vision: to meet the emergency needs of neighbors in our community. More than 57 years later, that vision continues to shape IPC’s ministry in profound ways.
According to Rev. Blair Moorhead, “Share is part of the DNA and identity of Immanuel as a congregation. We are grateful for every opportunity we get to participate and connect with Share. Our involvement with Share started just 8 years after Immanuel became a congregation, so we can’t imagine our church without our engagement with Share.”
Over the years, IPC has supported Share in countless ways. Many remember helping on pantry opening days by welcoming clients, checking them in, and carrying food to their cars. Others have assembled school supplies for children as part of Share’s Back-to-School program, ensuring students start the year prepared and confident.
Immanuel has also supported Share through grants, including funding books for children in both English and Spanish, and through major gifts such as the purchase of a Share truck. Members have even taken the wheel themselves, driving the truck for furniture pickups and deliveries. Food and supply drives, held both at IPC and outside Giant, have long been a familiar and cherished part of the church’s ministry life, as has participation in the interfaith produce garden.
For many, serving with Share has also shaped their personal sense of identity and calling. One especially meaningful memory is of a young member, then in middle school, organizing monthly food drives. That student, Atticus Gore, now a senior in college, looks back on the experience with gratitude: “Being able to serve our community was such a joy. It was intergenerational—neighbors served together, and doing good for our community was so rewarding.”
For Atticus, those Saturdays spent collecting donations became something much bigger than a volunteer activity. “Being able to recognize that service is about lifting one another’s strengths and showing areas where we can be growing. It absolutely makes it a part of my identity, and a big part of the identity of the church. Every single person has the ability and has something to share in our quest for service.” Now volunteering at a similar organization while in college, Atticus says it has been meaningful to see “that thread continuing.”
Longtime IPC member Nancy Stansberry, who has volunteered with Share for decades, fondly remembers those monthly drives taking place through “the coldest winter and hottest summer,” a testament to the dedication and perseverance of the church community.
More recently, IPC’s congregation came together for the fellowship and fun of Food Truck Friday last September. It was an evening filled with laughter, music, dancing, and a shared purpose: to fill the Share truck with donations.
IPC also recently began volunteering with Share’s effort to increase the amount of fresh produce, which is one of the clients’ number one requests. Every Tuesday, members gather in the food pantry to bag fruits and vegetables for distribution on pantry opening days.
Rev. Moorhead shared, “We hope to continue meeting the need into the future! The impact is direct, immediate, and necessary. This is a way to build community within your congregation and with your neighbors. “
| | | | From Student Service Hours to 14 Years of Giving Back...and Counting! By London England | | London England, center, celebrating with fellow decade-plus Share volunteers and dear friends, Hunter Pollitt (left) and John Waddle (right) in November of 2025. | |
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I agree with long-time volunteer and previous Share President, Randy Glantz: “Share is like The Mob; you can never leave!” In October of 2012, my family had just moved from Oklahoma City. Longfellow 8th grade Civics class presented three recommendations to meet quarterly volunteer service hours. I found Share’s description the most eclectic… and the rest is history.
After first volunteering for a food drive, I met Hunter as he commented “You’re big and tall, why don’t you join our furniture moving program?” Two weeks later, I caught the Furniture Bug. In 2015, I would also take on the leadership of the Technology Program (Now a retired Share offering).
Every day of work with Share has been grounding and makes me extremely grateful for my life. I realized we live in an area where the world happens in our backyard. As a part of that, Share has a vibrant, experienced, and deeply emergent community of global citizens with a mission that is impossible not to get behind. Share has consistently modeled: 1) make the Client experience the best it can be, 2) think of what is possible, and 3) invest in our future.
Our volunteers have consistently valued building and maintaining real, lasting relationships with their community. When I first started as a middle school student, I was very socially anxious. Volunteering with Share gave me an opportunity to learn how the “pros” tailored engagements around each Client, making them feel seen and helped. Their ability to listen intently and patiently made a lasting impression on me. “We helped adults and children get off the floor and onto a bed today” is always a rewarding reflection of our work. The Share client principles of treating others with empathy, patience, and dignity are ones I have refined and use today in my personal and professional lives.
Vic Kimm, past Share President, used to start furniture runs by saying: “Remember, it’s supposed to be fun! If it’s not, you can yell at the driver, who will then yell at me.” Often, furniture teams face the combination of “monster couches” and small garden apartment stairwells. The geometry and muscle challenge is always worth it considering our Clients are starting new chapters leaving homeless shelters, spousal abuse facilities, prisons, etc.
On one of our morning runs (after coffee!), we unloaded beds and furnishings into a home in Arlington, helping several people get off the floor. As we were departing, the back end of the truck caught onto the steep driveway, slightly lifting the rear tires off the ground. Stew Lingley, our driver, happened to remember we had a piece of junk plywood onboard. Stew stuck it under the front of the left rear tire, and seconds later, he was able to break the truck free! I have always been amazed by how creative our volunteers can be, whether troubleshooting truck issues, or moving furniture through seemingly impossible passages. Our people never lose sight of serving our Clients. As many of us say at the end of a run, “An empty truck is a happy truck.”
Since 1969, our volunteers have enjoyed bringing each other along for the ride, especially students and newcomers. It is not unusual for our teams to break for lunch with each other, too. I have gained enough experience to where I have been building the next generation of volunteers. I always encourage our members to think about how they can integrate and build with the Share community. Consider: How can you make each Client experience better? Can you speak another language? Have you lived elsewhere? How can you put that experience to use? If you are young, this is a golden ticket sitting right in front of you to see the world in your backyard before you start making larger decisions.
| | | | Stronger Together: Partnerships that Support our Community | | At Share, collaboration is at the heart of everything we do. By working closely with community partners, local businesses, schools, and generous donors, we are able to provide meaningful support to neighbors facing difficult circumstances. From helping families meet urgent financial needs to bringing moments of joy and celebration, these partnerships strengthen our ability to serve the community and remind us of the incredible impact we can make together. | |
Share’s Family Assistance (FA) Coordinators work hand‑in‑hand with the social workers at Coordinated Services Planning (CSP), a cornerstone of Fairfax County’s efforts to support residents facing life’s toughest moments.
When CSP identifies individuals or families in need of financial assistance for rent, utilities, medical bills, or other urgent expenses, they connect them with Share’s Family Assistance team. Thanks to the remarkable generosity of our donors, we are able to step in and provide meaningful support to our neighbors.
Our FA coordinators also help connect clients back to CSP for additional resources such as SNAP, unemployment benefits, budgeting workshops, and job‑readiness programs, ensuring a more comprehensive path toward stability.
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Recently, Share hosted several CSP and Fairfax County Public School social workers for a tour of our Food and Clothing Pantry. It was a wonderful opportunity to exchange ideas, learn from one another, and strengthen the partnership that serves so many in our community. We’re excited to continue building on this collaboration.
| | | We’re delighted to share two more beautiful cakes created by the talented team at Cake4Kids for Share clients. These thoughtful creations bring joy and celebration to special moments, and we are grateful for the care and creativity behind each one. | |
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June 11, 7:00 p.m. - Share Member meeting at the McLean Community Center
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August 12, 15, 19, 22 - Back-to-School supplies distribution at Share
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Share is still seeking volunteers to support several important ongoing needs:
- Picking up bread from local grocery stores
- Picking up and delivering furniture
- Assisting with planning for the annual Holiday Program
If you are able to help with any of these opportunities, we would love to hear from you. Please send an email to Share to learn more and get involved.
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Community Kindness in Action:
Volunteers and Donors Making a Difference
At Share, we are continually inspired by the generosity and compassion of our community. Since our last newsletter, so many individuals, schools, organizations, and local partners have stepped forward to support our clients in thoughtful and meaningful ways, reminding us what it truly means to be neighbors helping neighbors.
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A huge thank you to the Trinity United Methodist Church Youth Ministry for their generous support of Share through a food drive that collected more than 800 items. The team did an amazing job sorting, date-checking, and labeling everything, making it much easier for our volunteers to stock the pantry shelves. In addition, Trinity also collected and assembled dental kits for Share’s clients. We are truly grateful for the decades-long partnership we’ve shared with Trinity UMC.
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We are also deeply grateful to Weaver and Associates for their generous donation of self-care and toiletry bags for Share’s clients. Each thoughtfully prepared bag was filled with essentials such as deodorant, soap, toothpaste, shampoo, and even a handwritten note. The team also participated in Share’s New Beginnings Program by providing a Share client and her two daughters with amazing decorative touches that truly made the apartment feel like a home! They worked incredibly hard from building furniture to ensuring everything came together seamlessly on move-in day.
| | Special thanks to Alexis for creating thoughtful food kits featuring gluten-free recipes in both English and Spanish, along with all the key nonperishable ingredients needed to prepare them. These kits make it easier for Share clients with dietary restrictions to enjoy safe, nutritious, and delicious meals at home. We appreciate the care and creativity that went into this meaningful project. | | | |
We were delighted by the thoughtful work of Brownie Troop 50193, who assembled cheerful “birthday bundles” filled with cake mix, frosting, Sprite (with instructions for using it in place of eggs, water, and oil), candles, plates, and napkins. It is such a creative and meaningful way to help make a client’s special day even brighter.
| | We are so inspired by the amazing 3rd graders from Lemon Road Elementary School. Wanting to give back to their community, they created a presentation on the importance of dental health and took their project a step further by organizing a supply drive among their classmates. Thanks to their efforts, they assembled 45 dental kits for Share’s clients to help promote healthy smiles. What a thoughtful and impactful project. | | | Thank you to Chesterbrook United Methodist Church for hosting a food drive in support of Share of McLean during their Easter Egg Hunt Open House. We filled up several cars with donated items from our Most Needed List to replenish our shelves. We look forward to partnering with you on more events in the future. | | | |
We were so touched by this incredible young lady, who chose to celebrate her 8th birthday by asking for donations to Share instead of gifts! What a meaningful way to mark a special day and give back to neighbors in need. It’s always uplifting to see young people getting involved and making a difference in our community.
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Every year, on the second Saturday in May, letter carriers nationwide come together for the Stamp Out Hunger campaign, collecting nonperishable food donations to support local food pantries. We are deeply grateful to our McLean community and the dedicated letter carriers who make it so easy for neighbors to give back in such a meaningful way. Share is honored to receive these generous donations in McLean, helping us provide food and support to families in need.
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Thanks to the amazing team at the Association of Organ Procurement Organizations (AOPO) for assembling 240 dental kits for kids! We appreciate your support and the smiles you’re helping create.
A warm thank you to the wonderful members of A Purposeful Day for spending time with us packaging and sorting dental supplies for Share’s clients. Because of your efforts, families in our community will have access to essential items that make a big difference in everyday health and confidence.
Our sincere thanks also go to Good360 who hosted an event with Heidrick & Struggles for assembling and donating several large boxes of toiletry items filled with everyday essentials, along with handwritten notes for our clients. These thoughtful touches remind our families that their community is thinking of them and supporting them.
Thanks also to Spring Hill Elementary School for a hosting a food drive that filled our pantry shelves with items from our Most Needed List! We are so grateful that you continue to think of Share each year.
We also extend our appreciation to St. Dunstan’s Episcopal Church for donating the proceeds from their Pancake Supper to Share of McLean. We hope it was a joyful event, and we sincerely appreciate your generosity and your commitment to helping neighbors in need.
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Finally, a special thanks to the community for its generous support of the Annual Interfaith Concert held May 17 at Trinity United Methodist Church. Centered on the theme, “If I Can Help Somebody,” the event brought together diverse faith communities for an inspiring evening of music, unity, and service. In place of tickets, attendees donated items from Share’s most-needed food list, and guests also connected with Share and other local nonprofits during the event’s service fair.
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Each of these acts of kindness helps strengthen our community and reminds our clients that they are supported and cared for. Thank you to everyone who continues to make Share’s mission possible.
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Donate
Share relies entirely on donations. We do not receive any county, state, or federal funding. Please consider making a tax-deductible gift using the button below.
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Our Core Values
We value our clients and treat them with kindness, respect, and generosity.
We value our donors and are deeply grateful for their charitableness and partnership.
We think of our volunteers as family and are inspired by their commitment and dedication.
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About Share
Share of McLean is an all-volunteer, community-based nonprofit that teams with individual donors and partner organizations to assist our neighbors who face food insecurity, economic hardships or related challenges. For more information, please visit our website at or check our Facebook page at for the latest updates. For questions, contact us via email.
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