Local Students Collect Food, Donations for Lorton Community Action Center

The girls helped on behalf of local charity, Kids Sending Smiles, for four hours Saturday.

A group of local elementary school girls spent hours Saturday collecting donations of non-perishable food for the Lorton Community Action Center’s food pantry. The nine students of Island Creek Elementary School in Alexandria are between eight and nine years-old, and acted on behalf of local charity Kids Sending Smiles. At the end of the day, they collected $287 for the charity outside of the Giant Food store, at 7558 Telegraph Road.  The center’s pantry shelves are nearly empty, and the group also collected:    "The girls stood in front of the store and asked for help," said parent Laurie Flanagan. "The community answered. One elderly gentleman donated $100 saying that he knows there are people in his community that need money from his …

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Lorton Community Action Center Announces After-School Program

The program will start this September and will serve underprivileged children.

This fall, underprivileged children at William Halley Elementary School will be provided after-school services at the school, courtesy of the Lorton Community Action Center. The LCAC has raised approximately half of the $36,400 needed for the program, which will be offered for two afternoons a week for nine-and-a-half weeks this fall and spring 2013.   "We have 750 students, and our free and reduced lunch rate is 30 percent," said William Halley Principal Jamey Chianetta to the South County Federation at their Tuesday night meeting. "And, one thing we haven't had lately is an after-schoool program, which fell off because of funding."  "Our schools are stretched. they don't have the support they need at after school programs," said Linda …

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Silverbrook Students Save More Than a Few Milk Cartons

Silverbrook's Going Green initiative is helping save the Earth and underprivileged families at the same time.

A redheaded girl lines up next to five other kindergartners and pours her milk into a black pail. She then tosses her empty milk carton in a giant blue trash bin in front of her. At Silverbrook Elementary School, children are learning from a very young age about the importance of recycling and helping those less fortunate. “All the kids have been very receptive. They’re excited to be giving to such a good cause,” said Assistant Principal Joe Bosco. Silverbrook started a new recycling program in April that not only recycles their cardboard waste, as mandated by the county, but also collects any unopened dairy, fruit and snack products and donates them to the Lorton Community Action Center, a local food bank. According to their Student …

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BEN

6:49 pm on Thursday, June 28, 2012

I AM HAPPY TO !   more ›

Fundraising Dinner Set for Lorton Community Action Center

It's all happening on Thursday, June 14, at Pane e Vino.

Organizers are holding an Italian dinner for a good cause next week and you're invited. That's just what's in store at Lorton's Pane e Vino at next Thursday at 6 p.m., when a portion of the proceeds from the three-course wine dinner will be donated to the Lorton Community Action Center food bank.  This is the third annual Pane e Vino/LCAC wine dinner, and $15 from the $55 meal will go to the non-profit.  The Menu  Pane e Vino owner David Abella has a special reason for hosting the wine dinner.  "I used to be a teacher and the head basketball coach at Hayfield High School, and when we opened in 2007, I tried to keep coaching and running the restaurant, but it was too much," Abella told Patch. "My plan was to open a restaurant in an area …

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Help Is On The Way

LCAC: What You Can Do to Help

The food pantry is low on corn, canned soup and green veggies

It’s dinnertime in a home in Lorton.  Two children are enjoying a laugh while they scoop up spoons of chicken, rice and corn. They don’t always have vegetables at their meal and the oldest child states she likes the corn best. How did they get it? Mom received it the day before in a bag of groceries she was handed at her weekly visit to the food pantry at the Lorton Community Action Center (LCAC).  Without this weekly assistance, tonight’s corn would not be served, and neither would a number of other pantry essentials that make it to her table from week to week. As the children snuggle into bed that night, they are covered with a blanket given to them through Lorton's Attic, LCAC’s thrift store.  They don’t know this of course, they are …

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Help Is On The Way

Hunger: Not a Game for 20 Percent of County Kids

You can help!

I came across a statistic recently that really hit home about the issue of hunger in our community. One out of five County students goes hungry in a 30 day period, according to the 2010-11 Fairfax County Youth Survey (for students in sixth, eighth, 10th and 12th grades). The study, which was conducted by the Fairfax County Department of Neighborhood and Community Services, concluded that students who reported going hungry were more likely to be in a single-parent household. It is for this reason that the Lorton Community Action Center, and other non-profits like us in Fairfax County, exist. The statistics are alarming, especially in one of the wealthiest counties in the country. Families who walk into LCAC for food receive a minimum of 30 …

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James Cullum

3:10 pm on Monday, April 23, 2012

And with more people in Lorton, it looks like a growing problem. Thanks Sally!   more ›

Help Is On The Way

Partnering with the LCAC Makes for a Stronger Community

And it helps your neighbors.

When we try to do things by ourselves, we get burned out and may never get very far. Why do you think Batman works with Robin? Partnerships are critical in community work, and I'm excited about a new partnership between the Lorton Community Action Center and the Workhouse Arts Center. "LCAC Night", our first event, will be held on Saturday, April 14, at the Workhouse Theatre. Please bring a non-perishable item (canned fruit, rice or canned/dried beans) to donate! Drop off area will be located in the lobby of Building W-3. The show, “25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” is a musical comedy about six young people overseen by grown-ups who barely managed to escape childhood themselves. They learn that winning isn't everything and that …

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Help Is On The Way

Breaking the Cycle of Poverty in Southeast Fairfax County

How do you do that?

(Editor's note: This is the first in a series of weekly columns by Linda Patterson on the needs of local residents experiencing hard times.) The Lorton area is currently 3.5 percent of the population in Fairfax County. Almost 29 percent of Lorton households have a high school diploma or less, versus 22 percent for Fairfax County as a whole. This lack of education in more than a quarter of South County households means less income and struggling to make ends meet. This is where the Lorton Community Action Center steps in - when unexpected expenses stretch an already tight budget.  Since I became the LCAC Executive Director in January, I've met a lot of folks who have asked me to describe what we do. So, as part of a new weekly column with …

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Running on Empty: New LCAC Posters Use Universal Themes to Gather Food

Donations needed at Lorton Community Action Center.

The Lorton Community Action Center is using eye-catching images to raise money and food for their clients. Mason Neck resident Gerald Lyons, a longtime graphic designer with a penchant for community service, created the posters. Lyons is a member of the Mason Neck Citizens Association and fellow board members asked him to put his graphic design expertise to work. Within a few days he had five posters. "I don't mind doing pro bono jobs. I'm glad to do it. I understand the depth of the LCAC's needs and the size of their clientele," he said. Expect to see the posters at Lorton's Attic and other community locations that agree to have them posted. "Jerry rocks!" said Andrea Cochrane Tracy, LCAC's development director. "He's a local volunteer. …

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James Cullum

4:59 pm on Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Hi Maria, Thanks for the comment! We have links in the story that will send you to the Lorton Community Action Center. For the phone number and other information, go to: lorton.patch.com/listings/lorton-community-action-center.   more ›

LCAC Recognizes Local Teacher with Founder’s Award

Barbara Rizer has volunteered for 17 years.

Barbara Rizer, a longtime Lorton resident and Fairfax County school teacher, was recently recognized by the Lorton Community Action Center for her tireless dedication to helping individuals and families in southeast Fairfax County through her volunteer efforts with LCAC.  On March 10 at LCAC’s annual fundraising gala, the LCAC Board of Directors presented Rizer with the organization’s inaugural Founder’s Award for her commitment and passion for fulfilling LCAC’s mission of enhancing the quality of life in the community through individual and family services, community programs, and partnerships with other organizations.  “Everyone needs to have somewhere to go for resources, information, and compassionate guidance,” Rizer said. "Sometimes …

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