As winter’s grip tightened in January, Assistance League of Northern Virginia delivered warm clothing to seven local elementary schools. We provided 32 winter jackets and more than 100 hand-made hats, scarves, and headbands to five schools. A counselor at one school reported that students were crowding the table where the hats were arranged, because they were so eager to select their own colorful and unique item. In addition, we filled the special requests of two other schools. One requested children’s clothing (tops, bottoms, underwear, and sneakers) and the other requested gloves only, so we delivered the requested items, including 42 pairs of gloves to the two schools. One school also received sweat pants, besides coats and hats. Knowing how essential these winter clothing items are for students, our dedicated members made sure that each school’s request was promptly fulfilled.
We are very grateful for the talent and dedication of the members of the Crafts Group of Nativity Church in Burke and the Dunbarton Hugs Team in Bristow, who crocheted and knitted the beautiful items that the children so treasured.
In addition to the outerwear and clothing delivered in January, we also provided another 400 grocery gift cards to six schools to help still-struggling families cope with food insecurity. We have delivered about 3150 cards this school year and, since June 2020, we have provided more than 9000 cards, with a total value of more than $170,000. The cards are in lieu of the weekend food bags that we have not been able to deliver since the start of the pandemic.
