If you haven’t noticed by now, I love promoting events that are for a good cause.  Here are just a few going on in our area over the next few weeks:
Costume Halloween Party and Fundraiser October 31
What:  Haunted Halloween Costume Party and Fundraiser featuring a live musician, karaoke, prize raffles, costume contests and more.  This [...]

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Whether by yourself or with your family, come enjoy a fun day, a lovely walk and that incredible feeling when you’ve done something for a good reason — come out to the Katherine K. Hanley Family Shelter Mini-Walk Open House Saturday, September 12.

The walk is truly mini — approximately 1.4 miles of stroller- and wheelchair-friendly terrain. But the registration fees go to Shelter House, the organization that runs the Katherine Hanley Family Shelter (KHFS) and your presence helps count towards the tally for the Fannie Mae Walk to End Homelessness — Shelter House will receive a donation from Fannie Mae based on the number of walkers they get from the combined tally of walkers at each of their mini-walks. So you help twice just by registering.

In addition to the walk, the shelter will open its doors so you can view Fairfax County’s newest shelter, and the first homeless shelter in the country to win a Green Globes rating for its sound energy and environmental design practices. This shelter looks nothing like how most people imagine shelters — nestled in a residential neighborhood, most people driving on Lee Highway aren’t even aware of its presence. The Open House gives members of the community a chance to come learn more about the shelter via a scavenger hunt through the shelter, as well as just hanging out for some old-fashioned fun with a moon bounce, a magician, and more!

Details:

• Saturday, September 12, 2009
  • 8:30 – Registration
  • 9:00 – Walk Begins
  • 9:30 – 12:00 – Open House!
• Registration information:
  • Register by Thursday, September 3rd to receive your Help-the-Homeless Walkathon t-shirt!
  • On-site registration is available, but t-shirt will not be available day of registration
  • Registration is $15 for youth (25 and under) and $25 for adults! All of registration fee goes to Shelter House and is tax-deductible.
  • Registration form is available at the Shelter House web site.
• Katherine Hanley Family Shelter is located at: 13000 Lee Highway, Fairfax, Virginia
• For more information, contact Kristen Lenz, Development Coordinator at 703.536.5383 or
  kristen.lenz @ shelterhouse.org (remove spaces)

The Katherine Hanley Family Shelter is one of three housing programs run by Shelter House. There will be additional mini-walks hosted by partners, including:

- Falls Church Presbyterian Sunday, October 25

- John Calvin Presbyterian, Sunday, November 1

More will be posted on the Shelter House web site as dates are finalized.

Note, I am affiliated with the Katherine K. Hanley Family Shelter as I am on their Community Advisory Board.

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Your thermometer may be reading in the 80s and 90s but Fall will soon be upon us and you’ll be slipping on a nice, cozy, sweater. Wouldn’t it be great to get a warm, fuzzy feeling on the inside as well? The kind of feeling that comes from knowing you did something really terrific?

Lands’ End is launching the FeelGood campaign in September — for every FeelGood sweater purchased, they will donate signature FeelGood yarn to One Heart Foundation’s Warming Families nationwide knitting charity. These volunteers will knit hats for homeless people across the country — Lands’ End is projecting donating thousands of pounds of yarn with volunteers making possibly 25,000 hats between September 1 and December.

You can learn more about the campaign at www.landsend.com/feelgood. Want to help knit? Be sure to visit the Warming Families site.

Yarn heart image is part of Lands’ End FeelGood campaign.

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