Funraising Race at Lake Fairfax
Champions4Children 5K Race and Fun Run held In Reston.
“It was a fun race,” said Nick Abbott, “It brought me back to my high school days of cross country.” On the morning of Saturday, April 26 Abbott and other participants of the second annual Champions4Children 5K Race and Fun Run assembled at Lake Fairfax Park, in Reston. The event was a fundraiser for SafeSpot, a Children’s Advocacy Center, and nonprofit that will provide direct services to child victims of sexual and physical abuse in Fairfax County. The organization opened doors to their office in Fairfax on April 2. Approximately 315 persons registered for the race event, which also had corporate and individual sponsors. Some of the major sponsors included ASG Security, Capital One Bank, Colliers International, Willis of Maryland, ePlus Inc., Capital Source, and Todd and Michelle Kingsley. “We want a smiling face on every kid,” said Rebecca Cooper of WJLA/ABC. Cooper has been a long time supporter of the fight against child abuse, and was Grand Marshal for this year’s Champions4Children Race.
Assembly Leaves Unanswered Questions
Commentary
Last Wednesday the 2014 session of the General Assembly adjourned sine die at the end of the Reconvened Session that is called at the conclusion of each regular session to consider amendments to legislation proposed by the Governor and vetoes he made of any bills. Much of the work during the Reconvened Session dealt with technical issues related to the drafting of bills during a fast-paced session. Although the regular session has concluded, the General Assembly is already in special session to consider the biennium budget and closing the gap in health care coverage.
Reston and Sterling Lions Clubs Provide Eye Screening
The Reston and the Sterling Lions Clubs maintained a booth to provide PediaVision screening of eyes of children, 6 months to 19 years old, at the Healthy Kids Day on Saturday, April 26, held at the YMCA, 12196 Sunset Hills Road in Reston. PediaVision is a non-invasive procedure that takes only a few seconds to complete and detects the potential presence of problems such as nearsightedness and eye misalignment. Results are provided to parents to determine if follow-up vision care is needed. On Saturday, 40 children were screened. Results were provided to the parents of eight children to determine if additional care is needed. Above, Reston Lions Club President, Don Leas, is shown administering a test to a visitor to the booth. For more information on PediaVision, visit www.restonlions.org or SterlingLions@verizon.net.
Alone on the Road: 7 out of 10 Northern Virginia Workers Use Single-Occupancy Vehicles
Study raises concerns about amount of time drivers spend commuting alone.
Despite the decades-long war against the single-occupancy vehicle, seven out of 10 workers in Northern Virginia drive to work alone every workday.
Week in Reston
Herndon-Reston FISH to Hold Annual Fundraising Event Herndon-Reston FISH, Inc., a non-profit organization dedicating to help families meet emergencies and short-term needs, will hold its 9th Annual Fish Fling Gala at the Crowne Plaza Dulles Airport Hotel on Saturday, April 26, from 6 to 11 p.m. This gala is FISH’s largest fundraising event to acquire the financial support for its Family Assistance Program. In 2013 FISH worked with over 1300 area families.
Babes in the Woods
Toddlers find adventure at Walker Nature Center Earth Day program.
A group of toddlers took turns hugging a massive blow-up globe after listening to a book about animals and insects that can be found in the woods. The children, excited and attentive, were at the Walker Nature Education Center’s Earth Day Explorers program on Monday to trek through the forest and learn more about the planet they live in. The event was for the Babes in the Woods nature program, targeted for children ages 18 to 35 months. “There’s no time too early to get started,” said naturalist Ken Rosenthal, Reston Association. “And sometimes the out-of-the box thinking really gets me.” His personal philosophy is there is no word or idea too big to introduce to a child.
World of Beer offers IT platform for business lunches
If you are looking for a unique location to hold a sales meeting that’s not far from your Arlington, Alexandria, or Ballston office, think World of Beer. The tavern that’s best known for after-work socializing and live music on weekends, is now offering meeting space and teleconference so companies can conduct online training or other web-based events for its employees. "We are a great place for off-site meetings," said Evan Matz, owner of World of Beer at 901 North Glebe Road in Ballston. "With little notice, CEOs and managers can reserve a separate room equipped with our IP-based video and wall monitor systems. It’s a perfect place to hold working lunches." The tavern, which stocks more than 500 kinds of craft beer from--you guessed it, around the world--also carries a full lunch menu to liven up business meetings with great food.
Reston Little League Presents Leadership Awards
Sean Dooley, director at The Wise Investor Group at RW Baird in Reston, presented Leadership Awards to deserving players who are entering their final season of baseball in Reston Little League, as well as RLL alumni who have chosen to continue teaching the game as youth umpires. During ceremonies held in conjunction with the annual Little League Parade at Reston Town Center, each awardee was honored with an award certificate that cited their “sportsmanship during past seasons, their potential for continued leadership development as they graduate on to new teams and schools, and their love of the game.” In addition, each awardee received a Scholarship Award for Positive Coaching Alliance (PCA) leadership training. Players have as many as 15 seasons of experience playing baseball in Reston Little League, starting at age 4. Awardees are: Jack Thompson (Athletics), Aiden O’Donovan (Phillies), Josh Meade (Yankees), Sully Gholson (Nationals), Vikrant Magadi (Rays), Shea Huntington (Pirates), Nick Gryski (Red Sox), Braden Huebsch (Mets), Owen Walker (Umpire), and Kyle Sather (Umpire).
Exciting Week at Lake Anne Elementary
Lake Anne Elementary had an exciting week as several employees from the Smithsonian Zoo Migratory Bird Center came to the school to work with first and second graders. The ladies captured birds, held them, tagged them (while students watched) and then released them back into the wild. In addition, the students were taken down a trial and shown how to lift logs and leaves to locate possible food that the birds might eat off of (worms, snails, etc.).
Cycling for Change
More than 150 attend Ride to Provide in Reston Town Center.
More than 150 people gave up their Saturday morning last week to cycle for a cause. The fifth annual Ride To Provide, an event to raise money for youth programs and healing military veterans, drew in cyclists throughout the greater D.C. metro area thanks to the balmy weather and a chance to ride with Washington Redskins football players.
Area Students Win Scholarships
MLK Cultural Foundation Dream Makers Gala raises money for students.
Fifteen northern Virginia students received scholarships to follow their dreams last week. The Martin Luther King Cultural Foundation Dream Makers Award Gala drew in hundreds of people to raise money and hand out college scholarships on Thursday. “It’s something like this that will make me go to work tomorrow and want to make the world a better place for our children,” said Lieutenant Governor Ralph Northam during a speech.
Tax Burden Targets Low-Income Workers in Northern Virginia
Average tax burden for low-income workers is highest in Arlington, Alexandria and Fairfax.
Families that are struggling to make ends meet in Northern Virginia are the target of local governments in Northern Virginia, which has the highest tax burden in the region for low-income workers. Wealthy people face the highest tax burden in Prince George's County and Montgomery County. But here in Virginia, poor people face the biggest tax burden in Arlington, according to a new study by the Office of Revenue Analysis in the District of Columbia. Alexandria ranked second, and Fairfax County ranked third.
SOL Night at Lake Anne
Lake Anne hosted their annual SOL night on March 26 for students. The teachers and staff members were on hand all over the building with games, problems, and many other activities for the students to work on. The students worked both with the teachers, as a group, and individually on their own on all SOL related topics as a means to boost them academically for the taking of the SOLs coming up soon. Pictured here is fifth grade teacher Mr. Garcia showing Tristan and Lucas how to work through a science problem.
Walking for a Cause
Reston’s 4th annual Kidney Walk a success.
More than 300 people banded together to support the fight against kidney disease on Sunday. The National Kidney Foundation’s fourth annual Reston Kidney Walk in the town center garnered about $83,000 from pre-registered walkers alone. “This is more of a family-driven event,” said NKF Development Manager Jessica Shatzel. “Our gala is a corporate driven event. A lot of our teams are families that return year after year.” Jessica Blevins, Gainsville, and her family came out to support the NKF walk with a “Team Logan” banner.
CATS Puts Special Needs Kids First
Children’s Adaptive Team Sports reinforces and praises with soccer and trophies.
Children with special needs can sometimes feel like they are not a part of a community. CATS - which stands for Children’s Adaptive Team Sports - helps these kids feel like real winners by putting them on their own basketball and soccer teams. “We’ve had some parents who were emotional and said they thought they’d never see their son play on a soccer team,” said founder and CEO Margarita Benavides. “Eighty percent of parents said there were improvements on motor skills or attention.”