From the Chair
June 2008

Dear Giving Circle Members and Friends,

Summer is upon us - and that means that your Giving Circle is wrapping up another busy program year and is already planning new and returning programs come September. We welcome several new Board Members in July and I am particularly excited that Peggy Morrison-Curtis, our current Chair of the Community Services Committee, has been elected as Co-President. I look forward to partnering with Peggy, and know that she will deepen our roots in Alexandria and help us expand our impact in our community.

Please read on for news about our recently announced Gifts, incoming Board members, the successful Spring Celebration with guest speaker Pat Nicklin, and upcoming Community Service opportunities.

I thank you for your continued support and am proud of these highlights of what we accomplished together this year:

With the 2008 Gifts, the Giving Circle has invested $300,000 in Alexandria's families! Special thanks to Alison DeCourcey, 2007-08 Chair of the Gift Committee.
ALIVE! Last Saturday Food Distribution - more than 40 Giving Circle members (including some of their children!) volunteered at our second partnership with ALIVE! in February, coordinated by Hallie Smith. Over 200 families received much-needed groceries, eggs and fresh produce. In addition, Giving Circle members generously donated carloads of gently used clothing and housewares and $1,500 - enough to cover grocery and eggs purchases by ALIVE! for two months!
Book Drive with The Campagna Center - Ellen Wayer coordinated our second partnership with Campagna's literacy programs, which resulted in the creation of 1,000 summer reading packs for Alexandria 1st-5th graders! Giving Circle members donated new and used books and, with the help of a dedicated group of students from Burgundy Farm Country Day School, sorted and compiled the book bags.
Giving Circle Kids was conceived and jump-started by Board Member Margaret Rizzi. The group, which organizes fun, age-appropriate community service projects for children of members ages 3-8, has held two events already, and a third is planned for June 24th - click here for details.
Grace Episcopal School contributed $2,000 to The Women's Giving Circle of Alexandria as a charitable donation from the proceeds of their annual Golf Tournament fundraiser. Thank you to the families and supporters of Grace Episcopal School!

If you are involved, or are inspired to get involved, in community service planning, the Gifts process or the management of the Giving Circle, plan on attending our Fall Committee Strategy meeting on Monday, October 6 from 9:30 am - 1 pm.

2008 Gifts
Thanks to your investments, the Giving Circle awarded $84,000 to Alexandria non-profits to expand the impact of our commitment to assuring success for Alexandria's children.

In March, Giving Circle Members were notified of the Gift Committee's recommendations for 2008 and given the oportunity to provide comment by email and in person. In May, the Board of Directors approved the Gifts as recommended.

The Gifts support community programs and organizations familiar to Giving Circle members, while introducing new initiatives that will expand crisis outreach to teenagers, and provide needed reading resources and after school mentoring and tutoring to children. Following is a brief summary of 2008 Gifts - more detail can be found on our website.

The 2008 Women's Giving Circle of Alexandria Priority Gifts are:

A 2nd year gift to Hopkins House of $20,000 to support Parent Education Programs.
A 4th year gift to Healthy Families Alexandria of $32,000 to support 10 families enrolled in the HFA program.
A 4th year gift to the Success by 6/Chiquitos Playgroup of $20,500 to support the operation of the playgroup in Arlandria.

The 2008 Women's Giving Circle of Alexandria Developmental Gifts are:

A gift of $4,500 to CrisisLink to support suicide hotline services.
A gift of $5,000 to Community Lodgings to purchase academic curriculums.
A gift of $2,000 to The Reading Connection to purchase materials and books to give away at Parent Workshops hosted at ALIVE! House, Carpenter's Shelter and Child & Family Network Centers (CFNC).

For more detailed information on the Gifts, visit the Giving Circle website.

Giving Circle Kids
Shop for ALIVE!'s Family Emergency Program - June 20-24th

Giving Circle Kids can go to the market with their parents using a shopping list developed in coordination with ALIVE!. The shopping list includes 11 foods that ALIVE! packs in emergency grocery bags for families with children. You are welcome to shop for a few items or for one or more of each of the items on the list.

On June 24th, stop by the home of Margaret Rizzi to deliver any items you have purchased. Kids can sort groceries, help with other collection tasks, do a healthy cooking project and have healthy snacks and lots of fun with other Giving Circle Kids. Groceries also can be dropped off earlier in the week.

Visit the Giving Circle website and click "download the flyer" for details on how to participate. Send an email to Margaret Rizzi to sign up or ask questions.

The Fund for Alexandria's Child
5th annual Fostering the Future Cruise - June 25th
The Fund for Alexandria's Child helps children in foster care and those at risk of abuse or neglect to experience the richness of life through such activities as dance, art or karate lessons, summer camping, school field trips, Scouting and team sports.

The Fostering the Future Cruise is a two-hour ride aboard the Cherry Blossom featuring live music and a Key West buffet. A pre-cruise reception takes place at the dock. For more information and to buy tickets, please click here.

Spring Celebration
Board member Anne Shuyler hosted a lively group of members at her home on May 21st for our annual Spring Celebration, coordinated by Mary Myers.

After the announcement of 2008 Gifts and the newly elected Board of Directors, our guest speaker, Pat Nicklin, Managing Director, Share Our Strength educated the room about the very real problem of childhood hunger here in the U.S.

With shocking statistics and moving anecdotes, she informed us that more than 12.6 million children were at risk of hunger at some point last year - that is one in six children. It is the mission of the non-profit Share our Strength to end childhood hunger in America.

In additon to coordinating national programs including The Great American Bake Sale, Taste of the Nation and the Great American Dine Out, Share Our Strength, like the Giving Circle, identifies local community groups to support with grants. Ms. Nicklin's talk was informational and inspiring, and validated the work we are doing here in Alexandria, harnessing the energy of our members to support the families who need a helping hand.

Visit the Share Our Strength website to learn more about the organization and how you can participate in their programs.

2008-09 Board of Directors
The membership elected the slate of Officers and Directors nominated by the current Board of Directors in May. We welcome six women who are joining the the Board for the first time: Christine Brown, Gwen Cloutier, Tracy Nickelsburg, Cathleen Phelps, Hallie Smith, and Karen Snow.

I also want to thank the Directors that served for all or part of the 2007-08 program year who will not continue to serve on the Board: Sherry Delaney, Christina Holt, Betsy Micklem, Twig Murray, and Ellen van Bever. We very much appreciate the time and energy you gave to the Giving Circle and hope that you will continue to stay active!

For a complete list of Officers and Directors, please visit the Giving Circle website.

Over the last four years, many of us have been surprised to find that we have gotten back from our involvement in The Giving Circle a connection to the community worth far more than the time and money we invested in it. It is my hope that every woman in Alexandria embraces the opportunitiy to share this experience.

Best wishes for a happy, healthy Summer,

Holly Sloan
Chair, The Women's Giving Circle of Alexandria

The Alexandria Community Trust (ACT) assisted with the founding of WGCA in the Fall of 2004 and has provided WGCA with $25,000 grants for three years.