e-Pathfinder | May 2023
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Financial Empowerment volunteer Mitch Falter speaks at Artful Living

"I believe so much in this organization, and it's given back more to me than I could ever give to it," Mitch Falter, a Britepaths volunteer Financial Empowerment mentor and guest speaker at this year’s Artful Living: Forward event. Mitch inspired everyone in the room, and we’re excited to share the full video of his event remarks here. Weaving in his own life journey that brought him to Britepaths, Mitch connected the large and small ways that he's seen Britepaths make a difference for our clients to the joy he's felt in helping his mentee navigate financial barriers to obtain a master's degree.


He noted that, thanks to the support of Britepaths' staff and volunteers, his mentee is "doing something that makes everybody's lives better. This person is going to make the world a better place. They're moving forward, and someday will turn around and do the same thing. Give back. Because of what Britepaths did." Read More

Artful Living: Forward

We are so grateful to everyone who attended and supported Britepaths’ Artful Living: Forward on April 27 at the Country Club of Fairfax. We raised more than $67,000 to benefit the clients and programs of Britepaths! Read More


View Photo Album

Learn About Our Art Show Winners

 
A photo montage from Britepaths' 2023 Artful Living event

Back to School: Coming Soon!

Britepaths is gearing up for our 2023 Back to School campaign! We will be seeking financial donations to help us purchase ready-made school supply kits to distribute to 2,500 students who attend our Fairfax County Public Schools partner schools, and donations of new, large-sized backpacks to help student be ready to learn in the 2023-24 school year.


Details coming soon to our Back to School Page. Contact events@britepaths.org if your organization would like to support this effort.
 
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Farmers Market Initiatives

Fairfax County Farmers Markets opened earlier this month, and we are excited to be back at the markets! This year, Britepaths is continuing to assist SNAP customers at the Annandale market on Thursday mornings and launched a new SNAP program at the Wakefield market on Wednesday afternoons. Volunteers Needed to Help at Both Markets! Click Here


We have also begun providing Our Daily Veggies vouchers to our clients so they can shop for fresh fruits, veggies and proteins at the local markets. We're so grateful to our participating vendors!


Click Here to Learn More about SNAP & Our Daily Veggies
 
Braddock District Supervisor James Walkinshaw with Britepaths volunteer and staff at the Wakefield Farmers Market

Braddock District Supervisor James Walkinshaw with Britepaths volunteer Richard, and staff members Diana Ortega and Cecilia LeGrand at the Wakefield Market on May 3.

Coakley Leadership Graduates

A big congratulations to the first graduating class of our Leadmen Leadership Training class with C.J. Coakley Co. Construction of Fairfax! Their last day of class was April 7, and each of the graduates gave a brief speech about what they learned in the eight-week series. This was a pilot program that our Workforce Development Specialist Iris Woodard developed in coordination with Coakley leadership, and due to its success, we'll launch the next series in June.
 
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Woodson Food4Thought Grant

We are excited to welcome W.T. Woodson High School in Fairfax to our family of Food4Thought partner schools, and we are so grateful to our partner No Child Goes Hungry (NCGH) for providing a $2,000 donation to help stock their new pantry!


We gathered on May 16 to celebrate with NCGH founder (and former Britepaths Board Member) Rev. Kären Rasmussen and the Woodson staff and PTSO representatives who have been working hard to launch the Cav Cupboard to support students who can use some extra help with food and toiletries.

 
Woodson High School Food4Thought program celebrates No Child Goes Hungry grant

Can You Help Too? Visit our Food4Thought Partner page to donate funds and see wish lists for Woodson and all our 24 partner schools.
Britepaths' Board and Staff members at our 2023 annual planning retreat

Britepaths' Board of Directors and Staff gathered for our annual planning retreat on April 29. Many thanks to Board Member John McWilliams of Reed Smith LLP for hosting us!

Learn About our Board & Staff

Financial Empowerment Resources

Britepaths and the Financial Empowerment Center at South County offer a variety of free virtual services and workshops. Services include free and confidential Financial Coaching, Workforce/Job Readiness Coaching, Small Business Consulting, Food Entrepreneurship Consulting and Tax Preparation Consulting. Financial and Workforce Coaching are also available in Spanish.


View the full listing of offerings on the Calendar on FECSoCo's Services page. Please share with anyone you know who might benefit. Join our LinkedIn Group to receive updates on offerings and services. Click Here to read/subscribe to the FECSoCo Monthly Enews.


Workforce Development: Our next free Avenues to Career Training IT Courses begin in a few months. Please share with anyone you know who might be interested. Offered virtually. Must be Northern Virginia resident.

Google IT Professional Certification and CompTIA A+ training runs Aug. 14-Dec. 15. Interest form due by Jul. 13. Click Here for information.

AWS re/Start training runs from Sept. 11-Dec. 15. Interest form due by Aug. 4. Click Here for information.


Class/Workshop Highlights:


  • Free Budgeting Classes, morning and evening options
  • Small Business Workshops in English and Spanish
  • Personal Finance and Career Building Workshops in English & Spanish
  • Tax Debt Relief Clinic
  • Is Bankruptcy Right for You?

Volunteer

Britepaths has many Volunteer needs! Visit our Volunteer Page to view the full listing. Contact info@britepaths.org to learn more.


Our greatest current needs:



Great group projects: Food4Thought Packs, Food/Gift Card Drives and Food Bridge Supporters

Special Thanks

Maximus Foundation

We are so grateful to Maximus Foundation for providing grant for our general operations. They have supported our work for many years, and we appreciate their continued support.


Donations and Grants

Thank you to the following supporters for their generous donations in the past month:



Food Bridge/Pantry Support

Donate to our Pantry



Food4Thought
Volunteers for our April 2023 Food Pantry Inventory project

A big thank you to our April 2023 Pantry Inventory volunteer crew, including several Northwest Federal Credit Union employees!
St. Thomas Episcopal Church of McLean's Episcopal Church Women Food4Thought packing, April 2023

We're grateful to the Episcopal Church Women of St. Thomas Episcopal Church for organizing a donation drive and Food4Thought packing in April to benefit Marshall Road ES and Cedar Lane MS.
 
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Our Mission is to provide our neighbors in need with short-term safety-net services and empower them to work toward long-term self-sufficiency.
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