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e-Pathfinder | December 2022
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Financial Empowerment volunteer Steven Carrion of MainStreet Bank leads a budgeting class for Spanish-speaking family members of students at Main Street Child Development Center. | |
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"I wanted to thank you for working with me a year ago! My credit score is above 700, I got the secured card over a year ago, and I just refinanced my car at a very low rate. And it's all because you led me in the right direction!" -- "Susan," former Financial Mentee
Our wonderful Financial Empowerment volunteer Michael Murphy shared this email from his former mentee "Susan" recently with our Financial Mentoring Manager Carole Rogers.
We are so thankful to our Financial Empowerment volunteers providing mentoring, coaching and instruction, our grantors, including the United Way of the National Capital Area, Fairfax County, the Foundation for Financial Planning and PBMares, and our supporters who are making it possible to work with neighbors like Susan to help them improve their finances and build brighter futures. Thank you!
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Holiday Break
Britepaths and the Financial Empowerment Center at South County will be Closed from Dec. 26, 2022 through Jan. 2, 2023. We will not be accepting donations or distributing food at the Fairfax office, and we will not be monitoring phone or email at our offices or offering virtual services. We hope you all enjoy your holidays and have a Happy New Year!
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Still Time to Give Some Holiday Cheer! | |
We are so grateful to everyone who is donating to Britepaths' Holiday Program to help us provide gift cards to families with identified need so they can purchase holiday meals and gifts for their children. There is still time to donate!
Thank You to Our Sponsors! American Legion Post 177 in Fairfax, the Peterson Family Foundation, KPMG MAC GMS Team, Walmart Fairfax, Walmart Fair Lakes and our Wine & Wonderment Supporters
Thank You to organizations running fund or gift card drives! Antioch Baptist Church Sunday School, CrossFit Reston, Fairfax City Democratic Committee, Fairfax County Office of the County Attorney, KPMG MAC GMS Team, Brooke Thomas/Meridian Park Neighborhood
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This is the 13th year that Brooke Thomas, now a high school senior, and her family have organized with their neighbors in Meridian Park in Falls Church to assist Britepaths' families for the holidays. On Dec. 7, Brooke's mom brought more than $1,000 in cash and gift cards from the neighborhood. Our Programs Manager Mila Cobos is in the photo, with a note from Brooke.
View Stories and Thank Yous from the Holiday Program
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SAVE THE DATE!
Artful Living: Forward
Thursday, April 27, 2023
7p-10p
Country Club of Fairfax
Call for Art
Sponsors Needed
Event Planning Volunteers Needed
Questions? Contact Sidney Arrington at events@britepaths.org or 703.273.8829
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Thanks to our supporters and grantors, in FY22, Britepaths rallied its resources and volunteers to serve 8,993 area households, boosting the wellbeing of 12,425 residents. To accomplish this, our staff harnessed resources provided by our supporters and the energy of 443 volunteers, working 5,192 hours to achieve the following results:
- Served 2,113 people with Financial Empowerment and Workforce Development Services
- Served 1,337 families with Food Bridge and Financial Assistance Supports
- Served 6,730 children and youth with Food4Thought weekend food packs, Back to School supplies, Holiday gifts and Financial Literacy
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Thank You, Board Members! | |
We are so grateful for the volunteer service of our Board of Directors. We would like to recognize three members who have recently announced their departure, and three who departed last year.
Dave Sands of PWC has served since 2015, and previously served as Board President. Dave Wiemer of Conquer Cancer Foundation has served since 2017. Alan Tom of BlackRock joined us in 2021. Last year, Catherine Read of Creative Read, Inc., and the Mayor-elect of the City of Fairfax departed the Board after nine years of service. Sarah White of Fairfax County served for more than two years, and Karen Elliott of AARP Services, Inc. served for nearly two years, and has served on staff in the past.
Our current Board of Directors members are: President Emily Barnes, George Mason University, Antonin Scalia School of Law; Vice President Karen Wheeler, consultant; Secretary Kathy Bold, SAIC; and Treasurer Eric Goldwater, Introhive. Directors: Felipe Arratia, consultant; Angie Delboy, BHG Realty; Gabriel Derosier, MainStreet Bank; Kyle Grieser, BlackRock; John McWilliams, Reed Smith; Ed Moore; Christina Saxon, SAIC; May Shallal, Fairfax County (Immediate Past President); and Zakiya Thomas, Thomas Consulting Group, LLC.
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Britepaths' departing and former Board Members, 2021 and 2022. Clockwise, from top left, Dave Sands, Dave Wiemer, Alan Tom, Karen Elliott, Sarah White and Catherine Read.
Click Here to Learn More about our Board Members
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Britepaths has a Job Opportunity. Details on our Jobs Page. Please Share!
Britepaths is seeking a Development Director in our Fairfax office to develop and implement our fundraising plan. Full-time, 35 hours/week, salaried. Apply by Dec. 16 to Lisa Whetzel at LWhetzel@britepaths.org.
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We're so grateful to our community partners and supporters for hosting events/fundraisers to benefit Britepaths' families!
This Sunday, 12/18! Curio by Fifth & Main Sip, Shop, Support holiday event, Sunday, Dec. 18, 1-4 pm in Fairfax City. RSVP to rsvp@fifthandmainpr.com for address. Thank you to Heather Shaw Menis and Fifth & Main PR for selecting Britepaths to receive a portion of the proceeds.
January 2023: Giant Food Clifton Bloomin' 4 Good fundraiser. Throughout the month of January, Britepaths' Food Bridge program will receive $1 for every bouquet with the purple Bloomin' 4 Good label purchased at the Clifton Giant, 5740 Union Mill Rd., Clifton 20124. We're grateful to them for choosing Britepaths.
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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 and Tax Preparation Consulting. Financial and Workforce Coaching are also available in Spanish.
View the full listing of offerings on our Virtual Resources 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.
Free ACT-IT Certification Training Courses Starting Soon! Google IT/Comp TIA A+ runs 2/13/23-6/16/23; AWS re/Start runs 3/13/23-6/16/23; Click Here for information
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Fairfax Turkey Trot
A huge thank you to the Fairfax Turkey Trot in Mantua and its organizers for once again making Britepaths the beneficiaries of their fun Thanksgiving day 4-miler! And thank you to event sponsors: MOMS of Mantua, Anne and Sarah Harrington of Long & Foster, RIBA Construction, LLC, HOTWORX Herndon, Capital Presbyterian Fairfax, Merrifield Orthodontics, Banaji Pediatric Dental Specialists and Orangetheory Fairfax.
Food Bridge Supporters
Be a Food Bridge Supporter
Thank you to the Peterson Family Foundation for granting funds to support our Food Bridge program, in addition to their Holiday Program sponsorship! Their grant helped us provide grocery store gift cards to our Food Bridge families for their December 11 delivery.
The Democratic Women of Clifton & Northern Virginia is once again supporting our Food Bridge families as part of their holiday giving drive. The funds and gift cards they are collecting will help feed our Food Bridge families in January.
Donations and Grants
Thank you to the following organizations for their generous donations in November and December:
Food Support
Donate to Our Pantry
Pantry Donations/Food Drives:
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Fairfax Turkey Trot in Mantua | Britepaths joined the Democratic Women of Clifton & Northern Virginia at their November meeting to discuss their holiday drives. | On December 5, Apple Federal Credit Union staff brought 818 pounds of donations from their recent Food Drive at their 21 locations, which benefitted several area nonprofits. | |
Britepaths
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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