VPC Hosts Third Annual "Labor (With And) 4 Your Neighbor"

This weekend, hundreds of area residents will unite to complete service projects in and around Vienna, dedicating the Labor Day holiday to serving others in the 's third annual "Labor (With And) 4 Your Neighbor" drive.

In years past,  the weekend – which matches volunteers with local organizations in need of help or supplies – was an effort primarily concentrated in the church. But this year, organizers hope to involve even more people in Vienna.

Organized service projects will take place Saturday through Monday, though the church is also encouraging people to take on their own projects – from helping an elderly neighbor clear a tree from a storm, to other random acts of kindness.

Also new this year is an all-day "Party For The Rest Of Us" celebration on Saturday at

The all day event – from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m outside and 7 to 10 p.m. inside the coffee shop – will collect items for local nonprofits The Lamb Center and the Committee For Helping Others. Residents who stop by and donate will get free hotdogs while supplies last. The party will also feature music from TBS, Weathers and Friends, Ray Bennett and The Minor Kings.

Some of the service opportunities available throughout the weekend include:

1. Alternative House

Up to 30 individuals needed Sunday for:

• Yardwork – trimming, weeding, general clean up
• Painting – various rooms in the shelter, ceilings, doorframes
• Organizing the pantry and storeroom – including food, school supplies, clothing, linens, etc.
• Deep cleaning the kitchen – shelves, appliances, baseboards, floors, etc.
• Load up and take broken furniture, etc. to the dump
• Sewing needs:

2. Homestretch

We can send up to 75 individuals to work on Saturday both at their headquarters, and several small teams can be dispatched to individual apartments throughout Fairfax County.  Most of this work will be at their headquarters facility where VPC members can meet some of the clients and hear their inspirational stories of moving from homelessness and hopelessness to independence and hope for their futures.

Headquarters work:

• Interior painting of offices and classrooms
• Exterior painting of stripes in parking lot
• Weed, trim, clean up exterior lawn and shrubs
• Plant vegetable and flower garden for new preschool program beginning in September
• Conduct a drive at a local CVS, etc. to collect school supplies for new preschool
• Big wish list item:  Rebuild crumbling brick retainer wall in parking lot
• Help set up new Teen Center slated to open this fall (organize/move furniture, paint, etc.)

Work at individual apartments:

• Paint, landscape (when appropriate) for incoming homeless clients

3. Brotherhood Ride

Brotherhood Ride (www.brotherhoodride.com/) is an organization that consists of a number of firemen and women who live in Florida, but annually ride their bikes to New York on the anniversary of 9/11.  This year they will stay in Dale City on September 5, and we’d like to support them with cards of support, cookies, deserts, etc.  There are two ways in which you can help:

• Your cards of support, cookies, or deserts can be dropped off at the church up until the evening of September 5, and then Karen Richardson will deliver the goods to Dale City the following day.
• Deb Crumbliss will lead an effort on Sunday for families to come to the kitchen after the 11:00 worship service and bake cookies with her for this project.  This is an open invitation, and we’ll ask that people sponsor this by donating $2 for each dozen cookies that they’d like to bake.

See the full list of opportunities here, and sign up. Organizers say signing up will help them better prepare the organizations they are serving.

There are several other projects that will take place throughout the fall.