Friday, September 14, 2012
More than 100 families a day visit the organization’s food bank.
United Community Ministries will hold a food drive Saturday at the Belle View Safeway. Mt. Vernon Kiwanis Club members will be running their quarterly food drive from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday at Safeway at the Belle View Shopping Center to accept your non-perishable food donations. Click here to view and download UCM’s Food Pantry Wish List of most needed items, and bring it to the store with you. For questions, or if you'd like to volunteer, contact Kiwanis member Rich Keil at 703-360-3087. Every weekday, 100 to 150 families who are struggling with hunger visit UCM’s food pantry. UCM also accepts monetary donations, which they can stretch two to three times further due to deep discounts from area food bank partners.
Thursday, September 6, 2012
Nonprofit has new executive director.
Area residents learned about volunteer opportunities at United Community Ministries and what services the nonprofit offers locally Wednesday during an open house. Members of the public also met with the organization’s new executive director, Shirley Marshall. Marshall said she envisions UCM as the the “premiere resource center of South County for people in need.” “We don’t always do direct service,” Marshall said. “Some of our work is direct service, but we also do referrals. So, if people have a need, we either can help them meet it or we can help get them connected to whom they need to see to get their need met.” UCM operates a food bank that serves 100 to 150 families daily. It also offers other forms of emergency assistance, employment…
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
More than 100 Route 1 residents visit food pantry daily.
U.S. Rep. Jim Moran rolled up his shirtsleeves Tuesday at United Community Ministries on Route 1 and donated bags of non-perishable goods to UCM’s food pantry. Moran also helped stock some of the food himself. Elizabeth McNally, UCM deputy director, praised his hard work. “You’re quick,” she told Moran. “We’ll keep you around!” The food pantry is open to local residents five days a week, About 100 to 125 families visit the food pantry daily and receive a three-day supply of food, McNally said. The food was collected at Moran’s Washington office, his district office and from neighboring offices on Capitol Hill. Earlier Tuesday, Moran also attended a naturalization ceremony at Hayfield Secondary School, where more than 700 people from 83 …
Thursday, July 19, 2012
Financial donations and supplies are in need for kids.
United Community Ministries is asking for the community’s help to outfit students for the upcoming school year. UCM’s annual Back to School Program accepts both backpack and monetary donations. Last year, UCM supplied almost 1,000 children with the tools they needed to begin the school year on an equal footing with their classmates. This year, UCM’s goal is to raise $10,000 and fill 1,000 new backpacks for qualified needy children in grades kindergarten through 12 who attend schools in southeastern Fairfax County. UCM is partnering with Fairfax County Public School’s Collect for Kids, Kids R First, Office Depot and Walmart in a program that allows UCM to purchase all of the necessary school supplies in bulk. “This unique partnership gives …
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
Shirley Marshall replaces the late Cynthia Hull.
United Community Ministries has named Shirley Marshall as its new executive director, the agency announced Wednesday. Marshall succeeds Cynthia Hull, who died in March from complications of non-smoker’s lung cancer. UCM’s deputy executive director, Elizabeth McNally, has been serving as acting executive director. "We were fortunate to have a number of extremely qualified candidates for the executive director position,” said Douglas Kennett, president of UCM’s board of directors, in a statement. “With Shirley, we are blessed with the perfect fit of qualifications, education, passion, experience and local knowledge. We are very excited about the future of UCM under her leadership and our ability to continue to help the needy in southeastern …
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
Ten percent of tonight's meal sales will be donated to UCM.
Dishes of India in the Belle View Shopping Center will host Restaurant Night benefitting UCM tonight from 5 to 8 p.m. Ten percent of meal sales, dine in and carry out, will be donated to United Community Ministries. When you arrive, just tell your server that you are there to help UCM support families in need. Executive chef and owner Ramanand Bhatt brings five decades of professional cooking experience, 27 of those years at restaurants in the DC metro area. He is assisted by Tandoori chef Soham Singh, whose specialty is manning the 500-degree clay tandoor oven.
Monday, July 9, 2012
The students attended Bryant Early Learning Center.
United Community Miinistries has graduated 13 preschoolers from its Bryant Early Learning (BEL) Center. The students were honored at a school-wide graduation ceremony. All will begin kindergarten this upcoming fall. The graduating class included two ‘BEL Babies,” children who have attended UCM’s BEL Center since they were infants. "The recognition ceremony is always bittersweet for the staff at the Center,” said JoAnn Higgs, the center’s director, in a statement. “On the one hand, we're so proud of everything our kids accomplish and so excited for them to continue to learn and grow. "We love children. That's why we work so hard and have dedicated our lives to helping them have the best early education possible. But on the other hand, …
Monday, June 18, 2012
United Community Ministries, New Hope Housing and Good Shepherd Housing and Family Services are looking at co-location, among other options.
Leaders from three social service agencies on the Route 1 corridor are exploring ways to better coordinate efforts and are considering centralizing operations in a single location. United Community Ministries, New Hope Housing and Good Shepherd Housing a and Family Services all work with the low-income and marginalized populations. UCM Acting Executive Director Elizabeth McNally said co-location of the agencies has been discussed. "It’s really just exploratory talks right now,” she said. The recession has negatively impacted funding for all three organizations. McNally said greater coordination would allow more efficient use of available resources. “All three organizations are looking at how we can make services more streamlined in the …
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Cynthia Hull died March 16.
A memorial service for Cynthia Hull, executive director of United Community Ministries, will be held at 3:30 p.m. Saturday, March 31, at Bethlehem Baptist Church at 7836 Fordson Road. A reception will immediately follow the service. Cynthia’s family will be in Alexandria from out-of-town that weekend. They said they look forward to hearing stories about the way Hull touched the lives of many people within the community. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the “Cynthia Hull for UCM Fund” established at the request of Supervisor Gerry Hyland as a way to continue to support the work of UCM. Last year, UCM served more than 13,000 men, women and children. Before joining UCM, Hull served as executive director and …
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Cynthia Hull died March 16; dedicated life to serving others in Fairfax and Arlington counties.
During Cynthia Hull’s tenure as executive director of United Community Ministries, the number of clients the agency served nearly doubled, from 7,000 in 2007 to 13,000 five years later. Some former donors became clients. It took a woman like Hull to see UCM through a tough recession and stay on top. “She guided the agency through being able to expand in order to serve all those people with relatively flat funding, which is a tremendous accomplishment,” said Elizabeth McNally, UCM deputy executive director. Hull died March 16 at Mt. Desert Island Hospital in Bar Harbor, Maine, where she had been staying with her son. She had been diagnosed with cancer only Jan. 9. She was 62. Hull came on board at UCM in 2007. She introduced cost-saving …
Back to School Physicals
9:10 am on Thursday, July 19, 2012
And don't forget, we still need volunteers and supplies for the 10th Annual Back to School Physicals Clinic (South County Center, Auguts 11, 2012). contact Katy Fike at kfike@mcenearney.com or Holly Dougherty at the Mount Vernon Lee Educational Partnership, 703-360-6925. Thanks for all your help. more ›