Dranesville District Supervisor John Foust and Grace Wolf, President of the Herndon Council for the Arts, delivered an assortment of shoes and gift cards donated by Dranesville residents, members of the Herndon Council for the Arts and participants of the Herndon Senior Center to Hutchison Elementary School Principal Judy Baldwin on Monday. Foust and Wolf delivered 40 pairs of shoes and over $600 in gift cards for this year's drive, the fourth year of the program.  The gifts demonstrate the generosity of the community in supporting needy students at Hutchison Elementary School.  Herndon …

A number of local nonprofits and organizations will be volunteering their services this holiday season by donating food, toys and grants to those who are in need. Although there is a large request for volunteers during the holiday season their services are needed during the entire year. The Closet is a widely known Herndon nonprofit thrift shop whose mission is to provide quality clothing and household items at affordable prices. Board of director's Presdient Laura Greenspan said, the organization would be completely overwhelmed by the volume of donations if they didn't have volunteers …

Herndon Friends Meeting announced this week that James Madison High School freshman Hannah Fox Grossman of Vienna submitted the winning entry in the annual ornament design competition held last month. According to a Herndon Friends Meeting press release, Fox Grossman's entry, "Fire In Bird," depicts an elegant image of light with flames embedded in a bird's wings. The artists solicited for the competition were asked to interpret light as an enduring symbol of the hope among all the world's faiths.  Herndon Friends, with the help of Pro-Type Industries in Sterling, turned "Fire In Bird" into …

1. Jeanie Schmidt Free Clinic. The JS Free Clinic, now located at Connections for Hope at 13525 Dulles Technology Dr. in Herndon, helps provide free health services to patients with no insurance and a household income of 200 percent or less than the federal poverty level. The clinic's services include non-emergency care for children including physicals, and full medical care for adults with high blood pressure or diabetes in the Herndon, Reston, Chantilly and Centreville areas. 2. Herndon-Reston FISH. Herndon-Reston FISH helps provide emergency assistance to those in need, such as utility …

This year LINK, a Herndon and Sterling-area organization, will be helping make the Christmas holiday a happy one for 2,000 children. The organization's goal is to collect and distribute 4,000 toys to be able to give two toys to each child in need for the Christmas holiday. Volunteers will be on standby on Saturday ready to receive cash donations to go out and shop for more toys through the day. In addition non-perishable food items are needed to resupply food pantries that were depleted from the Thanksgiving distribution. According to LINK 3,600 people registered to receive five days worth of…

Reston Community Center's Good Neighbors senior adult volunteer woodworking group donated about 40 wooden toys to area kindergarten students on Tuesday. The handmade toys were a gift to children at Coates Elementary School in Herndon. The Good Neighbors woodworking group meets each Tuesday throughout the year in the RCC wood shop to design, construct and decorate wooden toys. For more than 20 years the group has continued the tradition of creating heirloom quality toys for the area's children.

Singer-songwriter David LaMotte will perform a benefit concert, "Giving Hope for the Holidays," on Sunday, Dec. 5 for Fairfax-based nonprofit Our Daily Bread. The organization provides emergency assistance to families in need throughout Fairfax County. The concert will take place at 8 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 5 at Jammin' Java, 227 Maple Ave. East, Vienna, VA. Tickets are $15 in advance or $20 at the door. LaMotte's shows include songs, storytelling, humor, an occasional poem and lots of instrumental guitar work. The Washinton Times described his music as "guitar-spanking, open-tuning grooves as …

For the second year in a row, Comfort Keepers, an area licensed in-home care business, will stuff stockings for area senior citizens this holiday season. Executive Director Toni Reinhart said the idea came to her last Christmas as a way to help those in need. "One of my staff members was working at the Cameron Glen nursing home and she told me that the Salvation Army used to be able to supply these stockings for the seniors there," Reinhart said. However, due to low funds, the Salvation Army was no longer able to provide the service any more, which was something that many senior citizens …

The Bargain Loft, a thrift store operated by the nonprofit organization Herndon-Reston FISH, Inc. will be transformed into a holiday shop this month. When it reopens at 10 a.m. Tuesday shoppers will find both new and slightly used holiday decorations and gifts. Lines form early. Herndon-Reston FISH, Inc. is a volunteer, non-sectarian, nonprofit organization dedicated to helping neighbors meet emergencies and short-term needs with rent, transportation, furniture, utilities and medication. Holiday hours are Tuesday-Friday 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.; Thursday 10 a.m. to 6pm. The Bargain loft will be open…

Maude, the downtown Herndon hair salon, wants to make sure no mothers are left behind during the holiday season. The Maude Squad is going to make 100 gift bags for area mothers in need. Reston Interfaith will distribute the bags for the holidays. The salon is collecting new beauty products, makeup, candles, lotions, hair accessories and other items that can make women feel beautiful through Dec. 9. Maude customers who bring in items receive 1000 points on their Club Maude cards.

JJ Deli, at the Herndon Centennial Golf Course, is doing its annual Spirit of Giving event again this year. The program helps wounded soldiers at Walter Reed Medical Center have a brighter holiday season and was started in 2005. JJ Deli is collecting items the soldiers need and have requested. JJ Deli owner Jackie Johnson said this holiday season will be a more unique year for the hospital, as it is closing its doors in September 2011. The patients there will be transferred to Bethesda Naval or Ft. Belvoir, where a new hospital has recently been built. This year soldiers need luggage, duffel …

The Herndon Council for the Arts and Dranesville district Supervisor John Foust will collect donations of new, closed-toed sneakers in children's sizes 12 through 4 beginning Nov. 22. They will also collect gift cards for Kohl's, Target, K-Mart and Walmart in $10 increments so families can purchase shoes. The collection will run through Dec. 17. Shoes collected will go to students at Hutchison Elementary School. A new collection point at the Herndon-Reston Senior Center has been added this year. For more information, contact Jennifer Boysko at 703-471-5076 or Vicky Dorman at 703-689-9535. …

Those looking to volunteer this season but unsure of where to go can visit Volunteer Fairfax's holiday volunteer opportunity guide. Volunteer events are available to individuals, youth, groups and corporations who would like to give back to their communities during the holidays by volunteering. Opportunities are available in Fairfax County, Washington, D.C. and throughout the metro region and include food drives, wrapping presents for at-risk youth, adopting a family and more. To learn more visit Volunteer Fairfax's holiday volunteer opportunity guide.

Herndon-Reston FISH is collecting non-perishable food items that will be distributed to 750 families in need for Thanksgiving. FISH needs donations of tuna, peanut butter, pasta, macaroni, rice, tomato sauce, soup, dry cereals and other canned foods. Additionally, the organization is collecting $10 grocery store gift certificates to go to each family. Volunteers are needed to collect, sort and pack boxes on Nov. 15, 16 and 17 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Drivers will be needed to deliver donations to families on Nov. 18 from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. The collecting, sorting and packing will be done at the …

Fairfax-based nonprofit, Our Daily Bread Inc., and Combined Properties Inc., are partnering for a fourth year to help restock food pantries throughout Fairfax County at a time when many organizations are facing shortages and overwhelming demand. ODB has organized a cooperative effort among area nonprofits so each organization will provide volunteers for one Saturday then collect that day's donations for their own food pantry. Combined Properties has donated space next to the Safeway at Court House Plaza, 10376 Willard Way, Fairfax, VA, to host the food drives. Safeway will work with …

LINK Against Hunger announced its 2010 Thanksgiving and Christmas Holiday basket programs last week. The organization was prepared to host about 650 families in need this holiday season but they have found community need is greater than anticipated. Local schools began calling in asking if more families in need could be added to the list. Once that list was compiled LINK found it needed 775 spots to accomodate those requesting help during the holiday season. At an October LINK board meeting the request was made to increase the number to the needed 775 families, which is an unprecidented …