By Helena Tavares Kennedy | Photos by Gerald Asante
Can you believe that one in 15 people in Northern Virginia face food insecurity every day? Or maybe that statistic doesn’t surprise you because someone you know or even you have faced a tough time in your life and barely had any money to feed your family.
That’s why Northern Virginia Family Service’s (NVFS) work is so crucial to many people in our region. NVFS’ SERVE Campus in Manassas offers families life-saving services such as emergency shelter, a hunger resource center serving more than 600 families each month, safe and stable housing services, health access, Early Head Start programs, job skills and life skills training and support, and more.
To help provide these much-needed services, NVFS hosts a fun annual bowling fundraiser to benefit the SERVE Campus.
This year’s bowl-a-thon, called “Strikes for Stronger Families,” will be held on Saturday, March 11, 2017, from 1:00-4:00 p. m. at the Bowl America in Manassas (9000 Mathis Ave.).
The event is a key fundraiser to benefit NVFS’ SERVE Campus; in 2016, NVFS raised more than $57,500 through the bowl-a-thon alone.
The annual fundraiser has a rich history starting back in 1991. “The fundraiser began when the current SERVE Campus was under the operation of SERVE, Inc.” said Whitney Richardson, NVFS’ Director of Agency Communications. “SERVE merged with Northern Virginia Family Service in 2009 and underwent a renovation in 2012 to expand the number of beds we are able to provide at the shelter.”
Since then, the campus itself has expanded quite a bit to host new programs, such as Early Head Start and Healthy Families. The SERVE Campus also comprises NVFS’ Hunger Resource Center, which offers Prince William area families help with emergency food assistance, nutrition information, healthy cooking demonstrations and strategies for buying healthy food on a budget.
So when you contribute to this year’s NVFS “Strikes for Stronger Families” Bowl-A-Thon, know that your contribution is going directly to local families in serious need who are being helped through the SERVE Campus in Manassas.
Are you ready to sign up?
How to Get Involved in this Year’s Bowl A Thon
Love to bowl? Or love to support a good cause? There are several ways you can get involved to help support NVFS’ Strikes for Stronger Families Bowl-A-Thon this year as noted on NVFS’ website and is provided below:
- Create a team by emailing scrosley@nvfs.org. Gather up to 5 of your family, friends and co-workers for a fun time to help empower local families in our area. Team fundraising minimum requirement is $275 – that is only $55 per person to help local families in need! Prizes will be awarded to top fundraisers!
2. Become an event sponsor. Sponsorships are a great way to show the community that your business is committed to supporting its community, and come with great benefits.
3. Create a virtual team. Want to help fundraise for SERVE but are unable to bowl on the 11th? You still can! Virtual teams are welcome! Prizes will be awarded to top fundraisers.
4. Make a donation to the bowl-a-thon and directly support vulnerable families in the Greater Prince William area.
There are plenty of options for you to choose from to support “Strikes for Stronger Families” so that NVFS and their Manassas SERVE campus can continue to provide life-saving services for our community and families.
Helena Tavares Kennedy (hkennedy@princewilliamliving.com), a longtime Prince William County resident, is a freelance writer and communications consultant and can also be reached at www.htkmarketingservices.com and www.livinggreendaybyday.com.
