Fairfax County’s 12 volunteer fire and rescue departments face critical challenges that may impede their long-term viability, the Board of Supervisors heard on Tuesday (Oct. 14).
“We are concerned about the future,” said Shawn Stokes, who chairs the county’s Volunteer Fire Commission and serves as vice president of administration for the Fairfax County Volunteer Fire and Rescue Association.
Reston Community Center (RCC) will celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day for a 40th consecutive year with a full weekend of events and community service projects.
Set for this upcoming Saturday and Sunday (Jan. 18-19), RCC’s celebration will come after the actual anniversary of the civil rights leader’s birthday, which falls on Wednesday (Jan. 15), but precede the observed federal holiday next Monday (Jan. 20).
Thanks to the efforts of a local group of volunteers, nearly 300 unhoused residents in Northern Virginia are starting 2025 on the right foot.
The group, dubbed “Made in Reston,” collected and distributed 290 backpacks with winter goods in December to help people experiencing homelessness in Reston, Herndon and Vienna get “all the supplies they need to be ready to stay out for many hours and to make that time a bit more comfortable,” organizer Rosa Simon told FFXnow.
The family of a Springfield man who was recently killed in a plane crash will also bury the ashes of one of the dogs he was transporting.
The family of Seuk Kim, 49, went to Leesburg on Sunday (Dec. 1) to pick up the ashes of a puppy named Lisa, who died alongside Kim when his 1986 Mooney M20J crashed in the Catskill Mountains about 35 miles southwest of Albany, New York, on Nov. 24.
If it’s possible to sum up a life with two words, then testimony from family, friends and former colleagues suggests “service” and “community” should be top contenders for describing the legacy of longtime Fairfax County volunteer fire chief Homer Johns.
Speakers repeatedly circled back to those concepts at a memorial service on Saturday (Nov. 16), as they paid tribute to the over five decades Johns spent with the McLean and Great Falls volunteer fire departments.
Some equipment and staffing challenges remain, but Fairfax County’s 12 volunteer fire departments are positioning themselves for ongoing improvement after a solid fiscal year that ended June 30.
That was the message delivered by Fairfax Volunteer Fire Commission chair Shawn Stokes to the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday (Oct. 8).
The food pantry run by South Lakes High School’s PTSA has collected 2 million pounds of food and toiletries to help local students and their families.
The parents, staff and other volunteers who operate the pantry achieved the milestone during their most recent distribution event held last Thursday (July 18) at the Reston school (11400 South Lakes Drive).
The annual Reston Pride Festival will return to Lake Anne Plaza on June 1 from noon to 6 p.m.
This year’s festival will include live music, performances, and vendors. The organization will also choose an LGBTQ+ nonprofit to highlight positive work being done in the community.
Some teenage volunteers in Vienna have teamed up with a national nonprofit to show their support for American military service members.
The town’s Club Phoenix Teen Council launched a donation drive this week to collect clothes, non-perishable food and other items that will be assembled into care packages for military troops serving around the world.
A Loudoun County nonprofit organization is expanding into Reston with a new food distribution site at Cathy Hudgins Community Center.
Better A Life plans to give out food every Wednesday at noon at the community center, followed by the launch of cooking classes in March. The organization also plans to start a homework club, which includes a free hot dinner for children each week and the mentors that assist them.
