Several of us at Reston for a Lifetime had the opportunity to connect with some of the leadership of Giving Circle of Hope recently at meeting centered around an initiative to better organize volunteer transportation resources in the region.
Giving Circle of Hope is a Reston-based non-profit that has a history of supporting community based initiatives via funding and creative resources. Because they are Reston-based they are even more interested in supporting efforts in this community. We offered to spotlight their efforts at a Reston for a Lifetime meeting on October 9th.
As we started to brainstorm the content for their presentation we began a familiar discussion regarding the dozens of community service organizations that serve Reston (sometimes referred to as the alphabet soup).
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We discussed the wealth of resources in our community and the challenges of figuring out what organizations do, how to access them, resources that they need, replication of services, and many other questions.
We felt that it would be a great exercise to “whiteboard” this list of organizations at a Reston for a Lifetime meeting and begin to develop a framework that will make it easier for residents to navigate, and easier for leadership to collaborate.
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Below is just a start of the list of organizations (please email us at aginginreston@gmail.com if you have an organization you think should be added to the list), on October 9 we hope to begin the process of:
- Making sure we include all organizations (we are focusing primarily on RESTON and non-profit/government services)
- Developing broad categories (youth, senior, sports, mental health, pets, etc.)
- Updating contact information
- Brainstorming ways to share and use these resources
We hope that you can join us for this discussion, which will also feature a presentation about Giving Circle of Hope!
October 9 – Reston Community Center @ Hunters Woods – 2 – 4 p.m.
Please RSVP to aginginreston@gmail.com so we can plan our seating accordingly.
DRAFT WORKING LIST - Community Service Organizations Specifically Serving or Based in Reston
- American Association of University Women
- All churches and faith based centers
- All scouting groups
- Cornerstones (formerly Reston Interfaith)
- Each school PTA
- Embry Rucker Shelter
- Fellowship Square Foundation, Inc.
- Friends of Reston for Community Projects
- Friends of the Reston Regional Library
- Front Porch Singers
- Giving Circle of Hope
- Greater Reston Art Center GRACE
- Greater Reston Arts Center (GRACE)
- Greater Reston Chamber of Commerce
- Herndon-Reston FISH, Inc.
- Herndon-Reston Youth Lacrosse
- Initiative for Public Art Reston (IPAR)
- IPAR (Initiative for Public Art - Reston)
- League of Reston Artists
- League of Women Voters
- MLK Jr. Cultural Foundation, Inc.
- Reston Accessiblity Committee (RAC)
- Reston Association
- Reston Bike Club
- Reston Challenge Inc.
- Reston Chamber of Commerce
- Reston Chorale
- Reston Citizens Association
- Reston Community Center
- Reston Community Orchestra
- Reston Community Players
- Reston for a Lifetime
- Reston Farm Market
- Reston Garden Club
- Reston Historic Trust
- Reston Institute for the Arts
- Reston Lions Club
- Reston Little League
- Reston Masters Swim Team
- Reston Newcomers
- Reston Runners
- Reston Soccer Association
- Reston Tennis Association
- Reston Town Center Association
- Reston Young Professionals
- Reston Swim Team Association
- Reston Youth Association (Football/Cheerleading)
- Reston Youth Club (Basketball)
- Reston-Herndon AAUW
- Reston-Herndon NCNW (National Council of Negro Women):
- Shepherd's Center
- Skillsource Employment Center
- The Reston Museum and Shop
- Useful Services Exchange (USE)
- Virginians Organized for Interfaith Community Engagement (VOICE)
- YMCA
