Boy Scout Troop 1865 of Fairfax/Burke came out to help us again. This time, about 25 scouts undertook a landscaping and gardening project for us at three of our Hagel Circle townhome units.

It was a blue-sky and warm October morning when the scouts arrived. They planted Nandinas, azaleas, one Pyracantha firethorn bush, weeded, mulched and regraded the garden beds. They also installed a gravel pit at one of the townhomes to alleviate a serious drainage problem. At another townhome the scouts applied sealant to a fence and installed new sod in the patio area.

The accompanying photos will show you the scouts working hard that day.

More than that, the scouts made three homes for our vulnerable families even more liveable and attractive. These working families—all of whom had experienced life without a home before Good Shepherd Housing—will feel even more invested in their communities. (As the scouts wrapped up their work that morning, one of our residents came out and started to water his new sod!) Our families will know that their homes are for the long-term and permanent, giving them more pride.

We can thank Troop 1865 for supporting these families with their terrific gardening and landscaping work.

As always, Good Shepherd Housing cannot thank them enough for all they’ve done.

“We cannot all do great things, but we can do small things with great love.” – Mother Teresa
“The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.” – Aristotle

When you do lots of small things with great love, the cumulative effect can be great. One might even say “outstanding.” Good Shepherd Housing & Family Services founder, Joseph T. Adinaro, rose to that level. In 1974, Joe and fellow parishioners from Good Shepherd Catholic Church learned of a large family living in a shack. They took it upon themselves to set the family up in a stable, appropriately-sized home because, Joe said, “People shouldn’t have to live like that.” That was the beginning of Good Shepherd Housing (GSH).

Over the next 30 years, the small things that Joe did – too numerous to count – took GSH from being a group of parishioners helping one family to being an award-winning area non-profit organization that serves hundreds of families each year. Former Board President Jim Sullivan said of Joe, “Recognized as the founding father of Good Shepherd Housing, [he] set into motion an organizational foundation that kept building to meet the massive community need to combat homelessness. Joe’s untiring efforts over the years put us on the path to today’s GSH&FS.”

George Klett, an early supporter who helped Joe get Good Shepherd Housing off the ground, commented on Joe’s attention to detail and the little things. “Joe … worked many hours upgrading houses [we were] able to purchase by painting; repairing wallboard; replacing windows and even upgrading and repairing electrical and plumbing installations. It was Joe’s ability to see the need, his optimism, his imagination and his determination that enabled GSH&FS to grow into the vibrant organization it is today.”

In recognition of Joe’s extraordinary commitment to our tri-fold mission of reducing homelessness, increasing community support and promoting the potential for self-sufficiency and his willingness to go “above and beyond” for the cause, the Joseph T. Adinaro Humanitarian Award was established in 2004.
The award, presented at our annual Gala, honors an individual whose work with GSH has immeasurably improved the lives of low-income families and individuals. Past awardees include Joseph Adinaro, Shirley Marshall, George Klett, Jean Scully, Kay Boatner, John Mulholland, Jim Sullivan, Richard C. Schmitt and Mattie Palmore.

Nominations for the 2012 Adinaro Award recipient are now being accepted. Staff and volunteers, including current GSH board members, may submit nominations. Each nomination must include a description of the prospective honoree’s outstanding service to our organization and an explanation of why he/she should be recognized. Former board members may only be considered for recognition if they have been off the board for at least one year.

The final selection will be made by the board of directors at its meeting on January 17, 2012.

Please submit all nominations to Ann Hyland at annhyland@cox.net by Monday, January 2, 2012.

Thankful, indebted, appreciative, much obliged. It doesn’t matter how you say it. The bottom line is, we are grateful. Of course, we’re always grateful – for donations, for our volunteers, for the community support we get and more. But at this time of year, when the spirit of giving and gratitude are in the air, we find that we are extra appreciative.

This year we have something extra to be thankful for. Alexandria Times Publisher Patrice Culligan selected Good Shepherd Housing and Family Services, Inc. from a number of local non-profits to be the newspaper’s “Cause of the Month” for September. As such, we received $1 for each paid display ad that the paper ran during the 30-day period.

Culligan said, with respect to our selection as “the cause,” that it was important to her that the charity be Alexandria-based and support people in need. Good Shepherd Housing fit the bill nicely, she noted.
In early October, we were told that the campaign brought in approximately $200. To our surprise and delight, Ms. Culligan notified us in late October that she would make a personal donation on top of the paper’s contribution. Good Shepherd Housing is the first organization to be the beneficiary of the additional gift. Last week, Ms. Culligan presented us with a generous donation of more than $300.

Neither we nor Ms. Culligan had any idea what to expect when September began. Today we are that much closer to helping another family move towards financial stability and independence. At Good Shepherd Housing, we seek, every day, to give our families the tools to create their own success and stable futures. We congratulate Ms. Culligan and the Alexandria Times family on their success in this campaign, which means our success which spells another client’s success.

Thank you, Ms. Culligan and the Alexandria Times. Sometimes, all it takes to go from ordinary to extraordinary is that little something “extra.”

Give to the Max Day is a one-day fundraising event on November 9, 2011 that will unite local Maryland, Virginia and Washington, DC communities to support nonprofits serving the area. The goal is to get 35,000 people to support their favorite regional charity, raising more than $3 million in donations and grants in just 24 hours!

November 9th is the day! Visit the Give to the Max website starting 12 Midnight on November 9th and use the search function to browse for Good shepherd Housing and Family Services. Then make your donation. It’s that simple! Plus, the more of your friends you get to give to your favorite cause on this special day, the greater the chance that we can win additional money through match funds and cash prizes.

I confess, it’s not exactly what it sounds like. There won’t be movie stars and paparazzi, but
there will be good times … and beer.

I’m talking, naturally, about our annual golf tournament at The Osprey’s Golf Club at Belmont
Bay in Woodbridge on Wednesday, October 5th. Temperatures may be falling, but as each
successive team registers and as donations for the auctions arrive, our spirits continue to rise.
With the tournament just days away, activity has reached a fever pitch in our office!

We can’t imagine who wouldn’t get fired up by the chance to work on their swing, win a new car
and support a wonderful cause – the prevention of homelessness.

You’re on our “A-List” and we hope to see you there!

It isn’t too often Good Shepherd Housing (GSH) is adopted by a boy scout troop, but when it happens it’s a great feeling.
Boy Scout Troop 1865 of Fairfax/Burke has joined up with GSH to work on several of our housing units. In our first work engagement in July, the Troop carried out and completed a range of maintenance and repair tasks at one of our apartments in Alexandria located near Route One. That day—another one of the many scorching-hot July days this summer—the 30-plus scouts and their adult troop leaders plastered and repaired walls, cleaned the kitchen, and painted all the walls and ceilings in our three-bedroom unit. After the scouts finished their work, GSH had the subfloor replaced and a new carpet installed.
All in all, as the photos show, it turned out to be a top-notch work job.
And here’s the part that makes it the most satisfying. After the scouts and GSH had finished their work, a working but homeless family of five moved into the unit. The family’s last address before our apartment was that of a family shelter on Route One. The family had lived in the shelter for several months. Now the family had a roof over their heads that they could call their own. The scouts had made their apartment a home.
We look forward to many other work projects with Troop 1865. We hope we can give them the kind of work projects from which they can learn solid property management skills and practices. More than that, we hope they will see the value of their work—knowing that their hard work, sweat and effort went to providing secure housing to a vulnerable family in our community.

Good Shepherd Housing owns several affordable housing units along the Route One Corridor, near the flooding that happened last week. Luckily none of our units had any problems with the flood waters. When we did check in with one of our tenants though, we got a very uplifting message in response. Read below to see what she said.

Hello
My family and I are well and did well during the flooding. Praise God. My son went around the Community Rec Center and assist family that where in need with the Fairfax county police and fire department that was giving out water, pizza and other food. I purchase some water and my son distributed the water out to families that did suffer around the corner on Friday, as school was closed.

This post came to me as an email response. I emailed back to Tonuya and she encouraged me to share her words with as many people as possible.  What a great testament to the power of a helping hand offered by GSH!

Hello, this is Tonuya (last name omitted here for her privacy).  I wanted to share a story with you.  Some years ago, I came to Good Shepherd seeking assistance.  I have 2 kids (now 21 & 13) and now a grand daughter, however, for about 2 years now I have been off of housing and self-sufficient. I have a Bachelor’s degree (I will pursue my Master’s next year) and a well paying job. Please let everyone know that furthering their education and consistantly pursuing a job in their particular field will take them further than they ever imagined.  Tell them to never give up. I would like to thank staff members at Good Shepherd and Nancy Taxson (Homestretch) for assisting me.

It is back to school time here! Good Shepherd Housing and Family Services was the lucky recipient of many donated school supplies, from the local Fairfax County Fire and Rescue, Hollin Hall Senior Center, local friends and many more. I have to say though; the most fun we had collecting supplies was at Art at the Center. They had their annual Big Chalk Draw where they close their parking lot and kids and parents go crazy drawing all over the place. As part of the Chalk Draw, Art at the Center collected school supplies and donated them to the clients of Good Shepherd Housing. As I am fond of saying, it takes a village.