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We are at the end of yet another fiscal year for OAR. Can you believe it? Later this month I'll be sharing some of the accomplishments and success that the participants achieved  thanks to your support this past fiscal year! In the meantime, I am thrilled to tell you about one of OAR's Community Service participants, Larry, and one of our OAR volunteers, Audrey, in this E-newsletter.  

OAR is proud to announce that we have partnered with two new apps, The RoundUp App and GivHero! The RoundUp App is a donation program that allows you to support OAR on a monthly basis by donating your change after any purchase. GivHero is a health, workout, and donation app all in one. GivHero allows you to set fitness goals for yourself and raise money for OAR at the same time. We are so grateful for these two new partnerships! Read below for more information on how you can get involved with both of these apps. 

Last month we introduced you to our new back-to-school program "Project Backpack" which will provide children of parents incarcerated with new backpacks and school supplies for the upcoming school year. We now have an official Project Backpack Amazon Wishlist, and you can find out more ways in which you can get involved with Project Backpack below. 

In closing up another fiscal year at OAR, we truly see the great impact your support has on the lives of our participants and their families. We can't thank you enough and we are excited to see what the next fiscal year has in store for all of us! 

Elizabeth Jones Valderrama, MA, CVA
Executive Director

A Participant Story: Meet "Larry"*

Larry was assigned 100 hours of court-ordered community service to complete through OAR as an alternative sentence to incarceration. From the start, Larry has been extremely proactive about completing his hours and with the help of his OAR Community Service Case Manager, he was able to secure several sites to volunteer with. Last month, Larry volunteered at St. John’s Episcopal Church for their Mother’s Day Tea Party event where he completed a portion of his hours. Larry’s site supervisor at St. John’s was so impressed with his hard work and performance, she even emailed his Case Manager about what an outstanding job he did at the event. She wrote:

“Thank you so much for sending us Larry to help out at our Mother's Day Tea. He was fabulous! He pitched right in and started working as soon as he got there and didn’t stop until we all stopped. He did absolutely anything we asked him to do. He hung decorations, moved furniture, filled and tended hot water duty, dried all the hand washed dishes, sorted and packed all the dishes, and helped us clean up after the event. He was such a pleasant person to work with, very personable and polite. We would love to have him back at any other activities we have here at St. John’s. We couldn’t have done all we did without him!”

Thanks to your support, individuals like Larry get the opportunity to give back to others, learn new skills, and make new connections. Community organizations benefit  tremendously by having dedicated volunteers. If you are a nonprofit, faith community, civic or government organization, contact us at communityservice@oaronline.org to learn how Community Service volunteers can support your organization and events! 

*Name changed to protect privacy of the participant. Photo is a stock photo and not necessarily representative of the participant.

OAR's New Back-To-School Program: Project Backpack

OAR is launching a new back-to-school program called "Project Backpack" this summer! Project Backpack was created as an initiative to support OAR participants and their families and to help parents who are incarcerated to connect with their children. This program will provide new backpacks and school supplies to children of parents incarcerated and will also give these parents a chance to write a handwritten letter to their child(ren) wishing them good luck before the new school year begins! Click here to donate supplies through our Amazon Wishlist. You can also make a monetary donation towards this program here on our website. Please indicate in the "Comments" section that you want your gift to go toward "Project Backpack". We are also seeking individuals and businesses to host donation boxes for this program. We will provide you all the materials you'll need. To learn more visit our website. 

The RoundUp App:

Small Change For You, Big Change For Us

OAR has recently partnered up with a program called The RoundUp App so you can support OAR monthly in an easy, effortless way! The app allows you to "round up" the change from your debit or credit card purchases and the change will be donated to OAR on a monthly basis. Take a look at this 90 second video that explains how it works:

This is a way for you to support our participants and programs just by donating your change. It’s small change for you but truly a game changer for us, so we would be honored if you would commit to give in this way. You can download the app for iPhone, Android or create an account on the Web.

Volunteer Spotlight

Audrey is a native Californian who recently relocated to the area and is working as a nurse. Since her cross-country move, Audrey has been enjoying the seasonal east coast weather and has already gotten involved in the community, including volunteering at OAR! 

Audrey first got in touch with OAR because of her interest in volunteering for an organization that works on reentry issues. After reading "Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption" by Bryan Stevenson, Audrey became inspired and said that she "had to do something and get involved," so she started volunteering at  juvenile detention facilities, working with incarcerated youth. After moving to the east coast, Audrey searched for volunteer work that would allow her to continue her passion for working with individuals impacted by the criminal justice system and OAR was the perfect fit! 

Since she started volunteering at OAR, Audrey has been a huge help to our team! She has already had a tremendous impact on the planning and execution of OAR's new back-to-school program, "Project Backpack." She took on the major task of researching what items need to be collected for the program and we are so grateful for her support and hard work! 

Outside of her volunteer work at OAR, Audrey enjoys biking, climbing, and knitting in her spare time. She has also joined the Sailing Club in Alexandria, continuing her love for sailing, which started when she was a child. 

Thank you Audrey for giving your time and support to OAR and for believing in our mission! 

Want to find ways of volunteering with OAR? Come to a free 1-hour tour of OAR's mission and learn about volunteer opportunities! Click here to RSVP. 

GivHero 

A New Way of Healthy Giving

In an effort to promote healthy giving, OAR has partnered up with the Givhero App! This app allows you to set health and fitness goals for yourself and raise money for OAR at the same time! All you have to do is register for an account, set a goal (such as walking 1,000 steps a day), and invite your friends and family to sponsor you. Sponsors make pledges to donate to ythe nonprofit you choose and when you achieve your goal, all pledges will be donated to that organization! OAR is now on the list of nonprofits you can choose from when you download the Givhero app. This app is the ultimate combination of staying healthy and being able to give back to a great cause! You can download the Givhero App on your iPhone or Android or sign up online here. For more information on how the Givhero app works, click here. 

 

Upcoming Events

Project Backpack

This summer, OAR is having a back-to-school drive, collecting new backpacks and school supplies for children of parents incarcerated! We will have donation sites located throughout the community where you can drop off donations, or you can mail donations to the OAR office located at 1400 N. Uhle St, Suite 704, Arlington, VA, or visit our Project Backpack Amazon Wishlist here to make a donation. Stay tuned on our social media and our website for donation drop-off sites and more information on how you can get involved with this program coming soon! 

Arlington County Fair

Wednesday, August 15, 2018 to Sunday, August 19, 2018  

Thomas Jefferson Community Center, 3501 2nd Street S., Arlington, VA

Save the date for the Arlington County Fair this summer! The Arlington County Fair is a non-profit volunteer-driven organization that embraces a diverse community by educating, entertaining, and showcasing the best of Arlington for the past 40 years for all ages! Admission to the fair is free there will be shuttle services provided from locations throughout Arlington. OAR will have a booth indoors starting from Friday, August 17 to Sunday, August 19, so stop by and visit us in between games and rides! For more information about the Arlington County Fair, click here to visit their website. 

Arlington Turkey Trot

November 22, 2018

Mark your calendar's for the 13th year of the Arlington Turkey Trot coordinated by the Christ Church of Arlington! OAR is honored to be a beneficiary organization for this year's event. Your registration will help to support OAR, as well as five other local nonprofit organizations. Online registration will open on September 1, 2018, so be on the lookout! In the meantime, visit the Turkey Trot website here for additional information. 

 

Learn More About OAR at a Free Tour!

Want to learn more about us? Want to volunteer? Join us for a free one-hour tour of our mission at the OAR office! Guests will hear about OAR's programs and services from the team members who are working in the programs, tour the OAR office, and hear participant success stories. We promise to start and end on time and to have snacks you can enjoy! Below is a list of upcoming dates/times. Please sign up here or contact Heather Pritchett at hpritchett@oaronline.org.

Upcoming Tour Dates: 

  • Wednesday, July 11, 6:30PM
  • Tuesday, July 24, 12:00PM
  • Wednesday, August 8, 8:00AM
  • Thursday, August 23, 12:00PM
  • Thursday, September 13, 6:30PM
  • Tuesday, September 25, 12:00PM
  • Thursday, October 11, 8:00AM
  • Wednesday, October 24, 12:00PM

Support OAR

  1. Make a monetary donation to OAR by clicking here
  2. Donate Target and/or Amazon gift cards in increments of $10 each for OAR participants
  3. Shop on our Amazing Wish List: OAR's Amazon Wish List 
  4. Donate through United Way designation #8078
    • additional fees by UW are applied 
  5. Donate through CFC designation #26226
    • additional fees by CFC are applied
  6. Attend a free 1-hour OAR Tour or an OAR Event and bring your friends: http://oaronline.org/oar-tours-upcoming-events/

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