Congregational Connection

ALIVE! Prepares for Decreases in SNAP Benefits
Thank you to DC News Now for highlighting how the end of additional pandemic era SNAP benefits could impact food insecurity in Alexandria.

In the month of February alone we distributed food to more than 5,000 households. This demand for food assistance is at similar levels to what we saw during the pandemic.

ALIVE! is preparing for an increase in demand at all of our food distributions, so if you’d like to volunteer to help or donate to ensure we have the resources to meet the needs of our community please visit: alive-inc.org
 

 

Empty Bowls Alexandria- Recap

Thank you to everyone who helped to make ALIVE!’s 6th Annual Empty Bowls Alexandria event a success. Thanks to the support of our generous donors we were able to exceed our goal and raise more than $39,000.

We are so grateful to all of the restaurants that donated soup and other dishes, our wine donor UnWined, all of the sponsors especially our Community Champion Sponsor- Jenn Walker Team, the local businesses that donated items for the raffle prizes, and all the volunteers who helped to put on this event!

Special thanks to Mayor Justin Wilson for your remarks and our musical guests: Alexandria Symphony Orchestra, Beats and Beyond and Mallet Machine, and George Washington Orchestra.
 

 

Samuel Madden Housing Redevelopment
The Alexandria City Council recently approved the plans to transform the existing Samuel Madden Homes public housing site into a new mixed-use community. As part of the approved redevelopment plan, ALIVE! will establish a food and services hub at the site. The hub will offer the entire Alexandria community access to fresh and nutritious food, as well as connections to support services. Being a part of the new vision for the Samuel Madden Homes will help ALIVE! grow our impact and reach even more families in need throughout Alexandria.

ALIVE!’s Board President, Mary Eileen Dixon, joined other community organizations at City Hall to speak in support of this project. You can watch Mary Eileen’s testimony here.

 

 

Shamrock Stampede- March 11th
Mark your calendar for Saturday, March 11th and show your support for ALIVE! at the Shamrock Stampede. 100% of the $10 registration fee goes to ALIVE! to help us support our Alexandria neighbors in need.
 

 

Save the Date: Spring2ACTion on April 26th
Everyone at ALIVE! is grateful to our Alexandria community for its support in helping us adapt services and expand our operating scale to meet increased calls for help. Your support remains important today and sustains our ability to be a constant resource for our neighbors.

We invite you to mark your calendars for Spring2ACTion on April 26th. This fundraising day of action is a 24-hour online event that provides a simple way to connect donors to the charitable causes they care about most. This virtual fundraising effort, presented by ACT for Alexandria, offers local nonprofits the chance to raise thousands of dollars to ensure that Alexandria is a strong, vibrant community for all.
 

 

ALIVE!’s Food Distribution Schedule

ALIVE! distributes free bags of groceries (produce, chicken, eggs, bread) at three locations one Saturday per month. Please bring reusable bags to food distribution events so that ALIVE! can recycle them for future events. All reusable bags are accepted. ALIVE! food distributions are for City of Alexandria residents. No ID is required, but some survey information will be requested.

Click here for a PDF of the full March Food Distribution Schedule

Saturday, March 25 from 8:30am – 10:30am
Drive-through:
Cora Kelly Elementary School (3600 Commonwealth Ave)
NVCC Alexandria Campus (parking lot B-1 via 5000 Dawes Ave)- No walk up distribution available.

Walk-up:
Cora Kelly Elementary School (3600 Commonwealth Ave)
William Ramsay Rec Center (5650 Sanger Ave)

Pop-Up Food Distributions Events
ALIVE! provides bags of food to specific neighborhoods and apartment buildings, in collaboration with our community partners, in the parking lot at each pop-up location. Drive-through and walk-up service available depending on site. ALIVE! food distributions are for City of Alexandria residents. No ID is required, but some survey information will be requested.

Thursday, March 9 from 4:30pm – 6:00pm
Ramsay Rec Center (5650 Sanger Ave)

Friday, March 10 from 4:30pm – 6:00pm
Casa Chirilagua (4109 Mt. Vernon Ave)

Friday, March 17 from 10:30am – Noon
Old Town Community Church (212 S. Washington St)

Saturday, March 18 from 8:00am – 10:00am
Fairlington United Methodist Church (3900 King St)

Saturday, March 18 from 10:00am – Noon
UNCUT Youth (1501 Cameron St)
ALIVE! Food Hub
The ALIVE! Food Hub offers residents of the City of Alexandria free food, personal items, cleaning supplies, school supplies, and connections to information about other services. No ID is required, but some survey information will be requested.

Located at:
510-F South Van Dorn Street

(NEW) March Food Hub Hours:
Tuesdays 11:00am – 6:00pm
Wednesdays 11:00am – 6:00pm
Thursdays 11:00am – 6:00pm
Saturdays 10:00am – 2:00pm

 

 

Fair Housing Listening Session
Join the next Alexandria Office of Housing’s virtual listening Session on Sunday, March 5 at 2pm.
Learn more at: alexandriava.gov/housing

Senior Living in Alexandria Workshop- March 16th

Join Senior Services of Alexandria on Thursday, March 16 to learn about volunteer opportunities with local non-profits. Fifteen organizations will be sharing information about how to get involved in Alexandria.

The event will be in person at Beth El Hebrew Congregation (3830 Seminary Rd) beginning at 10am. To register go to SSA’s website at www.seniorservicesalex.org or call 703-836-4414, ext. 110

Free Tax Preparation Services
The City of Alexandria is offering free tax return preparation services to eligible residents. No appointment is necessary. Services will be offered on Saturdays, 9am–noon and Wednesdays, 6pm–8pm, February 18 through April 19, at the Department of Community and Human Services (4850 Mark Center Dr). Expert volunteers from Community Tax Aid will help taxpayers with applicable credits/deductions, including tax credits.

For more information, visit alexandriava.gov/go/3188
SNAP at Famers

SNAP at Alexandria Farmers’ Markets

SNAP beneficiaries can stretch food dollars further and access healthy, locally grown food at Alexandria Farmers’ Market through the Double Dollar Program. Through this incentive program, SNAP recipients who visit the Old Town, Old Town North and Southern Towers farmer’s markets and other participating markets receive up to $20 in matching dollars to purchase eligible food products at the market.

Learn more about SNAP and the Double Dollar Program on the City of Alexandria’s website