URGING THE FALLS CHURCH City Council to adopt a resolution dedicated to ending homelessness in the region, Ron Brousseau of the Friends of the Falls Church Emergency Homeless Shelter, Chris Fay of the Falls Church-based Homestretch, Inc. and Tennille Smith Parker of the City’s Housing and Human Services spoke at a work session recently. The new model for ending homelessness is one aimed at putting people into permanent homes and was the subject of a major regional summit held in Falls Church last month. The Council will consider a resolution on the matter next month. (News-Press photo)
No Tree Left Behind
Trees Virginia is sponsoring No Tree Left Behind: Care and Maintenance for Trees of All Ages on Wednesday, March 5 from 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at Virginia Western Community College (3102 Colonial Ave., SW, Roanoke). Sessions include “Maintaining Young Trees After Establishment,” “Invasive Woody Plants” and “Remarkable and Big Trees of Virginia.” Early registration (before Feb. 29) is $70, but discounts are available for students, non-profit organizations and municipal governments, with breakfast included in the fee. For more information, contact Becky Woodson at 434-220-9024 or e-mail her at becky.woodson@dof.virginia.gov.
Prevention of Blindness Town Meeting
The Prevention of Blindness Society of Metropolitan Washington (POB) will host a town meeting on age-related macular degeneration (AMD) on Sunday, March 2 at 2:30 p.m. at Sibley Memorial Hospital (5255 Loughboro Rd., NW, Washington, D.C.) in Ernst Auditorium. AMD is the leading cause of vision loss in Americans ages 60 and older, as it blurs “straight-ahead vision,” limiting driving ability, reading and the ability to recognize faces. The town meeting will feature a panel of national and internationally recognized experts, moderated by Emily Chew, M.D., lead investigator for the Age-Related Disease Studies at the National Eye Institute. For more information, call 202-234-1010 or visit www.youreyes.org.
Upping the Ante at Casino Night
Fairfax County’s Shelter House, Inc. is bringing Las Vegas to Virginia on Saturday, March 1 with its fifth annual Casino Night and Silent Auction, held at the Grand Atrium (2236 Gallows Road, Vienna) from 7:30 – 11:30 p.m. The proceeds will go to benefit Shelter House, Inc’s programs for homeless families. Casino games will include BlackJack, Texas Hold ‘Em and Craps; while not playing, guests can enjoy complimentary cocktails or bid in the silent auction, where they could win signed memorabilia from the Washington Capitals and Washington Redskins or even airline tickets. For more information, contact the organization’s Director of Development, Jill Shumann, at 703-532-2167 or at jill.shumann@shelterhouse.org.
McLean Orchestra Presents Lisa Emenheiser
On Saturday, March 1 at 8 p.m., the McLean Orchestra is welcoming pianist Lisa Emenheiser to the stage to perform Edvard Grieg’s Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 16. Emenheiser has been performing with the National Symphony Orchestra for the past 20 years, and appears as their Pops pianist and acting principal keyboardist when necessary. Emenheiser graduated from the Julliard School and has appeared in the Phillips Collection, the Smithsonian Institute and the Kennedy Center. The concert will take place at Oakcrest School (850 Balls Hill Rd., McLean), with $25 tickets for adults, $20 for seniors and $10 for children 18 and under. For more information, visit www.mclean-orchestra.org or call 703-893-8646.
Capital Hospice Fundraising Event
The Arlington-Fairfax Elks Lodge #2188 (8421 Arlington Blvd., Arlington) is holding its Second Annual Benefit Cash Back Night on Saturday, March 1 from 5 – 11 p.m. The Capital Hospice of Northern Virginia will be the primary beneficiary of the event. Last year, in the first annual event, the Elks Lodge raised $16,000 with a crowd of over 550 people. Tickets are $25 each, which entitles guests to dinner, entertainment, a silent auction, 13 chances at $500 drawings and one chance at the $4,500 grand prize. For more information, contact Michele Depasse, Chairman at mdepasse@wcsr.com or call the Elks Lodge at 703-560-2188.
Annual McLean Crew Club Mulch Sale
The McLean High School Crew Club is holding its annual mulch sale fundraiser, with hardwood mulch available to be delivered to your driveway the weekend of March 8-9. While the McLean Crew Club is part of the McLean High School athletic community, it does not receive direct financial support from the school system, unlike most of the other athletic teams at McLean. Orders are due by March 3. For more information, or to place an order, visit www.mcleancrew.org and click on the mulch sale order form.
Word-Beat Children’s Program
On Sunday, March 2 at 2 p.m., the Levine School of Music is hosting their Word-Beat Children’s Program at the Levine School’s Maryland Campus at the Music Center at Strathmore (5301 Tuckerman Lane, Room 309, North Bethesda, MD). Word-Beat artists Tom Teasley, a global jazz percussionist, and Levine faculty-artist Charles Williams will be melding music and voice in a unique concert experience. They will be using texts of such authors as Martin Luther King, Jr. accompanied by percussive rhythms and melodies. Tickets are $10 for adults, $5 for children 12 and under. For more information, visit www.levineschool.org or call 202-688-8000, ext. 0.
PAC Strikers Hunt For Players
The PAC Strikers, a Girls U14 Travel Soccer Team, is currently looking for players to finalize their team. The Strikers focus on developing athletic and strategic abilities so players may pursue opportunities in high school or other leagues. The team is coached by Lester Calliste, who has more than fifteen years of experience working with the WAGS, NCSL and ODLS teams. The team competes in the Old Dominion Soccer League and won the Fall 2007 Randy Rawls Sportsmanship award. To be eligible, players must be born after August 1, 1993. For more information, contact either Paul Benninghoff at 971-409-0855 or Catherine Melquist at 703-241-1151.
Forever Young Luncheon
Forever Young will be sponsoring a luncheon on Monday, March 3 at 12:30 p.m., at Fuddrucker’s Restaurant (4300 Backlick Rd., Annandale) for senior citizens. The menu will feature healthy choices such as salads and grilled chicken sandwiches, all at a senior discount. The feature presentation will be “Boomers in Space” with Dick Methia (see www.boomersinspace.com). Attendees should be sure to wear green to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day a few weeks early. For more information, contact Jim Seeley at jseeley@aol.com.
Curves’ Fifth Annual Food Drive
Curves of Falls Church (240 W. Broad St., Falls Church) will be participating in the Curves Fifth Annual Food Drive to benefit local food pantries throughout the month of March. The promotion begins on March 3. Between March 3 – March 15, anyone who brings in a bag of non-perishable groceries and commits to a 12-month CD membership will be offered a discounted service fee of $30, a savings of $119. Anyone can drop off non-perishable food items throughout the entire month of March at the address listed above during normal business hours for Curves. Last year, the Curves Food Drive collected almost 11 million pounds of food nationwide, and the Falls Church collection amounted to nearly 1700 pounds of food. For more information, call Curves at 703-536-0140.
McLean Rotary Club Celebrates Youths
On Tuesday, Feb. 19, the McLean Rotary Club recognized the extraordinary achievements of five high school students from the area. The five recognized students were Ariel Lepon of Thomas Jefferson High School, Meredith Kathleen Loretta of Langley High School, Jessica Nicole Stillman of McLean High School, Hillary Platt of The Potomac School and Margaret Lucas Douglas of the Madeira School. Dr. Michael DeRose, Youth Director of the Rotary Club of McLean, presided over the ceremony.
Pre-Diabetes Education Seminar
On Wednesday, March 5, the Carlin Springs Health Pavilion (601 S. Carlin Springs Rd., Arlington) will be holding a Pre-Diabetes class from 2 – 4:30 p.m. No doctor referral necessary. Attendees will receive a free copy of the Disease Prevention Cookbook written by Diabetes Educator Clara Schneider and will also receive a free blood glucose machine to learn to test your own blood. Topics of discussion will include ways to keep blood sugar low to avoid diabetes, fats and proteins in diets and different meal patterns to help control blood-sugar levels. For more information, contact Sheila Mangano at 703-558-6620.
Renewable Energy Development Throughout the World
Concerned about the growing need for renewable energy? The National Academies Christine Mirzayan Science and Technology Policy Graduate Fellowship Program is hosting a public seminar on renewable energy on Wednesday, March 5 from 12:30 – 2 p.m. at the Keck Center of the National Academies (500 5th St. NW, Washington, D.C.). A panel of speakers will address international renewable energy initiatives, including the incentives used to promote the adoption and use of renewable energy. Panelists will include Joachim Luther, Professor Emeritus of the Fraunhofer Institute of Solar Energy Systems and Alan S. Miller, Global Environment Facility Coordinator for the International Finance Corporation. For more information, contact Priya Sreedharan at psreedharan@nas.edu or 202-334-2711.
