Volunteer Fairfax

Established in 1994, ACS assists court- and attorney-referred clients in minimizing fines or jail sentences by volunteering. The experience for ACS clients can be life-changing, allowing them to avoid incarceration and give back to their community. One client wrote a heart-felt thank you to the ACS Program Manager, saying that “Your wisdom and professionalism got me through the roughest time, and I am filled with gratitude.” In FY22, 91 clients completed 2,867 service hours for 41 nonprofits and agencies.

Managed by Volunteer Fairfax since 2013, RSVP is a program of AmeriCorps Senior. RSVP matches those over 55 with nonprofit programs that need their experience and skills. RSVP volunteers focus on Healthy Futures (food collection and distribution), Aging in Place (companionship, meal provision, and transportation), Economic Opportunity (financial literacy), and tutoring (K-12 Success). In FY22, 111 RSVP volunteers contributed 4,780 hours to 32 local agencies.

This program offers free basic to advanced training to teach nonprofits how to make the best use of their volunteers and provide a positive volunteer experience. We are continually evaluating the program to ensure we’re teaching best practices and current volunteer management trends. In FY22, we presented 31 webinars to 1,332 participants. The Program is credentialed for participants to receive professional credit hours toward the Certified in Volunteer Administration (CVA) designation. Although the Program focuses on serving nonprofits in Fairfax County, the training webinars draw participants nationally and globally.

Volunteer Fairfax is Fairfax County’s designated lead agency for volunteer and in-kind and monetary donation management in the event of emergency or disaster such as COVID-19. The pandemic laid bare the economic, social, and health disparities in communities of color and VF has taken a fresh look at our internal operations and external programs through a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion+ (DEI+) lens. Highlights of our FY22 activities include:
• Organizing and participating in Stuff the Bus events that provided 22 tons of pantry staples to local food banks
• Collecting 14,345 homemade small masks for toddlers and young elementary school children.
• Facilitating an 8,000 surgical mask donation to benefit the Fairfax County Department of Emergency Management (DEMS) and the Fairfax City Department of Emergency Management's stockpile.

We connect businesses with high impact opportunities to serve, increasing the capacity of local nonprofit and public organizations by adding corporate skills and expertise to community resources through our BusinessLink and skills-based volunteer programs. BusinessLink provides project management expertise to those businesses seeking customized employee service engagements. In FY22, 950 corporate volunteers completed 37 service projects volunteering 3,600 hours. Skills-based volunteering gives companies the opportunity to provide specialized services to nonprofits on a pro bono basis in functional areas such as legal, accounting, and IT. In FY22, 38 professionals volunteered 889 hours of service. Through VF's Points of Light Affiliation, VF performs corporate days of services in locations outside of the metropolitan Washington, DC area.

VF hosts two annual region-wide days of service. VolunteerFest, held every fall, offers volunteers one-time opportunities with dozens of local nonprofits, enabling them to complete single-day service projects. In FY22, we engaged 1,050 volunteers contributing 3,150 service hours. Nine nonprofits benefitted with 33 projects completed. The MLK, Jr. Weekend of Service, focuses on family-friendly activities such as making fleece blankets for shelters and valentines for frontline healthcare workers. In FY22, 40 agencies benefitted from the assistance of 1,660 volunteers completing 3,320 hours of service.
Every April we host the Volunteer Service Awards to recognize individuals and groups who have provided outstanding service to their communities in the previous year. In FY22, the competitive award categories honored 180 adults, families, youth, and seniors as well as corporate, county, and nonprofit volunteer groups. Ten community champions were recognized by their district supervisor.