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DEPARTMENT of FAMILY SERVICES
Volunteer & Partner Services
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July 2025
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Thank You for Restocking VPS's Baby Supply Closets
Thank you to all the generous partners and donors who have helped Volunteer and Partner Services to replenish our depleted closets. Your donations of essential items that promote safe transportation and safe sleep for infants and children will make a huge difference. We give a special THANK YOU to the Young family who generously donated 11 car seats to support car safety, four bassinets and four pack and plays to promote sleep safety, four travel systems, four strollers, and four highchairs.
Your contributions, no matter how big or small, are immensely appreciated and go a long way in helping us achieve our mission. Please share this information with others who might be interested in supporting this cause. For anyone else willing and able to contribute, please consider donating an item from our Amazon Wish List which is continuously updated throughout the year.
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BeFriend-A-Child Program Hosts Fun-filled Spring Gathering
The annual BeFriend-A-Child Spring Gathering is an event our mentors and mentees look forward to all year. It’s one of the unique events when the mentees’ family members get to join in the fun. Check out all the excitement of a reptile show, painting activity, soccer lessons and more in the article and live action video.
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Building a Stronger and Safer Community One School at a Time
Every child deserves to grow up in a safe, stable, and nurturing environment. Yet across the United States, hundreds of thousands of children are affected by abuse and neglect each year—most often at the hands of someone they know and trust. While the statistics are sobering, the good news is that child maltreatment is preventable. Learn about Body Safety, a county program focused on this work, and find out how to get involved.
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Spotlight on Parenting Education Programs Volunteer: Caleb Faber
Caleb originally reached out to the Department of Family Services in January 2024 to gather more information about the Parenting Education Programs for an assignment in his graduate program. As he learned more about the program and what it does, he grew more interested in getting involved. Caleb called back the next day asking if there was any way he could volunteer, and the rest is history! Caleb has been a dedicated PEP volunteer since then. Learn more about Caleb and why he volunteers.
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Mentor Group Takes on Kings Dominion for a Summer Send-Off
To wrap up the school year and kick off the summer with smiles, the mentors and mentees of the BeFriend-A-Child Mentoring Program took a well-deserved break and headed to Kings Dominion for a day of fun, bonding, and unforgettable memories – many for the first time. This end-of-year celebration was more than just a trip — it was a reminder of the power of presence and how impactful consistent support can be in a child’s life. Learn more.
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Help Cheer on our Graduates in Foster Care!
We are excited that 20 youth in Fairfax County foster care have beat the odds to graduate from high school, college and other professional certification programs this year. Most youth in foster care face invisible educational obstacles that make it a challenge to graduate at the same rate as other high school students. So, we plan to celebrate their hard work and achievements at a special ceremony this summer. Join us in showing how proud the community is of their amazing accomplishments by donating items on their personal wish lists to help them with their next stage of life. Thank you for your support, and subscribe to our Foster Family News for more news about foster care.
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The Volunteer Post Newsletter is part of the Department of Family Services' Volunteer & Partner Services Program (VPS) - which works with volunteers, partners, sponsors and donors to help make a positive difference in the lives of children and families in our community.
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