On April 27 a group of 16 new Master Financial Education Volunteers completed their training and will join the more than 200 other financial volunteers currently working to provide financial counseling to individuals, teach money management classes, and help with youth financial simulations. The new volunteers are Femeia Adamson, Teresa Germann, Tyrone Grandberry, Angell Green, Jennifer Lanouette, Janet MacLaughlin, Erin Pounders, Esperanza Powers, Cyndi (Cyn) Rowan, Geri Schweider, Carol Stalun, Jack Stevens, Sandra Terronez, Johana Vargas, Brittany Woodard, and James Yap. They come with rich and varied backgrounds and a great deal of enthusiasm for helping people to become wise and successful managers of their money. If you see them out in the community please say hello and welcome them to their roles as our newest Extension volunteers. The next training for financial volunteers will be October 19 and 26, so if you are interested in signing up please contact Jennifer at jabel@vt.edu.
Author Archives: jabel
Wendy Peichel receives Accredited Financial Counselor certification
Wendy Peichel, the Financial Education Program Associate in the Arlington office, recently completed all of the requirements to become an Accredited Financial Counselor. This professional designation is given by the Association for Financial Counseling and Planning Education and requires a rigorous program of study, along with 1,000 professional service hours and recommendations from peers. The AFC credential adds to the credibility of the hard work that Wendy performs for Extension’s financial education programs. Wendy joins Jennifer Abel in holding this designation. Jennifer became an Accredited Financial Counselor in 2006. Congratulations to Wendy for this great achievement!
Kids Marketplace event draws new volunteers
Volunteer Arlington Day, sponsored by the Arlington Chamber of Commerce, provided an opportunity for VCE staff and Master Financial Education Volunteers to partner with staff from the Arlington Community Federal Credit Union and DoubleTree by Hilton Washington DC-Crystal City to provide a KIDS’ MARKETPLACE simulation at Randolph Elementary School.
On April 23rd 109 fourth and fifth graders at Randolph Elementary School in Arlington experienced this interactive program which introduces financial concepts in age-appropriate terms while having fun. The more than 20 volunteers staffed stations like Housing, Groceries, Sharing, Saving, and Animal Shelter and helped students make spending decisions based on the hypothetical jobs they were given.
This was great exposure for VCE to the corporate volunteers, many of whom were not previously aware of the many services we provide. Volunteers all requested to be asked to participate in future programs.
Master Food Volunteers Promote Local Produce at Arlington Green Living Expo
A healthy remake of the classic Waldorf salad prepared on-site by Virginia Cooperative Extension (VCE) Master Food Volunteers was a refreshing treat for participants at the Arlington Green Living Expo on Sunday, April 21.
More than 60 exhibitors took part in the Green Living Expo and Arlington Earth Week Community Fair, sponsored by Arlingtonians for a Clean Environment (ACE) and George Mason University, and held at the university’s Arlington campus.
In a cooking demonstration promoting local produce, VCE Extension Agent Jennifer Abel and Master Food Volunteers Lise Metzger, Holly Rowe and Sue Gonzalez made and distributed samples of fresh apple salad. Visitors were also offered a copy of the recipe and a list of Arlington County farmers markets.
With only four ingredients – apples, raisins, walnuts and low-fat plain yogurt – this versatile salad is a great side dish, snack or even dessert. Making the salad an extra special treat at the expo were the wonderfully sweet Fuji apples, donated by Twin Springs Fruit Farm, located within two hours of the DC metro area near Gettysburg, PA.
Master Food Volunteers, Holly Rowe (left) and Lise Metzger (right), prepare fresh apple salad to distribute to participants at the Green Living Expo and Arlington Earth Week Community Fair.
Written by: Sue Gonzalez, Master Food Volunteer
30 Master Food Volunteers Complete Training
On March 22 thirty new Master Food Volunteers (MFVs) completed their 30-hour training and are ready to begin serving the community by teaching groups about good nutrition and healthy cooking. This is the largest group of MFVs trained to date and marks the second year that Katie and Jennifer have teamed up to organize this multi-county training. The volunteers will serve Arlington, Alexandria, and Fairfax County by teaching cooking classes in senior centers, leading nutrition programs in schools, assisting with Cooking Matters courses, helping SNAP beneficiaries get to know about the wide array of produce available at farmers markets, helping low-income gardeners learn tasty ways to prepare the produce they are growing, helping with food preservation classes, and much more.
The volunteers come with a wide variety of skills and backgrounds. One thing they all have in common is a high level of enthusiasm for the volunteer work that they will be doing. They are eager to get started so keep a look out for their characteristic aprons in the community.
It is a lot of work to put together this training, especially for such a large group, and Katie and Jennifer would like to thank the following people for making it possible: Janet Al-Hussaini, Ginger Geoffrey, Catherine Hader, Saroj Khurana, Sue Lagon, Megan Mauer, Ellen Mathis, Desiree Morningstar, Patty Reyes, Debbie Roche, Kisha Simpson, Haregowoin Tecklu, and Octavia Walker.
4-H camp applications due May 1
As a reminder Arlington 4-H Junior Camp is still accepting applications for 4-H Camp 2013 until May 1. This year camp will take place July 7 –11. Don’t hesitate to submitt your application to the Fairfax Extension Office. You can find more information about 4-H camp at our website: http://offices.ext.vt.edu/arlington under the news section.
Making healthy Foods your Friend
In April, VCE is offering several programs to support Arlington County Child Care Services. The Food Friends program, which teaches children to taste healthful new foods and develop motor skills, will be made available to child care providers in the county. Opportunities are available thanks to a partnership with the Arlington Healthy Communities Action Team. Further, Katie Strong is providing continuing education to childcare providers on the risks of sugar-sweetened beverages for preschoolers, along with practical ideas for serving healthful beverages and snacks.
Come Learn Sustainable and Alternative Urban Agriculture
It may be chilly today, but in a month, we will be complaining about how hot it is; and everything will be growing like gangbusters. In addition to an impressive line-up of guest speakers, Extension is also pleased to be providing classes for the Adult Education program of Arlington Public Schools and at special events. The April line up of Urban Agriculture and Natural Resource management offerings is extensive and has a lineup of excellent program presenters. It all begins with a double header of programming on April 2; Dr. Marcus Comer will teach Shiitake Mushroom Production from Virginia State University. This is a hands-on grow your own workshop and demonstration of the Organic Vegetable Garden’s mushroom growing logs and gardens. Potomac Overlook Park 1-4pm; $35. From 7-9 pm the same evening, Dr. Comer will provide a public program at the Fairlington Community Center on Sustainable and Alternative Urban Agriculture Production. FREE! For more information please go to www.mgnv.org or call the Horticulture Help Desk at 703 228 6414. April 3 from 7-8:30 author and guest speaker Evelyn Hadden talks about lawn alternatives in her program entitled Beautiful No Mow Lawns followed on April 10th with a program called Incorporating Native Plants in Your Garden from 7- 8:30 pm at Fairlington Community Center. We are pleased to present our guest speaker for this event, Alan Ford of the Virginia Native Plant Society
All programs are free unless otherwise stated. Register to attend by calling the Horticulture Help Desk at 703 228 6414 or email to mgarlalex@gmail.com
Look for ANR volunteers at the Arlington Central Library Wednesdays in the Garden Talks: starting March 18 through October, Alexandria Earth Day at Ben Brenman Park on April 20, NoVA Food Coalition events at George Mason University on April 21 and at our plant clinics at many local farmer’s markets in both Arlington and Alexandria.
For more info about all of these programs and more look at the Master Gardeners of Northern Virginia www.mgnv.org
Energy Masters Volunteers Win Green Giant Award
The Arlington Energy Masters, the corps of volunteers who make energy and water saving improvements in low-income apartments, will be featured in the May issue of Washingtonian magazine as one of the winners of the publication’s Green Giant awards. The awards recognize groups and individuals in the Washington, DC area who are making significant contributions to addressing environmental issues.
The Energy Masters program was started in 2011 by Virginia Cooperative Extension, Arlingtonians for a Clean Environment, and Arlingtonians Meetings Emergency Needs. Since its inception, the partners have trained 56 volunteers who have made energy and water improvements in 201 apartments, with the goal of completing at least 50 more by the end of the fiscal year in June. In each apartment teams of volunteers replace incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescent ones, install outlet gaskets, low-flow showerheads, faucet aerators, and power strips, caulk leaks, and clean refrigerator coils. The goal of the program is to help low-income residents reduce their utility bills while also reducing the greenhouse gas emissions released from multi-family properties. The energy and water-saving improvements have already started to pay off, with one building where the volunteers worked last May reporting a 5% average decrease in residents’ utility bills.
If you are interested in learning more about this program or becoming an Energy Master, contact Jennifer at jabel@vt.edu. The next training for volunteers will be held in the fall of 2013.
