CVN Monthly Update, May 2009: Annual Taste of Arlington Event

Below is our most recent email--please let us know any feedback. Also, if you aren't getting these in your inbox, sign up on the County site (be sure to check the box that you're interested in CVN and in receiving emails): http://tinyurl.com/CVN-register Dear CVN volunteer, Hello, hello, we hope your April has been good. As far as CVN, we've enjoyed ours. Last weekend we got acquainted with CVN's recently-adopted area at Gulf Branch Nature Center (check out a picture here and a quick video here; feel free to make a quick video of any volunteering and send it in by the way!). In April, we went out to the Arlington-Alexandria Coalition for the Homeless (AACH) to help them clean up their food pantry and children's area, so many thanks to everyone who came out to that too (check out some pictures here, and many thanks to Becky Willats for leading that event)! We're still trying to pull in as much feedback as possible from all of you, so if you have a couple minutes, please fill out our survey here and let us know what you're looking for with CVN. One item of feedback we acted on last year was changing our name to Community Volunteer Network (CVN) to better reflect what we do; we're now considering a logo change. Check out some (very) preliminary ideas here to get you thinking, and let our Membership Chair, Jon Bunger, know if you have any of your own! So, in terms of May events, we're still working on getting one or two more together, but here's what we're thinking so far: CVN EVENTS: Monthly Meetup - Tues, May 5 (7-9 PM): Look for us at Union Jack's this month, around the area with the pool tables. It's right on the first floor of the Ballston Mall, which is right near the Ballston Metro stop. We'll be in our usual green, so look for us, and you can RSVP here. Taste of Arlington - Sun., May 17 (11:15-2 and 1:45-4 PM): Taste of Arlington is a neat community event that brings tons of Arlington restaurants out into the streets of Ballston each year. The streets are closed down and there are plenty of booths with good food and drink--volunteer, and you'll even get some of that food for free, along with a t-shirt. We'll have two shifts of CVNers pitching in to help in various ways, one from 11:15-2, and the other from 1:45-4--RSVP here. Homeward Trails Dog Care - May (time and date TBD): Homeward Trails Animal Rescue occasionally has to place dogs in boarding if they don't have a foster or adoptive home lined up. One of their boarding partners, Dog Paws University, averages four to six Homeward Trails dogs at a time and needs volunteers to come walk dogs, spend time with them, give them attention, etc. Look for more information from us later in the month. Hike Numero Dos - Sat., date TBD (11 AM - 1 PM): Our first go at a hike in Arlington went well, traversing around Roosevelt Island near Rosslyn (check out photos on Facebook here). We'll try another spot in Arlington in May, and will keep you posted on that as we nail down specifics. We found that last time it made sense to bring a lunch along so we could stop halfway and hang out a bit, so keep that in mind. OTHER INTERESTING OPPS IN MAY: Volunteer Arlington Day - Sat., May 2nd (9:30 am - 1:30 pm) & Tuesday May 5th 1-4 pm: Come out and join the business community in helping out some local nonprofits. Saturday will begin with breakfast at the Arlington Career Center in South Arlington; more info here. Biking events - Sat., May 2 (10:30-11:30 AM) & Fri., May 15: This Sat., Fresh AIRE is partnering with Conte's Bikes in Arlington to put on a bike maintenance workshop--find out more info here. Also, May 15th is Bike to Work Day. As a good motivator, it's set up so you can meet up with others beforehan at one of 27 pit stops all over the Greater DC area. Find out more and register for the event here.  A-SPAN's Spring Event - Thurs., May 7 (6:30-9:00 PM): There'll be music by Swedish Jazz for this event to honor Arlington's Street People's Assistance Network partners. The location is just half a block from the Virginia Square Metro and all proceeds benefit A-SPAN. Tickets can be purchased online at www.a-span.org. Animal Welfare League's 14th Annual Walk for Animals - Sat., May 9 (9:30 AM): This event goes to benefit animals without a home, and will be held at Bluemont Park. For more information or to register go to AWLA's website. Committee of 100 meeting, a follow-up to the Diversity Dialogues - Wed, May 13 (7:00 drinks, 7:30 dinner and 8:00 program): Did you attend any of the Diversity Dialogues last year? Whether you did or not, this Committee of 100 monthly event will focus on how to put into place some of the recommendations that grew out of those meetings, with the end goal of building more authentic, diverse relationships throughout Arlington. Find out more here and contact Tim Riley, our Community Education Chair, if you're interested in carpooling with some of us to the event. Various Other Volunteer Opportunities - Find some other volunteering opportunities you might be interested in here. As a last note, we took a recommendation from another CVN volunteer and started a Google Calendar this month, allowing folks to easily see past events and add new ones to your own Google Calendar, if you use it. You can see the embedded calendar on our activities and events page here, and can even have all the events show up in your own calendar by following these instructions. Hope to see you around in May, Brendan O'Connor -- Chair, Community Volunteer Network www.arlingtonva.us/CVN