Committee for Helping Others

Simple, loving charity for the needy of Vienna, Oakton, Dunn Loring, and Merrifield

UPDATE ON CHO ACTIVITIES

We hope you and your loved one are all safe and well. CHO volunteers continue to help our neighbors during this difficult period.

Here’s what we are doing

Working with Fairfax County, from May through July we distributed $200,000 of the funds the County received under the Federal CARES Act to help residents affected by the coronavirus with rent, mortgage, gas, electric bills, and food. This was in addition to our normal programs.

Our Food Closet is From March 21 through May 26 we helped 121 families with $5,715 in food cards. back to full operation; we now provide basic food supplies and items such as diapers to our clients. We operated on a limited basis until July, generally providing food cards. We worked closely with Belong! and the Vienna Food Initiative to coordinate distributions. We also distributed $3,300 in gift cards from the CARES fund.

Our Clothes Closet is still not fully open, but we have helped families in emergency situations (e.g., in an apartment fire) and we provided work clothes for those who requested them. We have purchased masks, gloves, and sanitizers and are working on a plan to distribute clothes for the fall.

Emergency Services. We spent $63,000 from April through July of this year for rent, utilities, and medical bills, most of it (over $50,000) has been for rent. This is in addition to the CARES funds. A number of our clients have told us that they have returned to work, but many have reduced hours. Even though there are some moratoriums on evictions and utility cutoffs, many of our clients live in rooms in private homes and the moratoriums are not universal.

Furniture. We are not fully operational, but delivered a bike, bookcase, cooler and bed linens in response to requests. When our new shed is established we will be transferring all inventory from the old warehouse. In the meantime, we are looking for a chairperson for this program. If anyone is interested, contact Dan Larkins at danlarkins@verizon.net or volunteer@cho-va.com.

Meals on Wheels. Meals on Wheels delivered over 660 meals a month in the first half of 2020.

We couldn’t have done it all without your help

Our gift card supply keeps steady, despite increasing demand, due to organizations like Emmaus, Our Lady of Good Counsel Catholic Church, and Wesley United Methodist. In addition to generous donations from individuals, members of the Golden Girls softball team, families, and others, we received donations from Northern Virginia Primitive Baptist Church, Emmanuel Lutheran Church, Vienna Presbyterian Church (including PW Circle 4), St. Mark Catholic Church, Providence Baptist Church, Wesley United Methodist Church, Andrew Chapel United Methodist Church, Oakton Church of the Brethren, Church of the Holy Comforter ECW, and Church World Services.

Vienna support includes grants from the Rotary Club of Vienna, The Optimist Club of Greater Vienna, Vienna Moms, The Vienna Business Association Foundation Board, and an anticipated donation from the Town of Vienna. To all of you, many thanks!

We welcome donations and volunteers

Financial assistance. Checks can be sent to PO Box 233, Vienna VA 22183 or you can donate by going to our website cho-va.com. Anyone who wants to volunteer can call 703-281-7614 and leave a message in box # 2 or email volunteer@cho-va.com.

Food and Household Items. If you can donate any goods for our Food Closet, please call 703-281-7614 and leave a message in box # 1. We accept donations by appointment and minimize direct contact. We also welcome food cards. The following food items will soon need replenishing:

Two fundraisers supporting CHO are all or part virtual this year. Please consider participating!

Navy Federal – September 13. The Navy Federal 5K will take place on Sunday, September 13. You can make a donation online and report your run results online; bibs will be mailed. For details, see navyfederal.org/membership/event/5k.php.

CROP Walk – October 4. This year’s CROP Walk will kick off on Sunday October 4. It will be a combination virtual/socially distanced in-person walk. Those who choose to do a virtual walk are asked to walk on their own and make contributions from October 4 through October 25. Sign up and donate at crophungerwalk.org/viennava. A Facebook page –facebook.com/viennacropwalk is available for walkers to provide pictures of their walk.

Thanks to those who have already reached out to us. We hope all of you remain safe and healthy.

Donate Online Now!
Or, send a check (payable to CHO) to CHO, P.O. Box 233, Vienna VA 22183.

Please stay safe, wash your hands and take good care of your families during these trying times.

CHO is an all-volunteer organization that helps by providing:

• Emergency financial assistance
• Emergency food aid
• Clothing
• Furniture
• Meals on Wheels
• Transportation.

The links on the menu bar take you to descriptions of each of these services, as well as to information on our organization and, most important, on how you can help.

Want to support CHO when you shop at Amazon? Go to Amazon Smile and search for “CHO Inc.” when selecting your charity!