The seventh annual Fox Mill Elementary School PTA Walk for the Homeless was held Thursday, Oct. 25. A total of 254 walkers raised more than $5,400 to help Reston Interfaith in their efforts to end homelessness in Fairfax County.
After being greatly moved by a report about the high numbers of homeless families living in Fairfax County, a past student Kristin Allgaier, with the help of her family, first organized this walk for her school in 2005. Although she has now moved on to Rachel Carson, Fox Mill has been committed to hosting a Walk at Fox Mill each fall. Thirty-three percent of homeless people in Fairfax County are children. Fox Mill’s efforts bring attention to the power of children helping children and prove that young people can make a very large difference in their community.
Due to the fact that the walk was happening right before Halloween, the children were invited to wear masks for the walk in line with the theme—“unmask homelessness” in your community. Prior to the event, Fox Mill Student Council officers took a tour of Reston Interfaith’s Embry Rucker Community Shelter in Reston, and then shared facts about homelessness with the rest of the school. Fox Mill Elementary Principal Mie Devers and Assistant Principal Brian Moose were also there along with many of the teachers to show their support for the walk. The children also had Fox Mill PTA President Amanda Owens, Abby Kimble from Reston Interfaith and Clare Tock from Fannie Mae cheering them on.