Parents may get their children’s car seats inspected on Thursday, April 6, from 5-8:30 p.m., outside the Sully District Police Station. It’s at 4900 Stonecroft Blvd. in Chantilly. Inspections are done on a first-come, first-served basis. Participants should install the child safety seat themselves, so the inspection can be performed. The seat will be properly re-installed if necessary, and parents will be taught how to install the seat properly. Everyone is eligible. Another car-seat inspection is scheduled for April 20, at the same place and time.
2023 Girls Fire and Rescue Academy
Fairfax County Fire and Rescue has set dates for the 2023 Girls Fire and Rescue Academy summer camp. There will be two separate camps, June 20 – 23 and June 27 – 30. The academy is open to rising 7th through 12th grade female students for the upcoming 2023 – 2024 school year. Participants for the free camps should be Fairfax County residents.
Learn more: https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/fire-ems/girls-academy
New Fire and Rescue Recruits Graduate
It was graduation day for 26 members of Recruit School 156 on Friday, March 24. The newest members are spread across FCFRD’s three shifts. Many of these “probies” begin working in a fire station over the weekend on A and B shifts. The remaining Probationary Firefighters are starting toda
Since moving to a fine-free model last year, Fairfax County Public Library (FCPL) has replaced its popular annual “Food for Fines” drive with “Read and Feed.” This April, simply drop off food items at any branch to contribute. Donations will go to Food for Others for distribution throughout Fairfax County.
Experts say donations are needed now more than ever. Inflation means a double-hit for organizations like Food for Others, said Anna Slaten, Food for Others’s director of development & outreach. Last summer, donations were down 30% from summer 2021. “With inflation, not just our clients are feeling the effects, but our donors are also,” she said.
At the same time, demand is increasing. With pandemic-era SNAP benefits ending, organizations are trying to be as prepared as possible, Staten said.
Food for Others provides for about 3,000 families each week and that number is rising, Slaten said. Food for Others is serving 44 Fairfax County Public Schools by providing Power Packs, weekend meals for students in need. A total of 3,500 students a week currently receive Power Packs, and another 13 schools are on the waitlist for similar help.
This January, FFO opened its Choice Marketplace, which allows its clients to select their food items in a grocery store setting. When the marketplace opened on Jan. 23, 330 families came through.
Throughout the month of April, community members can drop off unexpired, commercially produced food items to any FCPL branch during regular hours. Most needed items include: Oil, Cereal, Canned tomato products (crushed, peeled, diced, etc.), 4 oz. – 1 lb., Canned meat (chicken, turkey, or seafood), 2 oz. – 15 oz., Rice, 16 oz. packages, Spaghetti sauce, 14 oz. – 1 lb. (ideally in cans instead of glass), Canned fruit (packed in fruit juice instead of syrup) 11 oz. – 20 oz., Dried or canned beans (black, kidney, pinto, etc.), Pasta, Fruit juice (100% juice) 32 oz. – 64 oz., New or clean reusable grocery bags, Can openers