ECNV Continues Distributing COVID-19 Home Tests!
On Tuesday, December 5, 2023 Director of Multicultural Families Rosalia Fajardo distributed COVID-19 home tests at the Arlington Mill Community Center, for Latino families attending the graduation of Latinx in Business program hosted by our partner Shirlington Employment and Education Center.
Collage: A Hispanic male wearing black pants and Jacket with the ECNV purple bag, Rosalia Fajardo in white and gold sweater and black pants, a Hispanic female wearing black pants red blouse and black jacket holding ECNV purple bag, a Hispanic male wearing jeans and black jacket holding ECNV purple bag; Rosalia Fajardo Director of Multicultural Families at ECNV in white and gold sweater and black pants, a Hispanic female holding a diploma wearing black sweater purple pants, Andres Tovar Executive Director of partner Shirlington Employment and Education Center, wearing blue shirt and black pants; Group of Latinos entrepreneurs during graduation ceremony.
Waypoint Vaccine Clinic
On Thursday, November 30, 2023, ECNV hosted a vaccination clinic at Waypoint Apartments in Alexandria. Some special guests also made an appearance: ACL's Alison Barkoff and U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy! The Surgeon General received a vaccination at our clinic! Thank you for stopping by and recognizing ECNV’s vaccination efforts.
Collage: U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy, ECNV Executive Director Dominique Dunford-Lack, Alison Barkoff; U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy, Marcie Goldstein, Alison Barkoff; a group photo of people, (center) Dr. Vivek Murthy, Alison Barkoff, Dominique Dunford-Lack, Rosalia Fajardo, a woman with long black hair, Cherie Takemoto.
What’s Going on with RAMP?
On December 8th, we hosted the First Quarter Celebration activity at Bowl America in Fairfax. The event brought together an impressive turnout of five mentees, six parents, and one sibling. Initially, students approached the event hesitantly, but as time progressed, they collectively embraced the opportunity to celebrate the completion of Phase One of the program.
Collage: Four mentees and their parents standing inside of a fire station. A firetruck is parked behind them while their attention is focused on a speaker not in the photograph; 5 mentees, their families, and Kevina Brown posing for a picture at Bowl America. The lanes are in the background of the photo.
Travel Training
During the week of 12/18/23, the ECNV travel trainer took some photos of Nathaniel Thomas, who participated in the travel training, they went to Tysons Corner to buy Starbucks.
Collage: ECNV travel training consumer Nathaniel Thomas sitting int front of a Christmas tree in an outdoor setting; Nathaniel Thomas sitting in a booth with a cup of coffee.
ECNV’s I Am Self-Advocacy Program: January 2024
The IASA (I Am Self-Advocacy) Program is a Pre-Employment Transition Service (Pre-ETS) focused on helping students with disabilities, ages 14-22, hone their skills in self-advocacy through a combination of individual and group sessions. Funded by the Department for Aging and Rehabilitative Services (DARS), this program is offered to students referred by the Fairfax, Alexandria, Leesburg, and Manassas DARS offices.
[Image: Three circles overlapping each other with words Self Advocate in the center and words Motivated, Committed, and Passionate on each circle].
Reflecting on a Year of Resilience and Growth!
An ECNV consumer expresses their “gratitude”. Read more to find out why.
Image: ECNV logo with the subtitle “Reflecting on a Year of Resilience and Growth!”, the outline of a heart with the phrase in capital letters “Thank You” and below the heart, “For Supporting ECNV!”
2Gether International Flipping the Narrative
Cherie and Rosalia were delighted to attend the 2Gether International Flipping the Narrative event on 12/7. We were there to support ECNV Agents of Change graduates and Victor Wear co-founders Isaiah and Tiffany Hamilton as they pitched their upcoming https://www.victorwearexpo.com/ Victor Wear Expo. The event was a homage to Judy Heumann, a supporter of this organization and many of us at ECNV.
Collage: ECNV Agents of Change Graduate Isaiah Hamilton - co-owner of Victor Wear chats it up with 2Together International Board President Vincent Randazzo; Victor Wear co-founder Tiffany Hamilton networks with Ceemo.ai founder Heather Lawver. https://www.ceemo.ai/
Celebrating Success!
ECNV is thrilled to share a consumer story that has us beaming with joy!! Read more to find out why.
Image: ECNV logo with the subtitle “Celebrating Success”, the outline of a heart with the phrase in capital letters “Thank You” and below the heart, “For Supporting ECNV!”
What’s New with RAMP?
Students and mentees have been actively engaging with mentors and the mentor coordinator to establish meaningful connections. They have successfully completed career assessments, laying the foundation for their career exploration journey. Participants are gaining valuable insights into their communities by identifying local resources and assets. This experience also involves understanding the unique characteristics of different communities and how they impact diverse populations.
Image: Mentees and their families posing in front of the Oreo Museum of Failure exhibit.
ECNV’s I Am Self-Advocacy Program: December 2023 Update
The IASA (I Am Self-Advocacy) Program is a Pre-Employment Transition Service (Pre-ETS) focused on helping students with disabilities, ages 14-22, hone their skills in self-advocacy through a combination of individual and group sessions. Funded by the Department for Aging and Rehabilitative Services (DARS), this program is offered to students referred by the Fairfax, Alexandria, Leesburg, and Manassas DARS offices.
[Image: Three circles overlapping each other with words Self Advocate in the center and words Motivated, Committed, and Passionate on each circle].
December 3, 2023 - We celebrate International Day of Persons with Disabilities
ECNV Director of Multicultural Families Rosalia Fajardo pays a personal tribute to Judith Heumann, a hero, an icon for the multicultural communities around the world. Judy was her close friend and confidant for twenty years. Rosalia wants everyone to remember that Judy touched her life in many ways and was an internationally recognized disability rights activist, widely regarded as “the mother” of the Disability Rights Movement, with the special message delivered by her on December 3, 2021.
Image: Judy Heumann, a disability advocate, who used a motorized wheel chair. She has short brown hair and is wearing red glasses, a red knit shirt cover with a brown handmade shawl. Rosalia (right) is hugging Judy. Rosalia is wearing a light blue t-shirt with the word ‘women’ in Spanish, with a letter H underneath it.
Corazon De America Thanksgiving Food Distribution in Culmore
On Sunday, November 19, ECNV gave away bags and COVID-19 home tests to more than 300 members of the Culmore Community in Falls Church. Residents also received turkeys and other meals to help make a Thanksgiving meal, thanks to donations from CORAZON DE AMERICA, a non-profit collaborative whose mission is to improve the lives of the immigrant communities residing in Falls Church, VA.
Collage: ECNV Director of Multicultural Families, Rosalia Fajardo wearing a light blue sweater and black pants (center), a Hispanic male wearing black jacket and pants, (right) Director Corazon de America, Magaly Prudencio Executive in red shirt and blue jeans; a group photo of Corazon volunteers, pictured with Rosalia.
ECNV Continues to Serve the Diverse Faith Network
On Sunday, November 19, 2023, ECNV partnered with Durga Temple of Virginia to provide vaccines and free COVID-19 home tests to Hindu faith community, located in Lorton and serving Fairfax County.
Collage: Cherie Takemoto, Rosalia Fajardo, a Japanese male volunteer and Manju Sangruala from Durga temple in flower dress; a group of Hindu families celebrating Diwali and waiting for the vaccines; a young female volunteer wearing a grey traditional Hindi shirt and black pants.
ECNV Protecting Immigrant Communities
On Saturday, November 11, 2023, ECNV in partnership with Mount Olive Methodist Church in Arlington VA, hosted a vaccination clinic and distributed COVID-19 home tests to Hispanic immigrants and others residing in Arlington County. ECNV staff spoke with so many while they waited in line. They were grateful to the church for providing food to feed their families with dignity, even overcoming language barriers, and to ECNV for the vaccines. It was a very cold morning but helping those in need brought a lot of warmth.
Collage: Margarita Baquero ECNV staff member, sitting with a Walgreens pharmacist; A group of people waiting in line for food and vaccines, holding purple bags; Rosalia Fajardo wearing brown a a blue jacket, pictured with a hispanic male in a blue jacket and dark pants, using a wheelchair and waiting for the vaccine.
37th Annual Caregivers Conference- When Caregiving Calls: Building a Framework for Resilience
On Friday, November 10, 2023, Pansy Walker attended the 37th Annual Caregiver Conference at the Korean Central Presbyterian Church. This all-day event was sponsored by the Northern Virginia Dementia Care Consortium. This year’s event focused on the resilience and spirit of caregivers. The conference is designed for family caregivers, volunteers working with older adults, and professionals in aging and related services. The sessions assist attendees with a better understanding of providing care and support to someone with dementia, learning new ways to engage individuals with dementia, connect with other caregivers and collect resources from exhibitors who offer supportive services.
FCPS Career and Transition Services Presents the Moving on to Life in the Community Resource Fair
On Thursday, November 9, 2023, Maura Schmidt, Program Facilitator/ILS, and Pansy Walker, Outreach Coordinator, had the pleasure of representing ECNV at the FCPS Career and Transition Resource Fair at Annandale High School. Over 150 families registered for the event and many vendors represented their agencies with an abundance of information and resources.
ECNV Advancing Racial Equity Cohort
On Wednesday, November 8, 2023, The ECNV Advancing Racial Equity Cohort presented their plan for creating an equitable organization that allows staff members at all levels to feel empowered within the organization. They will present their plan with staff and management input on key objectives to build empowerment, collaboration and trust within ECNV.
Image: The ECNV team, Paul Whitney, Nagham Sendak, Vicente Saavedra, and Cherie Takemoto (in center) with Jasmine Khanani (left) and Dr. Stacy Scott (right) from the cohort facilitators from Wayfinding Partners. This study group was a project of ACT for Alexandria.
Seniors Getting Vaccinated!
On Monday, November 6, 2023 ECNV in partnership with Louduon Caregivers hosted a vaccine clinic at Madison House Apartments, Leesburg, VA in Loudoun County.
Collage: A female senior woman sitting for a vaccine (right) a Walgreens pharmacist; a Walgreens pharmacist a white female in her medical gown, a woman using a wheelchair; a group of seniors and volunteers waiting to be vaccinated.
Himalayan COVID-19 Vaccine Clinic
On Saturday, November 4, 2023, ECNV provided vaccines to the Himalayan community residing in Northern Virginia. This event is deeply connected to our organization's mission to serve the diverse and multicultural community and was an experience full of spiritual wealth and peace that accurately reflected that the universal language is a smile and our unwavering organization's commitment to serve seniors with disabilities, their caregivers, and their communities.
Collage: Rosalia Fajardo, Director of Multicultural Families at ECNV with the Director of the Himalayan Free Clinic, Manju Sangruala in blue shirt and black pants; a Walgreens Pharmacist giving a vaccination; (bottom), a group of Nepalese /Himalayan seniors wearing their traditional costumes , Rosalia is wearing a black vest over a blue blouse.