October 28, 2025
Thanks to those who have renewed. As I have asked before, please check with me if you are not sure if you owe money or have paid already. I have two people who have over-renewed. If you drop off a payment to my house, please use the black box by my front door with “CAWSV” on it and not my white mailbox. I do not check my box every day and do not want anyone to get in trouble with the postal service for using my mailbox. Here is the information for mailing payment or using PayPal:
CAWSV
PO Box 2204
Springfield, VA 22152
If you want to pay online via PayPal, here are the links for renewing:
1-year renewal ($10+$0.90 fee)
2-year renewal ($20+$1.25 fee)
3-year renewal ($30+$1.50 fee)
1 – Question from resident regarding school re-districting
2 – ECHO News
3 – Resources for those impacted by the Federal shutdown
4 – Community Safety
5 – Missing information from the Annual Meeting
6 – Calendar
1 – A resident said they heard there might be a boundary change for the high schools and wanted to know if our community would be impacted with West Springfield High School. if anyone has any information, please let me know so I can report it.
2 – From the latest ECHO newsletter:
ECHO Yard Sale November 1
Join the fun of a treasure hunt and help the community at the same time! The ECHO Fall Yard Sale will be held at the gym of St. Bernadette Catholic Church and School, 7602 Old Keene Mill Road, Springfield, on November 1, from 8:00 am until noon. Proceeds support ECHO’s work.
ECHO's Holiday Programs
To provide cheer at Thanksgiving, ECHO will connect donors with local families who would be grateful to receive the gift of groceries for a festive holiday meal. Donors may deliver food that they purchase themselves or may mail a food store gift card to the family(ies) assigned to them. Groceries should be delivered, or cards should be mailed to arrive by November 22. If you’re interested in finding out more, email Fran Eck at franalaneck@msn.com.
The ECHO elves are busily planning the Holiday Gift Shop. ECHO needs donations no later than December 5th of new toys (not gift-wrapped, please) for children ages 0-15. Donors may bring toys to our Donation Door during our hours of operation. As an alternative, gifts may be chosen from our Amazon Gift Wish List to be shipped directly to ECHO. The wish list link can also be found on our website, www.echo-inc.org, by clicking on Seasonal Programs under the Donate tab. Popular gifts include baby dolls, scooters with helmets, soccer balls (sizes 3,4,5), riding toys, and family board games. See a complete list of suggestions on the website.
Scouting for Food
Local Scout Troops will be working hard to collect donated food and hygiene products for ECHO on Saturday, November 8. We cannot overstate the importance to ECHO of this annual food drive. Sometimes ECHO has plenty of one category of food, but shortages in other categories. That is not the case now. ECHO urgently needs every category of non-perishable foods and hygiene supplies. If you know that Scouts are collecting on your street, please put your donation out early in the morning where they can’t miss it.
ECHO’s Current Needs
Except for government holidays, ECHO is open on weekdays from 9:30 am to 12:30 pm, and on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday evenings from 7:00 to 9:00. Donors can use our newly redesigned website (https://www.echo-inc.org/donate/donate-goods/) to identify items that are most urgently needed and find the list of items that we are unable to accept. Right now, we need all sizes of clean winter coats in good condition, children’s winter clothes, and infant clothing 0-6 months, sneakers for children or in men’s sizes 7, 8, and 9. Blankets, towels, large pots and pans are always welcome.
ECHO is looking for a volunteer who understands sewing and knitting. The job includes sorting donated sewing materials, pricing things that are appropriate for the Yard Sale, assembling small sewing kits with donated items, and possibly checking donated sewing machines to make sure they work (though this is not required.) This work can be done at home or at ECHO. We’d also like to have one or more volunteers who would enjoy gathering information and writing stories about ECHO. We have a few volunteer openings in Clothing on Wednesday mornings and Tuesday evenings, in Food on Thursday evenings; in Housewares on Tuesday evenings. We need a counselor on Friday mornings and a Spanish speaking counselor on Tuesday mornings. If you want to find out more about these or other opportunities, email volunteercoordinator@echo-inc.org.
Upcoming Dates to Note
November 1 - Annual Fall Yard Sale, St. Bernadette’s
November 2 - Burke CROP Walk from Burke Presbyterian Church
November 5 - Exec Com Mtg
November 8 - Scouting for Food Drive
November 11 - Closed for Veterans Day
November 15 - Saturday Opening
November 17 - Bd of Dir Meeting
November 22-23 - Thanksgiving Meal Delivery deadline
November 26 - Closed for evening hours
November 27-28 - Closed for Thanksgiving
December 6,7,9 - Holiday Shop by appointment
December 13 - Saturday Opening
December 20, 21 - Christmas Meal Delivery deadline
December 23-31 - Closed
Congregational and Other Food Drives
November - Scouting for Food Drive
For more information about ECHO on the following topics, please click any of the links below:
ECHO Food and Clothing Amazon Wish List
3 – From the Braddock District newsletter:
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Due to the federal shutdown, November SNAP benefits may be in jeopardy, creating challenges for many in our community. That said, Governor Youngkin declared a state of emergency in Virginia to keep the SNAP benefits flowing for now. Fairfax County stands ready to help. For immediate food assistance, call Coordinated Services Planning at (703) 222-0880. Other programs like Medicaid & LIHEAP are not currently impacted. Payments
Mortgage/Rent
Personal Property Tax
Utilities
Phone Carriers
Mason Arts Offers Free Tickets for Individuals Impacted by Government Shutdown George Mason University’s College of Visual and Performing Arts (CVPA) is offering free tickets to select performances across Mason Arts venues for federal employees and/or contractors impacted by the U.S. government shutdown. The offer extends to professional and George Mason student performances in the Center for the Arts and Harris Theatre on George Mason’s Fairfax Campus, as well as the Hylton Performing Arts Center on the Science and Technology Campus in Manassas. Free content is also available to watch on the digital venue, Mason Arts Amplified. Tickets for impacted individuals may be reserved by phone or in person at the venue's ticket offices. Individuals will be asked to confirm their government agency. Offer is limited to two tickets per person, per event. Visit the GMU website for more information.
4 – A resident reported a near miss with an electric bicycle and asked residents to be aware of them, and for parents to remind their children that an electric bicycle is a lot faster and more dangerous than a regular bicycle. They also asked drivers to be more aware of pedestrians at intersections. I will add that everyone should make themselves more visible since there is less daylight.
5 – I forgot to include that during the Annual Meeting, there was police presence on September 23. It was due to a medical emergency with a forearm present. All involved are safe and well.
6 – Calendar
10/31 – Halloween (Please be careful when driving in the late afternoon/evening) 11/1 – ECHO Yard Sale 11/4 – Election Day – County Government closed 11/11 – Veterans Day 11/27 - Thanksgiving |