History
In the spring of 1995 Mary Lou McFarland joined the Lake of the Woods Lionesses. This organization helped with Christmas gifts at the Village. It also participated in the Fall Festival. This was an event thanking local businesses, volunteers, and suppliers. The children were usually on a field trip during this event. The Director of the Village, Ed Murphy, asked Mary Lou, a retired reading specialist, to volunteer as a reading teacher. She started teaching reading that fall as a Lioness. In March 1996, Denise Balzano, then President of the Northern Virginia Chapter of Childhelp, requested a meeting. Mary Lou held the first meeting of the Auxiliary at her home.
The founding members, in addition to Mary Lou, were Rosemary Mills, Karen O’Donnell, Nancy Horch, Dee Flood, Sibyle Jenks, Peggy Grella, and Karen Kovarik. Most of them volunteered to be “special friends” for children at the Village. Mary Lou was the first President of the Auxiliary, Rosemary Mills was Vice President, and Karen O’Donnell was Treasurer. Rosemary, Karen, and another founding member, Nancy Horch, all later served two-year terms as President. The first expansion of the Auxiliary’s activities occurred. It started when the principal of the Village school, John Bacon, asked the Auxiliary to do a bike rally. He was worried about the children riding bikes on the road into the Village. So the small group of original members did the first Village event on their own. They loved the bike rally. The first obstacle course was fantastic!
From the beginning, the Auxiliary worked with the DC Childhelp Chapter on Christmas, Halloween, and Easter parties. Later, we added a Summer Luau and Valentine’s Day party. The Auxiliary also established the Reading Buddies program, initially run by Nancy Horch, which has been very successful. Originally, the Auxiliary did not raise money. The DC Chapter was focused on raising funds to build many of the newer buildings at the Village. As a result, the Auxiliary dedicated its efforts to activities for the children. We decided to make birthday baskets. These are now birthday backpacks. We discovered that most of the children never received a card from home. The backpacks are filled with several small gifts and one larger gift.
Today
“For the Love of a Child”
The Auxiliary today has an annual budget of nearly $30,000. The primary fundraiser has been an annual dance. Dues are collected annually from all members and donations are received throughout the year. This year we received a grant from the Rappahannock Electric Cooperative (REC). Money is used for parties, special events, books for the children on their birthdays, personalized duffle bags, and outings. Some money is allocated to the Village. This helps pay for items such as furniture for the common areas. It also supports group homes. We also support purchases of educational software and landscaping.
The activities of the Auxiliary have evolved over time. However, the mission has stayed the same: to support the Alice C. Tyler Village and help to enrich the lives of the children who reside there.
Meetings are held on the first Wednesday of the month at 10 a.m. at the Lake of the Woods Church. All are welcome.
The Auxiliary is part of the National Childhelp Organization (www.childhelp.org), which provides help for abused children throughout the United States. One of its most important programs is a hotline (1-800-4-A-Child), established in 1982. It operates 24 hours a day and seven days a week. The hotline offers a wide variety of support services from professional crisis counselors.
Click on these links to learn more about the Village:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BMmCxfLUoiE&feature=youtu.be
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ecmBMzhhWgM&feature=youtu.be
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lj-gayBaX-Y&feature=youtu.be