Congratulations to the Virginia FCCLA local chapters who received a mini-grant in the fall of 2024!
Plan now to submit an application to fund a national program project for your chapter! Click here for the application and be sure to submit by October 1:
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Frank W. Cox High School ~ Members will learn about the needs in their community by contacting social services to learn about families that are in need for the holiday season. Members will lead our chapter in bringing awareness to these needs and will inspire others to work toward a common goal of making the holiday experience memorable for a local family. Our chapter will adopt a family, create a budget, brainstorm a list of suitable items based on the wish list provided by the family, and will then shop. Members will convene at a future meeting to wrap presents and contact social services to pick up presents.
Giles High School ~ Many families lost everything they had due to Hurricane Helene. Our FCCLA chapter decided we would like to sponsor two families for Christmas to make sure they are able to have a nice holiday. We would enlist help from the school counselors and social services to find two families that are in need. We would also work with the local food pantry, and the kindness closet at our school to provide a meal for the families. FCCLA members will shop, package, and wrap all the items. In addition to the food received from the community we would like to purchase hams to give the family, as well as other food items we are not able to acquire through other efforts.
Hidden Valley High School ~ Our chapter will be preparing canvas tote bags filled with basic supplies needed for emergency foster children’s placements. We have been in touch with Step Stone Family and Youth Services and determined items most needed by foster children. Our FCS classes and chapter members will be decorating the tote bags, writing a personal note of encouragement for the children and helping to pack them. Our goal is to prepare 100 bags for children between 8-18 years old. However, if we meet our goal well before our deadline, we already have additional tote bags and will pack as many more bags as we can!
Patriot Middles ~ Our chapter will be making tie blankets, including pre-sales/sponsored by teachers for donation, and delivering them to the Inova Children’s Hospital with crafts and activities for the children. Community service is all about helping others. Hospitals are generally sterile, cold, and lack a ‘homey’ feel. These “Holiday Hugs” will have blankets, crafts, and other activities wrapped up and delivered by kids for kids.
Signal Knob Middle School ~ Our FCCLA Families First initiative aims to strengthen family dynamics by hosting a Family Strength Night at Signal Knob Middle School. This engaging event will bring families together to explore key topics that enhance the function of the family and foster lasting connections. By inviting local vendors and experts to lead interactive stations, we will provide families with practical tools and resources that promote effective communication, financial literacy, and overall well-being. We will have a total of five workshop stations set up around our school to help provide families with a variety of tools: Family Finances, Effective Communication, Healthy Relationships, Family Wellness, and Creative Family Activities. The event will be wrapped up with a family dinner where families can gather, share stories, and discuss the importance of dining together.
Strasburg High School ~ Our FCCLA chapter is excited to partner with the school’s cross country team to host a family-focused, holiday-themed relay 5K—the Reindeer Relay! This event will be part of our town’s annual holiday season kickoff, creating a perfect blend
of community spirit, fitness, and festive fun. Families are encouraged to sign up for this relay-style 5K, whether running or walking, to share in the holiday cheer. To transform the experience into a holiday wonderland, we will be decorating the football stadium with festive lights, displays, and Christmas décor. The proceeds from the event, primarily from registration fees, will be donated to a new scholarship fund at our school. This scholarship is in memory of a beloved staff member who sadly passed away from leukemia this summer at the age of 30. We will also sell snowflakes to honor and/or remember family members that have been impacted by cancer.
Stuarts Draft Middle School ~ Our chapter will partner with the Love Forward Foundation, a non-profit agency in Staunton, VA whose mission is to serve local children of incarcerated parents. SDMS FCCLA members will assist with various activities and mentor children at Love Forward’s Creative Coping bimonthly workshops at their Staunton location. Activities include hair art, painting, rug tufting, creative writing, journaling, and mindfulness. All of these activities will serve to help children in families dealing with incarceration to cope healthfully with the unique stressors and challenges they face. SDMS FCCLA will prepare healthy snacks for the Creative Coping Workshop attendees each month; many of these children are from low income homes due to incarceration and nutrition cannot always be a priority. SDMS FCCLA will run a community awareness campaign to raise awareness of Love Forward’s mission, parental incarceration rates, and their effects on families. We will create flyers that will be distributed at select athletic and school events. SDMS FCCLA will assist with planning and implementing a Love Forward Foundation fundraising event, should the director of Love Forward choose to do a large fundraising event this school year. SDMS FCCLA will sell Love Forward silicone bracelets to raise money for the Love Forward Foundation.
Patriot High School ~ Our chapter will plan, promote, and host a Stand UP to Cancer event. All Prince William County Schools staff and students are invited to participate and mimic the week-long activities of selling various color ribbons to students and staff during the last week of January 2025. Students would also get to fill out signs that would be posted in the hallway that say, “I Stand UP to Cancer in honor of …” Our chapter members would sell the ribbons in various colors during lunches all week; all proceeds would be donated to the Stand UP to Cancer organization that funds research to find a cure. The week would end with a charity event that would feature videos and speakers who have been affected by cancer either as a fighter, survivor, or family member. Tables for this event will be presold and FCS/Culinary classes will prepare and serve foods for this event. A meeting is in place with administration to have PWCS televise the event with a goal of raising $10,000 for Stand UP for Cancer.