by John Reid

The Prince William County Community Foundation has operated with a vision of giving back to the community as much as possible. One of the ways in which they have done so is through their Back to School Community Event, which is now expanded to two days this year. Recently, the PW Perspective spoke with its president, Dr. Vanessa Gattis, about the success of the program and how it came together.

As they are expanding the program, Dr. Gattis talked about the support of several sponsors and volunteers to make it possible. “It means a lot to me,” she said. “The biggest thing is that this is a community event so to look at all of the community partners, including the Virginia Department of Health, the Prince William Health District, and Sentara Hospital, as well as other corporate sponsors like AWS. It is a testament to the work and partnerships that people want to have with us.”

“The kids in our community are well prepared to go back to school.,” she continued. “We will have dental cleanings and screenings to in order for them to start the school year on the right track. They believe in what we’re doing, and we’re so grateful for that.”

Another way they have given back is through their scholarship program, which they were able to support high school students throughout the county this past spring. “We were able to afford 15 $1,000 scholarships across ten high schools in Prince William County,” she said. “So often, we have students who aspire to go to college, but they don’t have the fees to cover tuition, and we want to be an organization to help students succeed in post-secondary education by helping to pay for expenses. our goal is to continue provide scholarships to students here in PWC so they can be able to know and understand what it takes to go to college. This year was the largest number of applicants in the five years we’ve been doing this. We wish them all the best as they pursue their education.”

In addition to the scholarships and backpack giveaways, the PWCCF celebrated taking the C.H.O.W to fort Belvoir for Operation Honor, feeding several veterans and their families in the process. “Growing up a lot of us experience some insecurity,” she said. “When it is in your own backyard, it hits you personally. Knowing the number of military veterans who are homeless or kids who are experiencing food insecurity, we have to do something. There are still several people dealing with food insecurities coming out of the pandemic, and it was truly an honor to support veterans and their families in Fort Belvoir.”

Friday’s event will be at Unity Braxton Middle School in Manassas from 9am – 2pm as well as Freedom High School in Woodbridge. PWCCF will partner with TeamSmiles and Colgate to provide dental screenings and cleanings for kids. Howard University dental students will be on hand to help. They will provide vaccines for kids as well. Kaiser Permanente will have their mobile van unit to provide wellness checks, such as blood pressure and diabetes screenings at Freedom high school. The event on August 12th at Freedom High School will have food trucks, games and more than 60 resource tables. The goal is to provide more than 2,000 backpacks stuffed with school supplies so kids will be able to go back to school with the necessary items. It will be from 10am – 2pm.

Next month, Dr. Gattis and PWCCF will prepare for the annual PWC Gives! which will be on September 14-15. It will be to raise money for non-profits and churches in the area. It is a 24-hour virtual fundraising event where people can see the nonprofit and churches to donate. “She encourages those who can to help out as needed. “No donation is small; any amount will help these organizations do the amazing work they’re doing in the county.”