About Our Committees

The CIVIC ENGAGEMENT and OUTREACH Committee endeavors to educate our members about “issues that affect the well-being of individuals, families, and communities by providing opportunities and resources to meet and address needs through volunteering”. Many opportunities to volunteer are provided by the following DWC projects:

TOWN OF Haymarket: DWC members offer their services and their gardening expertise to create an eye-catching garden to surround the Town of Haymarket sign outside the Town Hall. DWC members create and maintain the “Pinwheel Garden”, which calls attention to domestic abuse, on the Town’s Main Street. DWC also participates in “Haymarket Day”, the Town’s celebration of community and goodwill. DWC members help decorate the Town Hall for the holiday season and participate in the Haymarket Holiday Tree Lighting.

Holiday Baskets for Home-bound Seniors: During December, DWC members donate items and prepare baskets of holiday treats and practical items for home-bound senior citizens. The baskets are distributed to needy senior and veteran clients through “Volunteer Prince William”.

Outreach to the Homeless in Partnership with “Feeding Friends” of Gainesville United Methodist Church: DWC members collect gloves, scarves, socks, and hats to donate to GUMC ministry. Other items donated include batteries and blankets.

Knitting For the Homeless: members meet informally weekly to knit scarves to donate to residents of local homeless camps. This year, this project will expand to crocheting Octopi for NICU babies.

Haymarket Regional Food Pantry: DWC members support the Haymarket Regional Food Pantry by participating in their fundraising events, making donations of food and money and by volunteering to work at the facility. We also supply items for “Birthday Bags” and school supplies for their clients.

Carried To Full Term: DWC members provide volunteer support to Carried To Full Term, a local non-profit that provides safe, long-term residence and life skills instruction for mothers in crisis as a result of pregnancy.

Gainesville Health and Rehabilitation Center: DWC members sponsor and attend the monthly Bunco at Gainesville Health and Rehabilitation Center in Gainesville. Members write cheerful greeting cards to the residents; both staff and residents are provided with snacks and treats three times a year.

Wreaths Across America: DWC members participate in the laying of holiday wreaths on the graves of veterans at local national cemeteries.

The CIVIC ENGAGEMENT and OUTREACH Committee also supports the March of Dimes “Marching For Babies”, advocates for children’s fitness as a supporter of the “Ellis Striders”, collects used medical devices for “Medical Missionaries of Manassas”, supports “Free the Girls” and “Sweats for Vets” and sponsors two puppies for “Canine Companions for Independence”.

The DWC Education and Libraries Committee is committed to promoting lifelong learning, focusing on literacy development, helping children grow in their learning skills, supporting educational programs and recognizing staff within our community schools, and supporting our local libraries.  The club supports:

BUY-A-KID-A-BOOK:  This program originated as a DWC President’s project for the administration years 2016-2018.  It now remains a yearly goal of DWC to provide each student at Suella Gilbert Ellis Elementary School, located in Manassas Virginia, with a book from their fall book fair.  Ellis Elementary is considered a Title I school where over 40% of the students come from families at or below the poverty level.  Each child in grades Pre-K through 5 chooses a personal book from a selection of grade-appropriate books.  Faces shine with huge smiles as students realize that the books they choose are theirs to keep.

Our club funds this literacy outreach and members volunteer at the annual Scholastic Book Fair.  In the words of Kathy Calvin, “Giving is not just about making a donation.  It is about making a difference.”  We truly believe that this program touches the hearts of the children receiving our gift of literature and makes a difference in their lives.

DWC BOOK GROUP:  Fellowship, good conversations, and interesting discussions are the hallmark features of this group.  Members share reflections, opinions, and the author’s biographical information on a variety of literary genres read during the course of the year.  Meetings are held monthly, eight months of the year, and members take turns hosting at their homes. The group uses Bookclubs, an organizer site accessed on a desktop or via an app.  We keep track of books we have read or are going to read, meeting locations, and utilize a polling feature to vote on books to read.  Anyone in the club is welcome to join at any time. 

SUELLA GILBERT ELLIS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL:  DWC members have “adopted” the staff of this Title I school.  The staff of Ellis is very hard-working and committed to ensuring that each student has an opportunity to succeed academically.  Our members decorate the staff lounge seasonally and provide sweet, salty, and savory treats along with beverages for staff to enjoy.  Our DWC ladies collect children’s books to supplement classroom libraries.  With limited resources, teachers are thrilled to receive these books.  The wide variety of genres represented in these books provides an interesting selection of materials to capture students’ interests, spark their desire to read, and help build their reading fluency and comprehension.  As part of our DWC activities with Ellis Elementary School, we conduct hands-on physics experiments with fifth-grade students. Volunteers also participate in the Ellis Strider “Fun Run” events in October and May.

FRIENDS OF THE LIBRARY:  DWC is part of the Friends of the Library Program at the Bull Run Regional Library in Manassas and the Haymarket Gainesville Library.

GRAVELY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL:  DWC members support the second-grade students and teachers at Gravely Elementary.  Club members volunteer to support the second-grade language arts program.  They work with students on their reading, listening to them read aloud while encouraging their fluency, discussing vocabulary, and helping with decoding skills.  Our volunteers also help students practice their phonetic skills, learn spelling rules and patterns and develop writing skills.  Some club members volunteer to support the second-grade math program.  They help students to develop their math number facts and problem-solving skills using a variety of mathematical games, manipulatives, and stimulating challenges.  Each second-grade teacher receives funds from DWC to be used for classroom enhancement.  Popsicles and bookmarks are given to the students at the end of the school year, as they begin their summer break.

HOBY  (HUGH O’BRIEN YOUTH LEADERSHIP PROGRAM):  This organization motivates and empowers youth to develop their leadership skills and then apply those skills in service to others.  Our club donates funds to sponsor sophomore ambassadors to the Virginia HOBY Leadership Seminar each year.  The discussions, presentations, and interactive activities in these training seminars center around three perspectives of leadership: individual, group, and community.  HOBY’s core values focus on volunteerism, integrity, excellence, diversity, effective and compassionate leadership, and community partnerships.  We feel honored to support this program which inspires youth to make a positive difference in the world and to be a light of leadership for the future.

PACE WEST SCHOOL:  PACE West is a school for children in grades K through 12 who have special needs and face emotional, behavioral, and learning challenges.  DWC is a member of PACE’S Village, a group of businesses, churches, and community groups in the Gainesville/Haymarket/Manassas area that have joined together to form a unique partnership to support PACE West School.  The African proverb, “It takes a village to raise a child” has been the rallying point of this dynamic group.  Throughout the school year, DWC ladies provide little treats to let the staff know that we recognize their efforts, care about them, and thank them for all they do.  In May, during Teacher Appreciation Week, DWC members provide a special breakfast for the staff.  Our ladies are busy in their kitchens preparing a variety of breakfast casseroles, complimented with juices, coffee, fruit, and a variety of pastries and baked goods.  DWC members regularly stock the PROWL Pantry closet, an incentive program where students who earn points for good behavior can redeem them for prizes.  Each Friday during the school year, a club member works in the PROWL Pantry for two hours, along with a Rotary Club volunteer, to open the Pantry closet for the students to shop for items on which to spend their points.

DWC members give generously of their time and gift items to help PACE West teachers set up a Holiday Bonanza.  This bonanza features special items that students can purchase as gifts for their family members with the holiday dollars they have earned.  These gifts are then beautifully wrapped by DWC volunteers with club-donated paper, ribbons, and bags for the students to give as presents to their loved ones.

PACE West School celebrates a variety of special daytime events during the school year, including a Fall Festival, an Awards Picnic for middle and high school students, a Field Day, and a Graduation Ceremony for high schoolers.  DWC members provide food, items, and volunteer hours to participate in and support these varied activities.

SCHOLARSHIP:  DWC offers scholarships to graduating senior girls from Battlefield High School, Haymarket’s local high school.  The criterion for this scholarship is:  GPA standing, extra-curricular activities, references, essay, and service to the community.  The number of scholarships offered each year and their value varies according to the availability of club funds.  Our members take pride in being able to financially support outstanding exceptional young women, the movers, and shakers of the future.

The Environment Committee is active in the community and has the following focus projects:

1. Protect/Maintain local environmentally preserved areas and promote native regional plants.
2. Support Environment Education through scholarship
3. Protect domesticated animals by sponsoring a rescue facility. Dog and cat food donation.
4. Invite speakers to inform members of backyard birding and creative ways to identify and encourage bird-friendly communities.
5. Promote water conservation with low water flow heads and water-efficient machines and dishwashers.
6. Visit gardens to observe conservation landscapes that encourage droughts-resistant plants and trees.

Please join us for naturalist, ecology, and history hikes and lectures at Leopold’s Preserve hosted by BRMC.  Support environment education. Volunteer opportunities can be found on the BRMC and Leopold’s Preserve website calendar of events.

Bull Run Mountain Conservancy: https://www.brmconservancy.org/calendar-of-events and

Leopold’s preserve: https://www.leopoldspreserve.com/ in Haymarket, Virginia.

Located in Aldie, Virginia, FOHA is a no-kill animal shelter that has been in operation since 1973.   There are lots of ways to volunteer including cat and dog walks and snuggling, grounds clean-up, administrative work all the way to fundraising.    Check out their new website for more information.  Friends of Homeless Animals:   https://foha.org/get-involved/

Haymarket Food Pantry now accepts unopened dry and wet dog and cat food.  Please help a hungry pet today. Haymarket Food Pantry:   https://haymarketfoodpantry.org/

The human body, mind, and spirit comprise our health and wellness. To improve our well-being, we must address three key components: nutrition, disease prevention, and physical and emotional care. The Health and Wellness Community Service Program aims to explore the various opportunities for awareness and advancement of each of these vital areas:

1. Nutritious food choices support healthy body weight, meet nutritional needs, and lessen the risk for chronic disease.

2. Continued well-being depends on disease prevention, including immunizations and efforts that reduce the development and severity of chronic illnesses.

3. Physical and emotional care encourages actions to keep the body and mind healthy throughout life, plus ways to support family, friends, and community members in their efforts.

The Events Committee organizes activities throughout the club year including several events that are open to the general public as well as club members. Recently, DWC hosted “Girls Gone Bunco” and a “Tea and Fashion Show” which raised funds for promoting literacy, domestic violence awareness, women’s health issues, and various community and charitable organizations. This newly-formed committee is exploring other fun and exciting opportunities to engage the public in raising funds for the club’s numerous charitable projects.