Another year, another successful coat drive!

The first two weekends of October have come and gone and the Dulles Area Kiwanis is proud to have completed another successful coat drive this year. We collected and distributed over 450 coats to families in need this fall. A big thank you goes out to all of our collection sites this year:

Cascades Library
Ashburn Library
Rust Library
Sterling Community Center
South Riding Town Hall
Dulles South Multipurpose Center
George Washington University, Virginia Campus
Algonkian Elementary
Lowes Island Elementary
Meadowland Elementary
Creighton's Corner Elementary
Seldens Landing Elementary
Sanders Corner Elementary
Waterford Elementary
Farmwell Station Middle School

Thanks again for your help and support. we couldn't have done it without the help of our local community members and hope you'll participate again next year!

Capital District Kiwanis Initiative For Africa

By: Ayaz Siraj, Dulles Area Kiwanis President Elect


Last Sunday we had guest speaker Katherine Bronson come talk to us about the Capital District's Initiative for Africa. This meeting was one of the most fun, and informative meetings in our short DAK history. This meeting probably ranks up there with the Jeopardy meeting we had last year. We had folks there from the Leesburg club and the Arlington club which made the meeting even more fun.



I have a copy of the Power Point presentation on the Initiative For Africa that Kat showed and if you wish to review it again, I can send it to you by email (just post a comment and I'll send it your way). I would like to encourage all of you to donate as all it takes is $5 from each of us to help achieve the district's goal of $25,000. I would also like to encourage you to talk to your friends and family about this initiative as, it is my belief that everyone wants to help, but we have to ask them for the help.


All donations can be made by sending a check made out to the Capital District Kiwanis Foundation and mailed to

1601 Charrington Drive
Midlothian, VA 23113.

If you feel more comfortable giving the donation to me, I would be glad to send it in on your behalf. Your canceled check will serve as your receipt for tax purposes. This initiative is also listed in Facebook in the Causes section. If you are a Facebook member, you can join the cause and donate using Facebook. All transactions on Facebook are secure. Here's a link to the Facebook page: http://apps.facebook.com/causes/211955?m=de0957a2


Thank you for your help in this worthy cause.

RSS What?

by: Beryl Young, Dulles Area Kiwanis President

I am often asked by fellow Kiwanis members how I am able to "keep track of it all". All the meeting and project dates can get pretty overwhelming. Being the primary webmaster and the president requires me to constantly be aware of what is on the calendar at all times. However, I do have a few tricks up my sleeve to help make it easier! The main one being using RSS feeds to keep track of updates on all my favorite webpages. If you've never used RSS now is a great time to learn! I will admit the concept of RSS took me awhile to grasp. The video above is a GREAT "dumbed down" explanation of RSS and how you can use it to streamline how you view the internet. If someone had shown me this video 2 years ago I would've been an RSS pro in half the time.

What is RSS? In a nutshell RSS alerts you when changes have been made to your favorite or most important webpages. No more forgetting that Kiwanis meeting because you never checked the website! RSS will tell you when an update has been made and shows you what that update is.

I personally use RSS to primarily track my favorite blogs. Instead of having to go an check each blog myself, my RSS reader (through google) tells me who has updated a blog and shows me all the new blog postings. I know parents in the school system where I work use RSS to track their child's school website. Once they RSS tag the school's main webpage, or the teacher's webpage, they get instant alerts when the pages are edited and changed.

Once you understand the ins and outs of how this technology works the possibilities are endless. I encourage you to explore the world of RSS and comment to let us know how it changes how you view the internet!

Meet the DAK Member - Ayaz

Name: Ayaz Siraj

Length in Kiwanis family: Officially… around a year and half but longer if you count the months leading up to the club chartering.

Why did you join Kiwanis: To help children in guiding them and showing them the meaning of community service plus I can’t expect my kids to do community service or volunteer and serve their community I don’t do it.

Postions held: Board Member and President Elect

Favorite service project: I really liked the Metro cards for Veterans and Bingo is fun.

Where do you live? Herndon, VA

Where is the farthest you've ever been from home? India.

Do you have any children? Yes, 2. One boy, Saif who is 12 and one girl, Amani who is 8 going on 16.

What's currently on your Ipod? Honestly… too many to list as it’s about 5 gigs worth of music but I will always have the Beastie Boys, Public Enemy, AC/DC, Metallica, RUN DMC, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Bob Marley, the entire audio from the movie Caddyshack… like I said, too many to list.

Last Book you Read? Books? That’s old technology…. Didn’t finish but started Barack Obama’s “The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream”

When I go out for a meal my go to menu choice is... mmmmm….. Chinese

One thing people don't know about me... I once was kidnapped and had my watch stolen.

Dulles Area Kiwanis Presents...

By: Ayaz Siraj, Dulles Area Kiwanis President-Elect

On March 1, 2009, there will a presentation on a special Kiwanis project known as the Initiative For Africa. The Initiative For Africa is a Kiwanis campaign whose goal is to make a sustainable difference in the lives of children and families in Africa. This initiative is in partnership with Kick Start International (www.kickstart.org), a non-profit organization that provides education and training to farmers so that they can grow sustainable crops for years to come. Kick Start also sells to the farmers a revolutionary new human powered water pump, for a small subsidized fee, that helps irrigate land and grow crops where before not possible, or very difficult. The Kiwanis goal is to raise $25,000, to help purchase these irrigation pumps, which in turn will be matched by the Kick Start Organization, dollar for dollar. With monies raised by Kiwanis and matched by Kick Start, 160 African families, or more than 800 men, women and children will get an opportunity for a better life and to permanently end their poverty.

The Initiative For Africa committee member Katherine Bronson will present this presentation at the next Dulles Area Kiwanis club meeting which are held at the Cascades Library at 3 PM. This meeting is open to the general public.

The Best Part of Kiwanis

by: Beryl Young, Dulles Area Kiwanis President

This past weekend we had a DAK strategic planning meeting at Brendan and my house. It was a very productive discussion about our club growth vision over the next 7 years and how we can attract more members from the local community. At the meeting the members present agreed on one thing: the best part of being in Kiwanis is the connection to our local youth. I love being a part of Kiwanis because it's a family of clubs that start as early as elementary school and can take you all the way to adulthood. Here is a little about each branch of the Kiwanis family:

For Elementary School Students....

Kiwanis K-Kids: Young Leaders Helping Others

K-Kids clubs provide elementary school students with their first opportunity t learn about organizing projects that help others. This program provides opportunities for students to work together in service to school and community, develops basic leadership potential and fosters the development of strong moral character.

For Teens....

Kiwanis Builders Club: Building Leaders

Builders Club allows middle school and junior high students to contribute service to school and community on more than 1,200 campuses in 18 nations. Leadership development and guidance at this critical stage of personal development makes Builders Club an effective contributor to any service-learning cirriculum. Builders Clubs are encouraged to support a service focus supporting children's hospitals.

Key Club International

Key Club International, the largest high school service organization in the world, empowers its members to lead and serve by cultivating leadership skills, developing friendships, and performing community service. Key Club members have a passion for helping others and gain leadership skills they will carry with them for a lifetime.

Currently, the Dulles Area Kiwanis Club sponsors three Key Clubs in Loudoun County: Park View High School, Dominion High School and Potomac Falls High School.

Kiwanis Key Leader

Key Leader is weekend experiential leadership program for today's youth leaders. It focuses on service leadership as the first, most meaningful leadership development experience. By participating in a hands-on, weekend event, Key Leaders learn that leadership comes from helping others succeed. This program is designed to identify and empower emerging student leaders and move them beyond where most other leadership programs end.

For University Students.....

Circle K International

Circle K International is the premiere university service organization in the world, having gotten its start in 1936 at Washington State University. Programming is based upon the three tenents of service, leadership and fellowship with service being the most important of the three.

For Adults Living With Disabilities....

Kiwanis Aktion Club: Serivce in Action

Aktion Club is the only community-service club for these adult citizens. It provides its members an opportunity to develop initiative and leadership skills in serving their communitites, while enabling their integration with society.

These programs bring volunteer service directly into a school and community: involvement increases, student achievement improves, the attitude of an entire school can be postively impaceted.

DAK is proud to be a sponsor of four youth clubs: Key Clubs at Dominion HS and Potomac Falls HS and K-Kids at Guilford ES and Hillside ES. Have you ever been a part of any of the Kiwanis branches? Do you want to get involved with our local students? Why not get connected by attending a DAK meeting or project in the near future!

Meet the DAK Member - Kate

Name: Kate Richards

Length in Kiwanis family: A bit more than six years. I spent four years in CKI at Mary Washington College and for the last two and a half years I’ve been with the Dulles Area Kiwanis Club.

Why did you join Kiwanis: I missed the K-Family and the ability to volunteer with a great group of people. After taking a break from the K-Family to get my Master’s degree, I was looking for a Kiwanis club that fit my schedule and Heather came along with the idea to build a Kiwanis club that meet on the weekends. How could I resist?

Positions held: Charter DAK Secretary (and despite what you may have heard, I will not be secretary for life). :-) I’m also the contact for the service committee and a co-chair of our Fall Coat Drive with the Loudoun County Holiday Coalition.

Favorite service project: It’s a toss up between our monthly bingo game at the Monroe Assisted Living Facility (the residents are a hoot and will give you a run for your money) and the Loudoun Foundation’s Summer Music Concert Series. I think the Music Concert Series wins out because who can resist volunteering at a music concert where you get to listen to great music (INXS, Lynyrd Skynyrd or K.C. and the Sunshine Band anyone?) and have fun, all the while helping the Loudon Foundation raise money for the charities they support.

Where do you live? Reston, VA

Where is the farthest you've ever been from home? Italy

Do you have any children? No, I just have Monroe (a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel) and Hellyon (a Siamese/Tabby Mix) and they only count as four legged grandchildren when I decide to tease my mom because she is commenting on her lack of two legged grandchildren.

What's currently on your Ipod? Nickelback, Rascal Flatts, Lifehouse, Michael Bublé, Stone Sour, Lady Antebellum, Crosby, Stills and Nash, Tori Amos, Enya, O.A.R., CCR…

Last Book you Read? Eggs in Purgatory by Laura Childs

When I go out for a meal my go to menu choice is.... some version of a Cobb salad.

One thing people don't know about me...I’m in the midst of reading about 20 different book series (and I have the potential to pick up at least three more that are currently sitting in my to-read pile). I’m thankful all the authors I read do not release their books at the same time.

Kiwanis Midwinter Convention: A New Member's Perspective

By: Kalonji Samuel, DAK Member

One of the hallmarks of a great organization can be found in the quality of education and training it avails to its members. Oftentimes, the most effective way for this to occur is through the sharing of ideas and discussion among peers, mentors, and coaches about best practices and lessons-learned throughout the organization. As a new member to the Kiwanis family, and more specifically, to the Dulles Area Kiwanis Club, I was recently able to experience high-quality fellowship through practical education and training by attending my first Mid-Winter Regional Conference.

I arrived at 9am, and as promised by the program guide I received, the conference fulfilled its parallel obligation of being “diverse and entertaining”; replete with reception-area breakfast, lively music, a Kiwanis Store, and a floating Raffle which supported the Capital District Kiwanis Foundation and Children’s Pediatric Trauma Centers. As events got underway, Capital District Governor, Tom Ganse the opening session with a candid presentation on the future growth strategy and the myriad challenges we face as an organization. This established a framework for theoretical discussion that we visited throughout the day in each of the subsequent working sessions that would follow. From discussions on meeting membership challenges, with respect to ongoing cultural shifts, to how to best integrate and leverage technology, we shared, synthesized, and positioned innovative ideas for immediate future action; all with a healthy dose of humor in between.

Each session at the Mid-Winter Regional Conference revealed a striking dynamism not only about the quality of service Kiwanis engenders, but about the quality of people involved as well. From the morning session with the Governor discussing Kiwanis support systems, to ‘Kiwanis Bingo’ with sweetheart candy for bingo chips, to a lesson in fundraising over lunch, to learning how to save children in Africa, to learning about Kiwanis committee support and involvement, and finally to a capstone closing session with the Raffle event (I’ll win something next time), I can easily say that the caliber of fellowship and the level of idea exchange throughout the conference was enriching from start to finish. My single act of attending reinforced in me why the mention of Kiwanis proudly connotes service, leadership, higher ideals, and genuine concern for global citizenship. There is little doubt that all who attended returned home invigorated, recharged, and better prepared to serve. This was indeed a great opportunity to gain the proper footing as one of DAK’s newest members.

Connect to DAK using Web 2.0 Tools

by: Beryl Young, Dulles Area Kiwanis President

DAK is on the cutting edge of new technology! Did you know we have a page on facebook and a profile on Twitter just so you can keep in touch and up to date on the new happenings in our Kiwanis club? Do you know what these tools are and how they can be useful for you? If not here is a breif description of each. Hopefully you'll friend us and we'll see you on one or both of these sites soon!

Facebook (www.facebook.com): Facebook helps you connect and share with the people in your life. You can send notes, see status updates, play games, get the latest news, post videos or music, and join groups of interest (including the Dulles Area Kiwanis). Groups can post events and send updates for upcoming events and activities. 13 DAK members are already a part of our facebook group and are using it to post, share and RSVP. We can't wait for you to join us too!

Twitter (http://twitter.com/DullesKiwanis): Commonly called microblogging, Twitter is a service for friends, family, and co–workers to communicate and stay connected through the exchange of quick, frequent answers to the one simple question: What are you doing? The best part about twitter is these short communications can be recieved via the twitter webpage, email, or even on your cell phone! What a great way to stay connected to DAK and our upcoming events.

Meet the DAK Member - Brendan

Name: Brendan Geoffrey Young

Length in Kiwanis family: 2 years (but I tagged along in Circle K activities for a year and a half prior to joining Kiwanis)

Why did you join Kiwanis: I wanted to help my wife form this new club, meet new people, and contribute my time to the community.

Postions held: Charter DAK Treasurer

Favorite service project: The Fareshare Metro card project. We converted used metro cards to SmarTrip cards to be donated to disabled veterans for them to use when traveling around DC for job interviews and other things.

Where do you live? Stone Ridge in Aldie, Virginia

Where is the farthest you've ever been from home? Ensenada, Mexico

Do you have any children? My wife and I have two kitty babies, but we plan on having human babies eventually.

What's currently on your Ipod? I am proud to say I have never owned an Ipod, but some of my favorite artists include Chimaira, Dax Riggs, Kamelot, and Pantera.

Last Book you Read? I recently finished reading "I Hate Your Guts" by comedian Jim Norton.

When I go out for a meal my go to menu choice is.... chicken tenders and/or fingers.

One thing people don't know about me...professional wrestling is my favorite sport to watch. I have watched regularly for the past 16 years.

Guilford Elementary School K-Kids Club Charters

By: Heather Talbert, DAK SLP Chair and Immediate Past President

Over 80 came together to celebrate and recognize the chartering of the new K-Kids Club at Guilford Elementary School on January 13th. Under the guidance of Faculty Advisors Karen Thompson and Valerie Wade, plus Kiwanis Advisors Beryl Young and Heather Talbert, 20 students were inducted as charter members of the club during a night of celebration which included a slideshow of the recent events the club has participated in.

The evening started off with a complete pasta dinner donated by Mimi’s Café, Bottom Dollar and Crown Plaza Herndon. It included words of wisdom by Guilford Principal David Stewart who gave gifts to the officers and had proud parents witnessing each member receive their member pin and certificate plus take the K-Kids oath administered by DAK SLP Chair Heather Talbert. It was truly a night to remember for the students.

The club has more events planned as we get closer to the spring including a school beautification/landscaping project that got a boost from us as their Kiwanis sponsor with a nice gift to help their efforts. We look for more good things from this club in the future.

Why Do You Serve?

By: Beryl Young, Dulles Area Kiwanis President

Those of us in Kiwanis have joined because we all believe in the Kiwanis mission of "Serving the Children of the World". However, our reasons for doing service in the first place are varied and fortunately being a member of such a new chapter of Kiwanis give us the unique opportunity to define and develop our role in the local community. We decide the projects that will give us the most enjoyment and provide the most benefit.

Service is a very personal thing. Some serve to benefit a specific cause that is meaningful to them. Others serve because it's "the right thing to do". And then there are those who serve for the social rewards they reap. There are many other reasons to serve, but the most important part is that it is fulfilling to the individual doing the service.

So I ask you this week, why do you serve? At what age did you begin doing community service? What kinds of projects are most meaningful to you? If you are in Kiwanis, how can we make your experience more powerful? If you are not in Kiwanis, what would make you drop everything on a lazy weekend or busy weekday and serve?

As the Dulles Area Kiwanis continues to grow, build, adapt and take on projects that allow us to make our community the best it can be it is your answers that will help us chart our path and create a meaningful experience for those who serve with us .

Meet the DAK Member - Heather

Happy Friday! Today begins a new weekly blogspot, "Meet the DAK Member". Our first featured member is none only than our Dulles Area Kiwanis charter president, Heather Talbert. She was the brain child behind starting a club in the Dulles Area and had the Kiwanis family experience and expertise to make this club a reality. Let's learn more about Heather and what makes her tick...


Name: Heather Lynn Talbert

Length in Kiwanis family: I spent 3 years in Circle K and will have 13 years in Kiwanis as of this May

Postions held: I was on the district board for one year in Circle K as Treasurer and in Kiwanis I've held the positions of Distinguished Club Secretary, Sponsored Youth / Service Leadership Program Chair, Circle K District Administrator and Charter Club President

Favorite service project: Being a volunteer on the old Children's Miracle Network Telethon at Channel 9 (W*USA) and dressing up as The Children's National Medical Center mascot Dr. Bear (yes the costume was VERY hot inside)

Where do you live? McLean, Virginia

Where is the farthest you've ever been from home? London, England

Do you have any children? A 3.5yr. old daughter, Maggie

What's currently on your Ipod? Music ranging from Leona Lewis, David Cook, Nickelback to Duran Duran, Lisa Stansfield, Billy Joel

Last Book you Read? I'm starting the Camel Club Series by David Baldacci

When I go out for a meal my go to menu choice is.... usually a hamburger of some kind. Unoriginal I know!

One thing people don't know about me...I have a 7.5in stainless steel bar fused to my vertebrae straightening out my spine.

DAK/Holiday Coalition Fall Coat Drive A Success!

By: Kate Richards, 2008 Coat Drive Coordinator and DAK Secretary

We would like to thank everyone who donated coats and/or helped during our first coat drive with the Loudoun Community Holiday Coalition. With your help, we were able to collect over 600 coats, with over 500 coats being distributed to families in need during the first two weekends in October 2008. The surplus winter coats were donated to LINK for their November 2008 coat drive and the surplus lightweight coats were donated to Goodwill. We will begin collecting coats for our second annual coat drive at the end of the summer/early fall.

You may be wondering how your organization can do a large-scale service project like a coat drive. In our case, we were approached by Kara Earl, who works with the Loudoun County Holiday Coalition, about taking over the coat drive that was previously partnered with the Holiday Coalitions’ Holiday Store. We took the idea back to the club to seek their approval since this would be a major undertaking for our small (but growing) club. Everyone in our club agreed that this would be a great project for us, so then the real work began. In order to do a large-scale service project (especially one that relies on the community to support) you need a well thought out game plan.

Our game plan included:

• A timeline for the entire project, start to finish
• Developing a list of places to contact about being coat drop off locations (Kara graciously provided us information on who the Holiday Coalition has partnered with)
• Developing deadlines to contact the places as well as put the drop off boxes out as well as making certain club members the point of contact
• Providing advertising and PR (again Kara helped us with sharing contact information)
• Developing a schedule for when the coats would be picked up, who was responsible for each drop off location, and when they would be dropped off at our coat drive location
• Our club came together for one afternoon for sorting the donated coats into the various sizes, age ranges and sexes (S,M,L; children, youth, adults, Men and Women’s)
• We developed a system to track the number of coats collected and distributed
• We held the coat distribution over two weekends in the beginning of October

We made sure to have both English and Spanish versions of our fliers and advertisements. We learned that we need more people on the collecting/sorting end of the project and that a smaller group from our club can handle the distribution end. For our first year we are very happy that we collected over 600 coats (in years past the Holiday Coalition and their other partners have been able to collect many more coats). We expect to collect more coats in the future because last year was the first year the coat drive and the Holiday Store distribution were separate events. The event is an earlier event than in years past and will continue to be on the early October timeline. We are looking to have this project grow along with our club and we are really looking forward to the future partnerships we develop with this service project (and other community based efforts).

A big thank you goes out to all of our coat collection partners this year: Sterling Community Center, Cascades Library, Ashburn Library, South Riding Town Hall, Dulles South Multipurpose Center, Ashburn Fuddruckers, Beyond Wellness Chiropractic, Precision Auto Care, Inc. (Leesburg), Algonkian Elementary School, Creighton's Corner Elementary School, Seldens Landing Elementary School, Frances Hazel Reid Elementary School, Farmwell Station Middle School, and Blue Ridge Middle School.

Welcome to the Dulles Area Kiwains blog!

by: Beryl Young, Dulles Area Kiwanis President

Hello and welcome to the brand new blog for the Dulles Area Kiwanis Club located in Northern, VA. It is my hope to make this a landing page for our current members, prospective members, friends, businesses, and the community at large to learn a little bit about who we are, what we do, and what we hope to accomplish as we look forward.

At the present time the Dulles Area Kiwanis is a 1.5 year old organization comprised of aprox. 20 dedicated members working to make Eastern Loudoun and Western Fairfax counties a better place to live. Our primary focus is currently on working with our service leadership programs in the area: Key Clubs at Dominion and Potomac Falls High Schools and K-Kids Clubs at Hillside and Guilford Elementary schools. Our largest annual fundraiser is a miniature golf tournament where all proceeds go towards supporting their service efforts and leadership development.

We also host other hands on and active service programs including: monthly bingo at Monroe House, a local assisted care facility, helping at the annual Belmont Concert Series, and bagging meals for the Reston Interfaith. We have big dreams about where we'd like to see our club go in the coming years, but we can't do it with out more manpower helping our efforts. We'd welcome any new ideas and new members as our club continues to build, grow, and thrive in the Dulles community. Our next club meeting will be this coming Sunday, February 1st, 3pm at the Cascades Library if you would like to learn more and meet us in person.

I hope when you visit this page, whomever you are, that you will leave comments to let us know you were here or give suggestions for how we can make your experience with our organization a positive one! Here is some food for thought for this week:

As we continue to develop our blog we already have some ideas for posting topics. A few of those include: service spotlight, interclub opportunities, and DAK member of the week. What else would you like to see posted on this site? What would keep you coming back to read regularly?