Archives | Alexander Graham Bell Chapter #15

Note of Thanks – As Pioneers we are excited to serve our community regardless of whether we are recognized or acknowledged for the things we do to help others. It is always nice, though, to hear when something we did had a positive impact on those around us. We received a very nice thank you letter from the C.W. Harris Elementary School administration, staff, students and community stakeholders for the school uniforms we donated at the end of April. We’ve been told that over 50% of the uniforms have already been disseminated to students in need. Both students and their families have been extremely grateful!

Congratulations, Jim! We are proud to announce that our own Jim Bean is the recipient of the 2014 New Vision Pioneers Hall of Fame award. Congratulations to Jim, and thanks for your many years of service and participation in AGB activities!

Our group of Verizon, Frontier, FairPoint and Chapter 99 Pioneers has a new name. We have re-branded our group and we’re collectively now called the “New Vision Pioneers.”

Beepball 2013

It’s beepball time again! First game is July 3rd. This year we have to change fields in August… we will be playing on the same field at Falls Church High School for July and then we will move to a field at Walnut Hill Admin Center in Falls Church for August and September. You can download the flyer and registration form for this summer’s beepball season in case you did not receive them in the mail. Looking forward to seeing everyone July 3rd!

34th Annual Easter Egg Hunt

Mark your calendars! We’re teaming up again this year with the Columbia Lighthouse for the Blind for the 34th Annual Easter Egg Hunt for the visually impaired on Saturday, March 23rd. We are excited that this year’s event will once again be held – rain or shine – at the Centreville Moose Lodge in Fairfax, VA. Refreshments be served at 9:30am and the program will start promptly at 10am. If you have a child ages 2–18 or know of a child that is visually impaired bring he or she to this special event made just for them. Siblings are also welcome. Click here to download the registration form.

Holiday Luncheon

Attention, AGB Pioneers! Our annual holiday luncheon is just around the corner. Come join us for a hot lunch buffet at the Sir Walter Raleigh Inn in Berwyn Heights, MD from 11:30am-3pm on Wednesday, December 5th. Your help and support is needed. We will be collecting items for St. Ann’s Center for Children. Please help as much as you can; they need our support! Items needed include baby wipes, clothing for children ages 8-12, deodorant, Similac and Advance baby formulas, and Giant Foods gift cards (for medicine). We also will be collecting items for the local Domestic Violence Centers and Can Foods for the local food banks. For those who haven’t received the flyer or maybe just put it aside, you can download it here. Registration has been extended.

33rd Annual Kings Dominion Pioneer Family Day!

Join the Pioneers for two great days at Kings Dominion Amusement Park: Saturday October 6th or Sunday October 7th. Tickets are only $27.00 per person per day. Children ages 2 & under are free. An admission ticket also includes Halloween Haunt. Park Hours on October 6 are 10:30 am to 12:00 Midnight. On October 7th the park is open 10:30 am to 10pm. Click here to download the flyer with details on how to get your tickets.

Join Us for the 30th Season of Beep Ball

Do you like baseball? Well here’s your chance to become part of the team, make some friends, and have fun! Come join the Northern Virginia Pioneer Beep Ball League. Beep Ball is played similar to the game of baseball, consisting of two teams and players. However, the ball and bases are electronically controlled to emit sound waves to assist the players. Individuals with visual impairments ages 8 to adult are encouraged to come out and play! We also welcome volunteers to help the players. Call Mary with any questions at 571-275-7973. Download the Beep Ball flyer for more information.

Blue Ridge Crab Feast 2012

Hungry for some sea food? Mark your calendars … Saturday, September 8th from 12:30-4pm will be the Verizon Telecom Pioneers Blue Ridge Council’s Crab Feast in Fredericksburg, VA. Tickets for adults cost $26, while non-crab eaters and children under 12 years old can get in for just $10. Check the attached file for all the details.

Welcome Charlene Hill to the Pioneers

The Pioneers organization is excited to welcome Charlene Hill as our new Executive Director. Ms. Hill joins the Pioneers after consulting within the nonprofit sector, with a focus on executive management, organizational strategy and development and information technology. “While the telecom industry has evolved and changed over the past 100 years, Pioneers have remained a steadfast thread committed to our core tenets of service, fellowship and loyalty,” said Hill. “I am so proud and excited to have the opportunity to join this amazing organization.” Prior to her consulting work, Ms. Hill spent 5 years at the Donor Awareness Council, where she helped establish Colorado as number one in the nation with a 65% organ and tissue donor designation rate. She also served as the Executive Vice President and Interim CEO of the Urban League of Metropolitan Denver. “I am excited to have Charlene join us at this important moment in our history,” said James M. Schmit, CenturyLink Idaho Vice President and Chairman of the Board of the Pioneers. “Her experience and expertise in nonprofit leadership will be critical as we enter our second century of service to North America.”

Help Stamp Out Hunger

As many of you are aware, Stamp Out Hunger, the National Association of Letter Carriers’ annual food drive, will take place on Saturday, May 12. On this day, all Americans are encouraged to leave nonperishable food items for donation by their mail delivery location. The donated food is picked up by the letter carriers, and brought to their local food bank for distribution to individuals and families in need. Last year, 77 million pounds of food were donated across the nation. As a result of our outstanding success with last fall’s “Dish It Up” food drive, Feeding America and the National Association of Letter Carriers have asked the Pioneers to help with this year’s drive. Each year after the donation day, local food banks need lots of volunteer assistance to sort donated food and make it available for distribution. Please help if you can!

Hershey Park 2012 Is Just Around the Corner…

This year’s event at Hershey Park will be on Sunday, April 29th from 10am to 6pm. The price for tickets is $26.00 per person if purchased by April 17th. Prices go up to $29.00 per person after April 18th. Children 2 & under free get in free. Hope to see you there!

UPDATE! Download the 2012 Hershey Park Flyer for information on how to buy tickets.

33rd Annual Easter Egg Hunt for the Visually Impaired

Mark your calendar! This year’s event will take place one week early on March 31st at the Centreville Moose Lodge in Fairfax, VA. Sign-in is at 9:30am and the hunt will begin at 10am. Please note that we moved the date to the Saturday before Easter weekend in hope that more children and their families can attend. There are both indoor and outdoor facilities available on the property so we’ll be searching for eggs rain or shine!

UPDATE! Download the 2012 Easter Flyer now for all event details!

2011 Christmas Party Raising Awareness and Support for Domestic Violence Victims

Santa Bell 2011 Flyer

Attached is our 2011 Santa Bell Flyer to be shared with your coworkers, family, and friends.

AGB “Dictionaries and Scholastic Books” Donation to Parkwood Church’s Native American Mission in New Mexico

Verizon TelecomPioneers AGB #15
Northern Virginia Council

Dear Mr. Bean,

Families who live at or below the federal poverty level cannot afford to buy books. Sadly, studies show that many children and adults in America, have never owned a single book. By putting books into the hands of children and their families, you are encouraging an engagement with reading that could last a lifetime. In fact, being read to as a child and having books in the home are two important indicators of future academic success.

Your donation and participation in our book collection for Native American children sponsors literacy and provides an opportunity for a child to enter into a world of potential. By supporting these Native American children, you are not only showing them that you care, you are investing in their future.

On behalf of Native American Missions – Parkwood, and the children of the Navajo Nation, please accept my gratitude and thanks for your kind contribution to our book drive.

Sincerely,

Tina Morris
Native American Missions – Parkwood

“Dish It Up!” Results

Verizon Alexander Graham Bell (AGB) Pioneers of Washington DC, Montgomery County Maryland, Northern Virginia, and Prince Georges County Maryland collected 1281 lbs of food, logged 202 volunteer hours, and fed 179 people during “Dish it Up”!! Thanks for your support!

Kings Dominion Day 2011

The Verizon Pioneers’ 32nd Annual Pioneer Day at Kings Dominion Family Day is on Saturday, October 8th from 10am to midnight. The price is $26 per person (ages three and above); children 2 and under are free. Click here to download the flyer with details on how to get your tickets.

Pioneers Dish It Up!

Join the Verizon Pioneers in helping feed one million people! We’re collecting food during the Verizon Healthy Food Collection “Dish-It-Up” campaign between September 11-25 at Verizon buildings. Donations of whole wheat pastas, brown rice, canned fruit (packed in its own juices), canned vegetables, canned meat (tuna, salmon, ham, chicken, or turkey), canned or dry beans (black, kidney, pinto, navy, garbanzo), peanut butter (plastic jars only) would be greatly appreciated. Contact June Weakley at jbweakley@comcast.net or 410-861-3201 for more information on how you can help out. Thanks for your support!

Beep Ball Summer Camp

Here are a few photos from June’s Summer Camp Beep Ball that just happened to be on “the hottest day of the week.”

On Sat., April 23, the Alexander Graham Bell Chapter and the Columbia Lighthouse for the Blind (CLB), designed an EGG-stra special Easter Egg Hunt for visually-impaired children and their sighted siblings with beeping and chirping eggs. Nancy Rebar, a longtime volunteer with the Pioneers, said, “This event helps create a lasting memory for a child. Finding Easter eggs is such a cherished tradition, but it’s not something visually-impaired children can do without special eggs, so this is a great way for them to have the same holiday fun as other children.”

Jocelyn Hunter, communications director for the Columbia Lighthouse, said the idea for beeping eggs was hatched about a decade ago, and this year’s event featured plenty of treats, Easter baskets for the children and a tour of the firehouse. A private non-profit, the Columbia Lighthouse for the Blind enables people of all ages to overcome the challenge of vision loss and remain independent and active.

AGB is a proud supporter of the troops at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center – Fisher Houses in Washington, D.C.