Cornerstones (formerly Reston Interfaith) is a non-profit organization that provides support and advocacy for those in need of food, shelter, affordable housing, quality childcare and other services in northwestern Fairfax County. More information can be found on their website.

NVHC was a founding member of Reston Interfaith in 1970, and over 50 years later, we continue today to support and partner with Cornerstones in its social services mission.  Andy Lacher serves as NVHC’s representative to Cornerstones. In his role as NVHC representative, Andy works with the SAC to strengthen our congregation’s commitment to serving people in need and advocating for social justice.

Ways we help Cornerstones:

• During the High Holy Days, we hold a food drive and donate food to Cornerstones’ food pantry.
• Every winter we cook and serve ten or more dinners for the Cornerstones’ Hypothermia Shelter.
• We cook and serve dinner two to three times a year for the 100 adults and children at the Cornerstones’ Embry Rucker Shelter.
• We collect coats for the Cornerstones’ winter coat drive.
• Our religious school students have made bedtime snack bags for the children living at the Embry Rucker shelter and bag lunches for the shelter residents.
• We also support Cornerstones in other ways each year as needs arise.
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Do you want to help out on your own or with your family? Volunteer Opportunities are available at Cornerstones for individuals of all ages.

Cornerstones also has many volunteer activities for youth. More information: Embry Rucker Shelter Bagged Meal Guidelines 2018 and Embry Rucker Shelter Bedtime Snack Pack Guidelines

Did you know that hundreds of kids in Fairfax County go home from school on Friday without knowing whether they will eat another meal before they return to school Monday morning? NVHC Change is helping to fight food insecurity and fill hungry tummies through the Weekend Snack Bag program.   Using Tikkun Olam funds, we buy food in bulk, which volunteers from Helping Hungry Kids  pack into weekend snack bags for students at eight local elementary schools, including Forest Edge and Clearview.  Our Kehillat Limud students (grades K-7) also donate snacks, and Tamid students (grades 8 – 12) help to pack the bags.

For about 15 years, NVHC Change volunteers have supported Cornerstones’ Hypothermia Shelter by providing dinners for 24 guests and staff at the shelter. Two to three times a month, from December through March, the volunteers shop for, prepare, and deliver home-cooked meals that include a hot entrée, fresh green salad, fresh fruit, bread or rolls, and home-baked  cookies. One congregant shared her experience volunteering with the Hypothermia Shelter:

“When I first signed up to help provide meals for the hypothermia shelter, I was amazed at how many members of NVHC are quietly involved in this endeavor, and how easy it is to participate.  It is a blessing to be able to help others because it makes you appreciative of what you often take for granted.”

If you’d like to help with this program, please contact the ShowClick Here to View Contact Information.

A few times a year, we also prepare and serve meals for 50 to 100 residents at Cornerstones’ Embry Rucker Shelter. If you want to help by preparing the main dish, vegetables, salads, or baked goods (rolls and cookies), let us know and we will notify you about the next meal we plan. We prepare items separately and deliver them to the shelter.  Parent and teen teams are welcome to join us in preparing the food.  Volunteers are also invited to serve the dinner at the shelter, but servers must be 18 or older.  Please contact the ShowClick Here to View Contact Information.

This NVHC tradition has become a significant part of our High Holiday observance. By donating the food that we do not eat on Yom Kippur, Cornerstones is better able to provide for the less fortunate in our community. Grocery bags are distributed on Rosh Hashanah and congregants return the bags, filled with non-perishable groceries, at Yom Kippur services.

Forest Edge Elementary School in Reston participates in a Fairfax County Public School (FCPS) endorsed mentoring program (Mentor Works) for their students. NVHC members volunteer 30 minutes once a week to mentor a student during the student’s lunch time.

What is expected of you?

• A weekly commitment to meet with the same student at the elementary school for 30 minutes
• Attend a training session for mentors at the beginning of the school year
• Background screening (including fingerprinting) will be performed by FCPS.

If you have further questions about these programs or would like to mentor a student at FEES, please contact the Social Action Chair ShowClick Here to View Contact Information.

NVHC is a member of the Faith Alliance for Climate Solutions. (FACS), a nonpartisan, nonprofit, interfaith organization (with over 70 local faith organization participants) that focuses on developing local solutions to climate and environmental issues. We used Tikkun Olam Campaign Funds to join FACS, not NVHC operating funds. FACS members suggest issues and programs for the organization to consider, and representatives of member congregations meet annually to adopt policy and program goals for the coming year. Ken Gubin is our representative to FACS; ShowClick Here to View Contact Information if you have any questions or comments, or if you would like to get involved.

A few years ago NVHC hosted a non-partisan forum organized by local environmental groups, including FACS, for all local Board of Supervisor Candidates focusing on the candidates’ positions on environmental issues. We also hosted the FACS Sustainability Awards, which honor individuals who’ve made contributions ton environmental issues locally. Students from Madison High School, including a young member of NVHC, were honored for helping persuade the School Board to push for the installation of solar panels on Fairfax public schools.

NVHC is a member institution of Virginians Organized for Interfaith Community Engagement (VOICE). VOICE is a multi-faith, non-partisan citizens’ organization which acts on issues that affect the most vulnerable families and communities in Northern Virginia. An important part of our Social Action mission, VOICE aims to close equality gaps and hold public officials and other policy-makers accountable to the populations they serve. Through community organizing, VOICE has helped us to consolidate our power with other faith based organizations and affect real social change in Fairfax County and beyond. More information on VOICE can be found on their website.

NVHC has been well represented in the annual VOICE actions in pre-pandemic years.   Over 65 congregants have joined 1,400 other VOICE members from 55 + institutions throughout Northern Virginia, including in one “action” where Governor Northam and Attorney General Herring committed to working with VOICE to reform the Virginia cash bail system, decrease mass incarceration, and prioritize funding for mental health in schools, among other issues.

NVHC congregants also get involved every election year with the non-partisan Get Out The Vote (GOTV) effort. These GOTV efforts are important to increase voter turn out in typically low turn out precincts in Fairfax, Loudon, and Prince William Counties.

NVHC has welcomed Afghan and Ukrainian families to the Northern Virginia community.

NoVA Raft (Resettling Afghan Families Together) connected NVHC to a multigenerational family of Afghan refugees in December 2021.  We have helped the family settle into their three new homes in Northern Virginia. Our work included helping the family to obtain identity documents, register for benefits, enroll in plans for medical and dental care, register for school and ESL classes, set up wi-fi, and find jobs. In addition, the SAC requested donations and our community gave vans and truckloads of beautiful new and gently used household items, furniture, and gift cards.

Through HIAS,  we are also helping two families from Ukraine settle into a new home in the community.   We are providing similar support to these families, with a focus on helping the family members find employment and learn English.  We have also donated household items and gift cards to the family.

The Racial Justice Team engages with NVHC members and the broader community to promote racial justice and equity.   The Racial Justice Team helps identify specific areas for understanding and action through study, internal conversation, advocacy, and partnership with outside organizations.

NVHC holds an annual Juneteenth event (usually held before Juneteenth).

Jewish teaching commands us to work toward a sustainable future for every living being by living out the values of tikkun olam (repairing the world), tzedek (justice), derekh eretz (civility and humanity), and chesed (mercy and kindness), among others. To support NVHC’s commitment to such values and work towards a sustainable future, the NVHC Green Team has the purpose of identifying and implementing specific solutions to reduce NVHC’s carbon footprint, enhance sustainability, and educate congregants of all ages on what they can do to reduce their individual carbon footprint.  Interested in learning how you can save energy at home?  Check out the Green Team’s Practical Tips Here,  

Green Team members serve as ambassadors, promoting sustainable initiatives and solutions throughout congregational life. The Green Team does not lead external advocacy efforts, but coordinates initiatives with the Social Action Committee and any of the organizations that NVHC works with (for example, Faith Alliance for Climate Solutions)  We have joined the Fairfax County Adopt-A-Highway Program, adopting part of Wiehle Ave.

Read the NVHC Green Team Charter and contact ShowClick Here to View Contact Information if you would like to get involved.

Through the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism (the RAC) , our members have participated in non-partisan postcard writing campaigns to “Get Out the Vote” in primary and general elections.  We have also done non-partisan work to register voters, serve as poll workers, and drive voters to the polls.  We are a partner of the Jewish Partnership for Democracy, a network of Jewish institutions committed to protecting and strengthening American democracy.

We support patients at a local women’s health care center by making comfort care packages and also provide baked goods for the health care staff.  We are exploring other ways to get involved with this important cause.

We represented NVHC at the first annual Reston Pride Event in June 2018 and have continued to co-sponsor this annual event each year, welcoming and greeting participants in this annual Pride event at Lake Anne Plaza.

We engage with the NVHC community and beyond to help combat societal inequities, discrimination, and stereotypes faced by members of the disability community through education, advocacy, and service

Through our interfaith partnerships, the Social Action Committee helps us create and nurture relationships with people of other faiths and with other congregations throughout the region.

• We greet and welcome our Muslim neighbors when they come to pray at NVHC for their Friday prayers (see side bar on the right for more information on how you can participate). We have also held joint classes on Islam and Judaism in the past.
• In prior years, we held an Interfaith Dialogue Group that met regularly with our neighbor, St. Thomas à Becket Catholic Church. Members of NVHC and St. Thomas à Becket engaged in an ongoing discussion about our respective faiths.
• We engage in other interfaith activities and events.

We support our Religious School students with social action projects including a rice and bean packing to support those with food insecurity, writing non-partisan postcards to Get Out The Vote during the November elections, packing lunch bags for the residents of  Cornerstones’ shelter, and making fleece blankets for Project Linus.