SEEKING DONATIONS
FOR THE
The weather has turned cold and donations to the annual coat drive for Head Start and Pre-Kindergarten students have been unexpectedly slow this year. New coats for boys and girls are needed in sizes 4T, 5, 6, 6x, 7 and 8. The sizes most needed are 5 and 6 for boys and girls and size 8 for boys.
Coats, gift cards, or donations by check may be dropped off or sent to Rocking Horse Road Center, 4910 Macon Road, Room 141, Rockville, MD, 20852. Coats can also be ordered online for delivery to the Rocking Horse Road Center.
For more information, please call Lisa Conlon: 240-740-4530. Thank you very much!
Head Start/Pre-K registration fliers are available for download in English, Spanish, Amharic, Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, French, and Portuguese.
Fliers in English and Spanish direct parents and guardians to one link if they are new to MCPS, and another if they already have a child attending MCPS.
Do you have questions about Head Start? Check out the Common Questions online.
 On November 15, for the first time since 2019, the Montgomery County Community Action Agency’s Annual Contract Partners Meeting was held in-person. This year's meeting was hosted by WorkSource Montgomery at the Wheaton American Jobs Center.
Thirty-one nonprofit organizations provide services through fifty-one County contracts monitored by Community Action staff: Aizat Oladapo, Program Manager, and Melissa E. Ferguson, Program Specialist. Contracted services range from emergency food and clothing to social services and referrals; legal assistance; employment assistance and training; academic support; community engagement and leadership training.
Participants in the meeting represented twenty non-profit organizations and learned about Community Action’s Head Start program; the Takoma-East Silver Spring (TESS) Community Action Center; the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program and the CASHBACK website; and the Community Action Board and its Community Advocacy Institute.
Sharon Strauss, CAA Executive Director, presented updates on projects currently under development, including the forthcoming Community Needs Assessment and the Interactive Self-Sufficiency Standard and the recently established service navigation team (more below).
Anthony Featherstone, Executive Director of WorkSource Montgomery, provided participants with information on WSM’s resources and programs, including a Community Asset Map, the Mobile Job Center, opportunities for youth, and more. Mr. Featherstone is pictured above with CAA staff and contract partners.
The annual contract partners meeting was a great opportunity for contract representatives to connect with WorkSource Montgomery, Community Action staff, and each other. Many participants have been long-term collaborators, and several are new to their organizations and partnership with Community Action. We are grateful that so many partners could attend.
 Community Action partners with WorkSource Montgomery through the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) and Community Action's Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program. Community Action was proud to join in the launch of WorkSource Montgomery's Mobile Job Center earlier this month. Click on the link to request the van for community and non-profit events!
Pictured above are, left to right: Anthony Featherstone, Executive Director of WorkSource Montgomery; Omar Lazo, Workforce Development Board chair; Jewru Bandeh, Director of the East County Regional Services Center; Sharon Strauss, Executive Director of the Montgomery County Community Action Agency; and Barbara Ebel, Labor Exchange Administrator of Workforce Development & Services, Maryland Department of Labor.
 In November the service navigation team responded to two fires. In Rockville the Navigators and TESS responded to a fire on College Parkway, contacting twenty-two displaced families on the day of the fire and assisting them in calling their insurance companies, collecting lost or burned documents, and connecting them with the American Red Cross. Out of the fifty-five people displaced, all but ten were able to return to their homes. The remaining ten people were connected with the Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services, Services to End and Prevent Homelessness to assist with rehousing.
On November 16, while still serving families displaced by the College Parkway fire, the service navigation and staff from the Takoma-East Silver Spring (TESS) Community Action Center responded to the scene of the explosion at Potomac Oaks apartments on Quince Orchard Boulevard in Gaithersburg. Twenty-four households of forty-nine people, ten of whom were children, were displaced. The navigators began connecting with the victims that evening. Five families were temporarily housed and are seeking new permanent homes.
Partners in serving displaced families include the Maryland Housing Partnership, the CARES Hub at Great Seneca Community Church, the Church of the Redeemer in Gaithersburg, the Montgomery County Crisis Center, the City of Gaithersburg, the American Red Cross, and the Tzu Chi Foundation. Pictured above with navigator Paola Lopez are Burton and Shellie Goldstein of HOPE Animal-Assistance Crisis Response (HOPEAACR.org), who brought "The Bear" and "Emma" to a follow-up meeting with displaced families. TESS manager Maureen Larenas-Rivas reported the dogs gave the attending families a moment of relief and happiness amidst a trying time in their lives.
Monica Goldberg, Community Action's new Program Manager for Service Navigation, leads navigators based at Community Action and working on-site with Interfaith Works and Manna Food Center. To date, from January 2022 through Thanksgiving, the Navigation team has responded to eight mass care events, assisting 228 households of 594 people, providing assistance from the point of displacement until they are rehoused.
 In partnership with the Montgomery County Recreation Department, the Takoma-East Silver Spring (TESS) Community Action Center's Senior Social group gathered for a Thanksgiving lunch at the Long Branch Community Center. Ten seniors enjoyed food, dancing, and companionship, as well as a raffle.
Facilitated by TESS staff member Maria Quiroga, the Senior Social group reduces seniors' isolation and connects them to services, such as Groceries to Go.
The Community Action Board (CAB) is excited to welcome Evelyn Okutu as its newest member. Evelyn is no stranger to Community Action. She is a 2022 Community Advocacy Institute (CAI) graduate and is currently serving as a CAI Ambassador. Evelyn is also an active member of the Head Start Parents Policy Council. Evelyn joins the low-income sector of the CAB as a Head Start representative. She holds an MBA in Business Administration and now works as a substitute teacher with MCPS. Evelyn is actively engaged in numerous volunteer activities, recently participating in the Climate Stories Ambassadors program.
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This season's first CAI workshop, Advocacy 101, was held on November 12. State Delegate Pam Queen, County Council President Gabe Albornoz, and County Councilmember-Elect Laurie-Anne Sayles, participated in an informative panel discussion about best practices for working with elected officials. Nicole Rodriguez-Hernandez, a County Council Legislative Analyst, shared an excellent presentation about the County’s legislative and budget processes. The workshop wrapped up with presentations by two CAI graduates, Pamela Taylor and Angela Hughes-Byrd, who spoke about their experience in the program and how they’ve used what they learned to make an impact in the community. The next CAI workshop, focusing on key advocacy issues, will be held on December 3.
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On November 15, CAB Chair Dr. Jeffery Johnson testified at the Montgomery County Joint House and Senate Priorities Hearing. This year, the Board’s state-level priorities include establishing a Community Action Fund, continuing 2Gen funding, making expansions to the Maryland EITC permanent, and addressing concerns about the implementation of the state’s Blueprint Plan. (Read the Board’s full testimony.)
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 Do you want to make a difference in your community?
Give back with the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program!
Community Action VITA is recruiting volunteers to become IRS-certified VITA tax preparers, schedulers, greeters, interpreters, quality reviewers, and site coordinators during the tax season (January – mid-April).
Receive free training (in person or virtual) and have the option of volunteering in Rockville, Silver Spring, Gaithersburg, or Wheaton.
High school students may receive SSL hours by volunteering as greeters or schedulers.
For more information, visit montgomerycountymd.gov/CASHBACK, call 240-777-1123, or send email to VITA@montgomerycountymd.gov
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