HOUSING MISSION ACTIVITIES

Chair:  David Porterfield

Chesterbrook Residences, Inc.
2030 Westmoreland Street, Falls Church, VA 22043
703-531-0781
www.chesterbrookres.org

Chesterbrook Residences opened its doors in November 2007 after 7 years of work by Lewinsville volunteers in partnership with Temple Rodef Shalom and Immanuel Presbyterian Church to make the dream of an affordable assisted living home become a reality. Our volunteers have actively supported Chesterbrook as it has grown over the past two years. Chesterbrook currently has over 80 residents and a full staff. Lewinsville has three members who serve on the Board of Directors. Volunteers help at the front desk, at dinner, and in the gift shop. They play games with the residents and help with crafts. Lewinsville volunteers offer English lessons to the kitchen and housekeeping staff, and others give secretarial help. Our pastors lead worship once a month, assisted by a Lewinsville elder.  

Lewinsville also helps with the Fall Gala/Silent Auction and A Taste of Chesterbrook in the spring, raising money for the Continuing Care Fund so residents who are out of resources will not have to leave. You are invited to join us as a volunteer working with the residents, helping with one of our activities, and by supporting the Fund Raisers.

Primary Contact Person:  Claire Grossi

Homestretch:
370 South Washington Street, Suite 400, Falls Church, VA  22046
703-237-2035
www.homestretch-inc.org

Homestretch is Northern Virginia’s largest transitional housing provider for homeless families with children. It serves over 100 families with over 300 children during the course of a year. Homestretch helps the homeless families become self-sufficient. It leases 46 and owns 18 properties located throughout the Falls Church-Fairfax area, and uses these properties for transitional housing for the families in its program, until they are ready for home ownership.

Primary Contact Person:  David Porterfield

McLean Interfaith Coalition:

McLean Interfaith Coalition was organized in 2001 primarily for the purpose of sponsoring the construction of a home in cooperation with Habitat for Humanity of Northern Virginia (HFHNV). Since that time the Coalition has embarked on three additional projects with HFHNV. The fourth project, Maple Ridge condominiums, began construction in early 2009, with Lewinsville volunteers building one day a month on a Wednesday or Saturday. Lewinsville is one of 11 faith communities in the greater McLean area in the Coalition, which is committed to providing affordable housing for families in Northern Virginia.

Primary Contact Person:  Mary Frase

Rebuilding Together (formerly Christmas in April):
RPJ Housing, 2666 Military Road, Arlington, VA  22207
703-528-5606
www.rpjhousing.org

Rebuilding Together is an event held annually, on the last Saturday of April. Coordinated through RPJ Housing, a group of Lewinsville volunteers makes necessary repairs to homes for the elderly and disabled. These projects may involve both interior and exterior painting, non-structural interior & exterior repairs, handicapped accessibility, and yard work. Both skilled and non-skilled volunteers are important to a typical project.

Primary Contact Person:  David Porterfield

Lewinsville Retirement Residence (LRR):
1515 Great Fall Street, McLean VA 22101
703-442-8660

LRR is a residential retirement facility with supportive services for low and moderate income seniors capable of independent living.  Established by Lewinsville Presbyterian Church in 1975 as a separate not-for-profit corporation, it is the largest mission program ever undertaken by the church. All members of Lewinsville are members of the LRR Corporation and annually elect members of its board.

Approximately 170 individuals reside in LRR’s 161 fully equipped apartments (143 apartments receive Federal Section 8 housing subsidies and 18 others are subsidized by the Fairfax Co. Affordable Dwelling Unit program).   In addition to a large dining room that provides a mandatory dinner meal 365 days a year, the facility has a library, store, beauty/barber shop, clinic for visiting medical professionals, arts & crafts room, computer room, several lounges, laundry facilities, paved pathways and outdoor seating areas, raised bed garden plots for resident use, and two large community rooms.

Many activities are provided on a weekly, monthly, single time or occasional basis by the LRR staff, the LRR Resident Association, Lewinsville Church and other local churches and schools, and other volunteer groups/individuals.  Lewinsville’s pastors provide a monthly communion service at LRR; the church’s choirs and bell ringers frequently perform for the residents; various church groups provide special activities; and many church members volunteer their talents and services to assist residents. An annual Lewinsville/LRR picnic is organized by church members and each December the church’s youth groups (with funding from the Mission and Service budget) assemble and distribute Christmas Gift Bags to each resident.  The Mission and Service budget also provides funding (1) to help support a modest program that assists a limited number of residents with their costs for the mandatory meals, and (2) a small discretionary fund the LRR Administrator maintains to help individual residents with emergency needs. More>>

Primary Contact Person:  Ruth Thomas

Summer/Winter Mission Projects:

In cooperation with the Christian Education Ministry Group, Lewinsville sends a large group of high school/college age youth and adults each summer to an area in need of home rebuilding and rehabilitation, most often working with Habitat for Humanity International and its affiliates. First begun in June, 1989, these trips serve as an opportunity to do God's work by helping those who are in need of decent affordable housing. In June, 2009, the Lewinsville team traveled to Greensboro, North Carolina. There they participated in a neighborhood beautification project, assisting Habitat homeowners with general maintenance and upkeep on the exterior of their homes. In 2008, the team spent a week assisting New Orleans Habitat for Humanity with the ongoing rebuilding efforts from Hurricane Katrina. In 2007, the team went to Waxhaw, North Carolina where they worked with Homes for our Troops-a non-profit, non-partisan organization which helps those who have selflessly given to their country and have returned home with serious disabilities and injuries. More>>

Primary Contact Person:  Linda Bender

Updated September 5, 2009