Loudoun Cares is dedicated to connecting those who serve with those in need to build a stronger community.
Valerie Pisierra usually sparkles. But when she searches for words to explain why she’s chosen to serve Loudoun Cares as executive director, she gets a little choked up. “When you talk to someone that you’ve been able to help and you hear the relief and gratitude in their voice -- you know it’s important.”
LoudounCares.org supports both an Information & Emergency Assistance Helpline (703-669-4636) to help residents find resources to stay in their homes and keep food on their tables, and a Volunteer Center at http://volunteer.loudouncares.org that matches people looking for ways to serve their community with more than 200 non-profit organizations that couldn’t survive without them. When you visit the site today, you’ll notice a new, giant red banner at the top of the site listing the special COVID-19 needs of non-profits.
Even on a “normal” day, the Helpline, and the network of faith-based charities and organizations that help fill the needs that are called in, serve the county’s most vulnerable population. Sometimes they can find a local or federal program that can help, but more often, as when avoiding a utility shut off or an eviction, Loudoun Cares provides an essential safety net for families that might otherwise fall through the cracks. “We have to work together as a community to somehow coordinate efforts because we can’t rely on one entity to support everybody. That’s just not feasible,” Valerie explains. Her assessment is backed up by the 2,200-2,400 calls the Helpline fields every year.
As she puts it, “Everyone has a story. They were surviving and managing within their means when something happened. Somebody moved in; somebody moved out. Somebody got sick; somebody moved in that was sick that they had to take care of. A car broke down – the stories are never the same and they always make you stop and think, ‘That could happen to any of us.’”
Valerie feels blessed by the generosity of her partners who dip into benevolence funds to not just pay a disconnect fee, but sometimes a family’s whole utility bill. Loudoun Cares’ Volunteer Center, on some level, helps repay this kindness by recruiting volunteers to extend the reach of non-profits into the community, and annually hosts an Outstanding Volunteer Awards event to recognize these selfless servants. As she explains, “If I’m doing well, I want to help people. If I’m ever not doing well, someone will help me. That’s how it all ties together: we all have to look out for each other.” Plus, "if you’re helping other people, it often makes your struggles seem a little bit less.”
As we went to press, Valerie was braced to hear from a flood of families by month’s end who’ve been laid off by extended quarantines, event cancellations and patron size restrictions instituted to slow the spread of the COVID-19 virus. The need is compounded by the fact that church services, and so collections, also were interrupted.
The struggles of families already living on the edge are compounded by any emergency. Through it all, Valerie's own sense of love and gratitude fuels support. She says, "I think we just take for granted how we live a lot of the time. If we weren’t there – that is what scares me. Think of all the people we would let down?”
To help Loudoun Cares and other local non-profits, support GiveChoose.org, a community-wide day of giving on May 5th. Early giving starts April 21. See https://www.givechoose.org/. You can also donate directly on loudouncares.org or buy a ticket to the Business Women of Loudoun's Fashion show in May (see p. X).
