Volunteer Fairfax History

Volunteer Fairfax has come a long way from its humble beginnings in 1974.

In just over 40 years, the programs of this volunteer powerhouse expanded substantially to support the needs of a dynamic community.

In 1976-77, Volunteer Fairfax, then known as the Voluntary Action Center of Fairfax County (VAC), referred 211 volunteers to worthy causes in support of the greater Fairfax County community.

Fast forward to 2018, Volunteer Fairfax engaged nearly 16,000 volunteers who donated more than 43,000 hours serving more than 600 nonprofits and public agencies, a value of over $1 million dollars added to the community.

Services and programs offered during the first 10 years of the VAC included directly connecting volunteers to public agencies and nonprofits; attorney and/or court-referred opportunities via our Alternative Community Service program; Seniors in Action and a youth volunteer program. Two staff members worked with a handful of office volunteers and the board of directors.

Volunteer Fairfax now has a budget of 1.2 million dollars, a staff of 14, supported by eight administrative volunteers and an actively engaged 11-member board of directors. Volunteer Fairfax encompasses programs that involve all ages and demographics of the community.

The VAC Becomes Volunteer Fairfax

In 1992, the focus of the VAC began to change and the center was renamed Volunteer Fairfax. The direct connection of volunteers was altered to an electronic process in order to accommodate the increase in volunteers seeking ways to serve. A youth volunteer directory was developed which is still prepared each year students looking for service opportunities.

In 1993, Volunteer Fairfax instituted the Fairfax County Volunteer Service Awards to showcase the vital role volunteerism plays in the community. In its first year, 350 people attended this County-wide event. Since its inception over 3,000 individuals, groups and corporations have been recognized for their volunteer efforts. Today, more than 450 community and business leaders honor over 150 nominees annually, making it the largest volunteer recognition event in Fairfax County.

Program Growth

In 1995, the first VolunteerFest was held in celebration of National Make a Difference Day. This annual county-wide day of volunteerism offers residents of all ages the opportunity to help their community and helps nonprofits accomplish tasks that they would not have the time or resources to do on their own. That year was also the beginning of Volunteers for Change (VFC) (originally called The Change Gang). VFC offers busy individuals a chance to get involved in their community by offering convenient evening and weekend volunteer opportunities that do not require long term commitments since the beginning of this program. VFC volunteers have contributed over 100,000 hours of service to our community.

In 1998, a premium membership program was established at Volunteer Fairfax offering nonprofit and public sector members an additional level of benefits and services. A nonprofit training series and the corporate sponsorship program were also added that year.

In 2001, Volunteer Fairfax introduced the BusinessLink program was introduced offering businesses of all sizes customized employee service engagement at sites in Northern Virginia and throughout the Greater Washington DC metro region. Engagements range from 10-800 employees serving in the community on one-day to multi-year engagements that have leverage a company’s skills and passions to impact those in need. As a Points of Light affiliate, Volunteer Fairfax leverages these same skills to provide corporate activation services.

Since the early 2000’s, Volunteer Fairfax serves as the designated lead agency for recruitment and deployment of affiliated and spontaneous volunteers as well as the management of spontaneous volunteers during an emergency in Fairfax County. Emergency Response activations include Hurricane Isabel, Derecho, Winter Storm Jonas and most recently the Centreville fires in May 2018.

In 2010, Volunteer Fairfax created Give Together: A Family Volunteer Day held on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, gathering families with elementary school-aged children to work on service projects that support local charitable efforts. Annually the event grows allowing more seeds of volunteerism to be sowed.

Since 2011, Volunteer Fairfax has twice been selected as one of the best small nonprofits in the metro region by the Catalogue of Philanthropy.

In 2012, Volunteer Fairfax was awarded a Corporation for National and Community Service grant to manage the Retired Senior Volunteer Program - Northern Virginia (RSVP - Northern Virginia) and joined, in a partnership with Volunteer Arlington and Volunteer Alexandria, to support the region’s largest volunteer group for those ages 55 and better. This grant was renewed for another three year term in 2018. RSVP-Northern Virginia is headquartered at Volunteer Fairfax.

In 2015, Volunteer Fairfax supported recruitment of 6,000 volunteers for Fairfax 2015 World Police and Fire Games.

In 2016, Volunteer Fairfax provided project management services to the Points of Light commemoration of the 15th anniversary of 9/11 with a Volunteer Service Fair.

Volunteer Fairfax Today

Today, Volunteer Fairfax continues to find new and innovative ways to expand and support the volunteer community in Fairfax County by offering a variety of programs and services including:

Looking to the future

As Volunteer Fairfax looks to the future, we are upgrading our website thanks to a major grant from the Philip L. Graham Fund.

In late 2018, Volunteer Fairfax will relocate our headquarters to the modernized Burkholder Center, adjacent to the Fairfax Judicial Complex in the heart of Fairfax.

With our enhanced presence, both online and in person, we look forward to continuing to inspire and connect even more volunteers of all ages to help make our community a better place to live.