Alexandria Women for Good

In 2024, *Move2Learn celebrated 15 years of bringing brain-boosting movement to students across Alexandria's K12 Public Schools.

Move2Learn was founded to deliver a very important and specific mission—to integrate movement into school culture, transforming how students engage with learning. By integrating creative and sustainable movement practices and programs into the school day, Move2Learn enhances academic performance and empowers all students to achieve long-term success.

Our work takes place both inside ACPS classrooms (active seating, stationary bikes, educational toolkits) and outside (25 movement clubs).

“When was the last time you sat still for 7 hours and felt amazing?” Exactly… Now imagine being 10—and told that’s the only way to learn. Meanwhile, classroom disruptions are up 56%, students are not engaged, and teachers are burning out.

Move2Learn flips that “conventional wisdom” script. We all know the status quo: Heads down. Eyes forward. Butts in seats. But what if that’s the problem? What if, to truly learn more— to feel better, stay focused and stay engaged—students need to be in their seats less?

Our brains don’t work well when we’re stuck sitting still. So if we want students to succeed, and make teaching easier, it’s time to build movement into the entire school day.

At Move2Learn, students and teachers experience (yes, literally) simple movements and science-backed strategies to tackle the biggest school-day challenges – Behavior, Attendance, Academics and Mental Health. We have the stats that show our success. No fluff. No fads. No superhero cape required!

Movement isn’t a distraction—it’s the missing link for students to feel better and do better. Let’s unlock it so even more ACPS students and teachers experience joy and success in the school day.

Thank you for the consideration!

*Move2Learn is an award-winning nonprofit based in Alexandria, VA. Our innovative direct support programming brings movement into every school day. On any given day, close to a third of Alexandria public school students and teachers benefit from our programming. Everything we do comes at no cost to students; everything takes place at students' schools, so there is no transportation barrier. We provide all student essentials, including shoes, socks, sports bras, and sports hijabs, for free. The list could go on and on.

This is a cause near and dear to me as a woman in technology.

Rosie Riveters works to close the gaps in today’s workforce by increasing participation in STEM, fostering critical thinking and problem-solving skills to develop the innovators of tomorrow.

Rosie Riveters empowers students to develop critical thinking skills, build self-confidence, and explore the endless possibilities within STEM. Through hands-on activities, engaging challenges, and mentorship, their programs are designed to spark curiosity and inspire the next generation of innovators.

Hi everyone-

I'm back and nominating Together We Bake, a non-profit which is very important to me and others in the Alexandria community.

Hear it directly from Tricia Allen, Together We Bake's Executive Director and now member of Alexandria Women for Good.

Five years ago, Shekira graduated from Together We Bake.

She completed the training.

She earned her certification.

She showed up for herself every day with courage and determination.

And recently, she shared:

“I’m still only making $16 an hour. I’m working hard… but it’s not where I thought I’d be.”

She wasn’t ashamed of her effort. She was frustrated by the barriers.

Despite her skills, her growth, and her belief in herself, she’s still navigating a workforce that recognizes her past, not where she is today.

She is not alone.

At Together We Bake, we’ve seen this pattern again and again: women complete our program ready to work, confident, certified, and capable.

And then they hit the wall:

· Jobs that don’t pay a living wage

· Schedules that don’t accommodate childcare

· Background checks that don’t account for growth

· And systems—like the benefits cliff—that punish women for making progress

Our training is essential, but we need to do more.

Since 2012, Together We Bake (TWB) has collaborated with women to recognize, demonstrate, and actualize the strength, talent, and confidence they already have within themselves. We believe that every woman possesses the power to transform her life, and we know that employment is a key pathway to that transformation.

Our focus is on supporting women facing barriers to employment who are motivated to transform their lives. Through our innovative social enterprise, we prepare program participants for quality jobs that offer employment and pathways to opportunity, growth, and family-sustaining wages.

With shrinking grant support for services to address entry into employment, in 2025 Together We Bake would like to launch the Workforce Readiness Job Fair —an initiative designed to amplify the skills and aspirations of women in our program by connecting them with real opportunities to thrive. We know confidence, credentials, and connections are key to long-term success.

If successful, the goal would be to hold the Workforce Readiness Job Fair twice a year.

We plan to launch a high-impact career readiness series culminating in job and training fairs featuring:

· Up to 8 employers from industries that are hiring (and support fair chance principles)

· With 3 postsecondary or credentialing programs aligned with our mission

· 20–30 women (for each fair), current participants and alums who are ready to take the next step in their career journeys

This is more than a job fair. It’s an investment in possibilities and a celebration of the courage and capacity of the women who power Together We Bake. It’s also a chance for employers and educators to meet—and be inspired by—the next wave of change makers in our Alexandria community.

Tricia will be sharing about this again when presenting at the meeting for nominees.

Hello! I would like to nominate Community Lodgings for this cycle's AWFG grant.

I have had the privilege of seeing first-hand just how transformational this organization is, as both a volunteer and as a close partner since 2018.

As you may already know, the Arlandria/Chirilagua community has the highest concentration of poverty in our City. Hard-working families face incredibly high rents in Alexandria, language and other barriers to education and fulfillment, and difficulty covering their basic needs. Community Lodgings provides wrap-around support -- including after school/summer care and tutoring, connection to healthcare, meals through Capital Area Food Bank and others, and so much more -- for over 140 families in Chirilagua, and affordable, high-quality housing for 45 families. They truly know and understand every person, every household in their care and they work tirelessly to ensure that their needs - whatever they may be - are met.

An example of this impact at work - in 2018 I met an amazing fourth-grade girl through her involvement in Spitfire Club. She was clearly bright and going places - and Community Lodgings saw it too. Her family has resided in one of their properties for about a decade, and this girl has grown through their after-school and summer youth programming her entire childhood. She is one of many for whom this community truly is her extended family.

This girl is about to start her Junior year at ACHS and she is THRIVING. She serves on ACT for Alexandria's prestigious Youth Council and she is also an advocate in Mayor Gaskin's Alexandria City Youth Forum. I'm super proud of her, but she's not an isolated case. There are so many other amazing young people being supported and guided through Community Lodgings' programs -- youth who would otherwise be incredibly vulnerable without their care and attention.

I've been watching Community Lodgings' plans to build new affordable housing grow and I am very excited that they will increase their housing capacity from 45 families to over 100 families in Chirilagua -- and I'm also excited about what this means for all of the other critical supports that they provide as part of their mission!

Building new affordable housing is incredibly expensive (and one of the single-most impactful investments in Alexandria's residents), and demand for their other services will increase as their housing capacity does, as well. It's a critical time in their journey and Alexandria Women for Good is a catalytic force that could help make it happen. Thank you for your consideration of this cause!

It's officially been a year since UpCycle's first nomination for a grant from Alexandria Women For Good. I continue to nominate this unique nonprofit within our community because I'm passionate about our mission to inspire all people to explore and create by engaging our community in art-making experiences with reuse materials. I also feel that UpCycle marries two unique areas of our community - art and sustainability. When I think about what makes Alexandria unique, the first thing that comes to mind is the arts and the second thing is our focus on eco-friendly initiatives and sustainability. I hope 5th times a charm for UpCycle!

UpCycle Creative Reuse Center is Northern Virginia’s first creativity center fueled completely by donated reuse materials and is the closest to DC (next closest is Manassas then Leesburg). Dedicated to diverting these materials from the waste stream, UpCycle offers them for low-cost purchase to artists, makers, and creatives, and supports arts in the community through their diverse programming initiatives. Last year, we received our most donations ever diverting over 50,500 pounds of materials from the waste stream!

UpCycle's mission to connect conservation with creativity brings people from all backgrounds and levels of ability together. By repurposing discarded materials for creative use, they not only teach sustainability but also encourage participants to see the value in all things - an important metaphor for recognizing the inherent worth and potential in every individual.

UpCycle strives to provide programming and a retail experience that is inclusive and equitable for people of all ages, backgrounds and abilities. One of our current teachers recently received a Master’s in Art Therapy in 2023. UpCycle would like to establish a suite of Art Therapy programming that would cater to a wide audience including: special needs children and adults, teenagers, parental support groups, and seniors.

Art Therapy workshops at UpCycle would involve using recycled and unique materials to facilitate free expression and communication of ideas, thoughts, and emotions with complete positive regard in a supportive and encouraging environment. A leading theme will be mindfulness, introspection, and recognition and control of emotions.

A quote from our teacher: "I have experience teaching both children and adults with Autism, developmental delays such as Down Syndrome, and physical handicaps. I would LOVE the opportunity to run groups for children with special needs as well as parental support groups. I would also love to host adolescent and teen groups as well as adult workshops. My passion is for working with adolescents and teens in the community and supporting their emotional regulation and autonomy through art in a non-judgmental and neurodiversity affirming environment."

The cost of these workshops that UpCycle would like to make free or available at a reduced cost to our community would be $700/month for one off workshops. Below are example ideas for the Art Therapy workshops:

• Mindful Neurographic Art and/or Zentangles
• Yarn “painting”
• Paper Quilling Picture frames
• Mosaic Mandalas
• Inside self-portraits
• Heart maps
• Squeegee painting
• Collages/vision boards
• Touchstones
• Intuitive/automatic drawing

We began piloting art therapy workshops in March. We held a Neurographic Drawing workshop which is a mindfulness practice where drawing repetitive lines and filling in gaps, as well as watercolor painting, can provide relaxation and focus. One person shared that they loved the social aspect of talking to other participants while drawing, which is a feature of a simple but relaxing craft like neurographic drawing (as opposed to other more in depth crafts where participants may be more focused on learning the skill).

Thanks to our community and staff, UpCycle has grown immensely in the last year. Due to all of the amazing growth, I’m excited to share that UpCycle is moving this summer. We will be moving to a larger location that will be able to support our growth and will be ADA accessible.

This move does not come without additional expenses though. We will need to do a build out and design in the interior as well as restructure the front door to create a wider entrance. We just received a quote for this and it will be around $18,000.

If awarded this grant, UpCycle will use the funds to establish art therapy programming in our new space and utilize any leftover funding to support this move. UpCycle would like to thank the members of Alexandria’s Women for Good chapter for their thoughtful consideration of this nomination. Learn more about UpCycle’s impact on our community.