National Fatherhood Initiative's Military Fatherhood Award™ annually recognizes a father who goes above and beyond his duties as both serviceman and dad to make sure he and his family stay connected and strong. Your dad, or a military dad you know, could win this award!

Nomination Information:  http://www.fatherhood.org/military-fatherhood-award

"Everybody can be great,

Thousands of service projects took place across the country in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service, Jan. 16. Communities across the U.S. declared themselves "drum majors for service" by delivering meals, refurbishing schools, reading to children, and much more. In Virginia, service projects and special events were held in every part of the state and included efforts concerning education, the environment, children's issues, and mentoring.

See photos of AmeriCorps MLK Day events held in Virginia.

Virginia AmeriCorps MLK Day Service Projects

Arlington County Public Schools - Arlington Works!
Two AmeriCorps Programs -- Arlington Works! and the Literacy Council of Northern Virginia -- provided services to A-SPAN (Arlington Street People’s Assistance Network) through a deep cleaning service at Arlington's Emergency Winter Shelter.

City of Richmond - ACES (Action for Community Enhancement Services)
Registered through Hands On Greater Richmond to help Homeward prepare for the Winter Point-in-Time count, members prepared survey kits for volunteers to collect data during the event and organize care packages to be distributed to the homeless population.

Virginia Commonwealth University - AmeriCorps and America Reads
The VCU AmeriCorps Program collaborated with 2nd Presbyterian Church to host a MLK Day Celebration. The church hosted a celebration service for community members that included individuals that utilize the weekly soup kitchen. After the service, soup kitchen users were treated to a special homestyle meal of fried chicken, green beans, and potatoes served by VCU AmeriCorps members and community volunteers. In addition to a hot meal, the soup kitchen guests also received toiletry items that were collected by AmeriCorps members prior to the event.

Occupational Enterprises, Inc. - AmeriCorps Community Care
Community Care members brought MLK awareness to Lee County school children with activities expressing the importance of MLK Day. In other areas of Southwest Virginia, members made substance abuse awareness presentations to middle school students.

DCR Division of State Parks - AmeriCorps Interpretive Project
Through service with park maintenance projects, new and returning volunteers provided much-needed help and enjoyment of the day in some of Virginia's most beautiful parks. In District 6, parks hosted a booth at the Heartwood Artisan Center featuring the AmeriCorps Interpretive Project. Members also presented a Virginia State Parks radio program solely dedicated to MLK day which was broadcast live on WSVS 800 AM from Crewe and streamed over the internet at WSVS AM.com. Virginia State Parks staff were interviewed discussing the Virginia State Parks 2012 AmeriCorps project and the commitment to community outreach efforts such as MLK Day.

Charlottesville Abundant Life Ministries, Inc. - CALM AmeriCorps
AmeriCorps leaders and volunteers led children through the Prospect neighborhood picking up trash and tidying yards. AmeriCorps members and community volunteers led children in craft projects making banners, noise makers and lanterns for a march through the neighborhood.

Carroll County Public Schools - Carroll County Public Schools--Reading for Life
AmeriCorps members and community volunteers performed clean-up and painting projects, as well as weather stripping, at the Galax Veterans of Foreign Wars Post #7568.

Alexandria Department of Human Services - ChildThrive!
A MLK Youth Summit was held at the Nannie J. Lee Memorial Recreation Center with activities such as a youth job fair, oratory competition, cooking for a purpose, dance and poetry for a purpose, and service projects. Members also collected food, clothing and personal products for homeless individuals and families in Alexandria and Washington, D.C. The children of Brent Place also presented a MLK Day Celebration at Tucker Elementary School. This events was produced in collaboration with Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity.

The Rector and Visitors of the University of Virginia - Virginia College Advising Corps
Members and community volunteers helped Quest Institute move their book warehouse to a larger facility. Members will be helping Quest Institute prepare to expand their literacy program with inmates across the Commonwealth. Also, in a collaborative effort with the Boys and Girls Club and the University of Virginia Batten School of Public Policy, members participated in a two-day event around college planning for 50 students ranging in ages from 9 to 17.

City of Roanoke Libraries - Computer Literacy Program
Members and volunteers served at Ronald McDonald House in Roanoke, cooking and serving food for the parents/families with children in the hospital. Members and volunteers also assisted with general clean-up of the house and other activities.

Literacy Council of Northern Virginia - ESOL and Family Learning Programs
Two AmeriCorps programs -- Arlington Works! and the Literacy Council of Northern Virginia -- provided services to A-SPAN (Arlington Street People's Assistance Network) through a deep cleaning service at Arlington's Emergency Winter Shelter.

Greenbrier Learning Center - Learning Links
Greenbrier Learning Center’s staff and AmeriCorps team participated in a community service project coordinated by Greater DC Cares. The project took place at Glen Echo Park in Maryland to clean/reorganize a site of the Living Classrooms Foundation.

Mountain Empire Community College - MECC AmeriCorps
Community members participated and helped with a free dinner at the First Church of God in Wise. Members and volunteers also were part of a candlelight march from the church through downtown Wise. Northrop Grumman  provided sponsorship for the event. Members also participated in a food drive for local food banks.

New River Community Action - NRCA AmeriCorps
Members assisted three soup kitchens with cooking, serving, and delivering meals in the New River Valley. In Giles County, members prepared a feast with food and entertainment at the Senior Center.

Alternatives, Inc. - PASS (Peninsula AmeriCorps Serve and Support)
Members attended workshops and viewed films, as well as led discussions in order to give teens a chance to talk about racism, homophobia, cliques, and other issues effecting our lives. Through the "Awareness into Action" service project, members took their message to the street.

Pathways, Inc. - Pathways AmeriCorps
Members were out in force in Petersburg with a variety of community revitalization efforts as well as spreading the message of unity championed by Dr. King. Members conducted a vacant lot clean up, accepted and processed clothing and household item donations for community members, and  visited elderly community members and sick children.

Community Housing Partners Corporation - Project RISE!
Project RISE! members partnered with Beans and Rice to host a service project for MLK Day. Pulaski Middle School students and other volunteers gathered to serve 10 local organizations helping with a variety of service projects. Members also partnered with the Boys and Girls Club of Yorktown and the Volunteer Center of the Peninsula participating in various mini-service projects stationed at various tables at a special event featuring guest speakers Miss Virginia and Miss Teen Virginia.

Ms. Wheelchair Virginia - Serving Virginians with Disabilities
Members and volunteers cleared ground for a community rest stop along the Roanoke River, inviting travelers along the river a place to rest and revitalize their spiritual and recreational journey.

Beans and Rice, Inc. - Beans and Rice, Inc. – U Serv
Beans and Rice members partnered with Project RISE! to host a service project for MLK Day. Pulaski Middle School students and other volunteers gathered to serve 10 local organizations helping with a variety of service projects.

Virginia Department of Veterans Services - Virginia Veterans Corps
Members assisted Catholic Charities who provide various services to grandparents that are legal guardians for their grandchildren.

Visit http://www.vaservice.org/go/volunteer/award/ to download the nomination form or submit an online nomination through the Web site. The nomination period ends at 5:00 p.m. on Monday, February 6, 2012. The awards ceremony will be held during the month of April.

Please share this message with appropriate constituents, partners and colleagues.

The awardee will receive a $5,000 scholarship to an institution of higher education provided through generous donations by SKANSKA, MeadWestvaco, and NewMarket. Other winners are an option and will be announced by the panel of judges. The winning essay will be selected and announced by a panel of judges who have degrees in or work in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) fields. This essay contest is being supported by the Science Museum of Virginia Foundation. Awards will be presented at the 2012 Annual Up & Atom Women’s Leadership Breakfast on May 16, 2012 at the Science Museum of Virginia.
 

To enter, young women should be in their junior or senior year in high school and hold at least a 2.5 GPA. Entries should follow the guidelines and be submitted via e-mail (council.women@dss.virginia.gov). The deadline for entries is 3 p.m. on February 20, 2012. Any entries received after that time will not be considered.
 

Essay Guidelines
 

• Write about your vision for a future STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) career and why you are considering the field for an area of study or possible career path. 
• Write an original 700 to 1,000-word essay created exclusively for the 2012 VCSW Essay Contest. 
• Essays should be written using your word processor of choice and written in English. The minimum font to be accepted is 12 point. 
• Do NOT put your name, school name or any other personal information in the body of your essay. Enter your name and other personal information only on the designated areas of the form or in the designated fields in the online Official Entry Form. Include the word count at the end of your essay. 
• Be sure to attribute quotes and any ideas that are not your own within the body of the essay. Do not use footnotes or endnotes. Your essay must include a bibliography of your source material. Do not include the bibliography in your word count. Essays are carefully reviewed by multiple judges and checked for plagiarism. 
• Proofread your essay carefully. Your essay will be judged topic content, creativity, spelling, punctuation and grammar. Do not include illustrations, graphics, or diagrams. 
• Fill out the Official Entry Form completely. Incomplete entry forms will not be accepted. 
• Winners will be notified by April 1, 2012.

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The extension applies to affected organizations filing Forms 990, 990-EZ, 990-PF, or 1120-POL. Form 990-N filers will not be affected. No form needs to be filed to get the March 30 extension.
In order to avoid receiving a late filing penalty notice, a reasonable cause statement should be attached to the tax return. If organizations receive late-filing penalty notices, they should contact the IRS so that these penalties can be abated. The IRS encouraged these organizations to consider either e-filing early — before the end of December — or waiting until March to file electronically.
 

Further details are in Notice 2012-4, posted today on the IRS.gov website.