Dulles Chamber Leads Effort to Help Nutrition of Border Children

The Dulles Regional Chamber is partnering with a Texas chamber to provide nourishment to thousands of dehydrated immigrant children.

The Dulles Regional Chamber is asking the community to help support fundraising efforts to purchase Pedialyte for these border children.

“This is an opportunity to put politics aside and help children in need,” said Eileen Curtis, President and CEO of the Dulles Regional Chamber, in a news release. “As a chamber, our commitment to serving others reaches not just to our own community, but also to national and international causes of merit.”

The chamber is accepting donations, which it will forward to the McAllen, Texas Chamber for the purchase of Pedialyte. Each case of the electrolyte drink costs $72 and will feed 64 children.

A report by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection indicates more than 50,000 unaccompanied youth have crossed the border in the last nine months, with roughly 42,000 coming through the Rio Grande Sector, where McAllen is the second largest city.

According to McAllen Chamber President Steve Ahlenius, who provided Curtis with a first-hand account of the situation, the children range from 18-months to 17-years-old and have been wearing the same clothes for several weeks. The journey to the U.S. border leaves them dehydrated and often unable to keep food down.

A recent article by NBC News indicates the Rio Grande Sector saw an average of more than 300 children a day cross the border during the last three weeks of June.

“The sick and malnourished condition of the children coming across our border ought to move us to compassion regardless of our views on immigration,” Curtis said. “The Dulles Chamber is proud to be a partner in an effort that will directly affect the health and wellness of so many children for the better.”

Volkswagen Group of America, a long-time Dulles Regional Chamber member and benefactor, has donated $1,200 to the cause, enough to meet the needs of 1,000 children.

“When the Dulles Regional Chamber of Commerce came to us with a request to help children suffering from dehydration, the Charitable Contributions Committee saw this as a humanitarian need and responded,” said Anna-Maria Schneider, Vice President of Industry and Government Relations for Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. “Our philanthropic work is meant to help underserved communities, and the money will be used to buy Pedialyte and basic nutritional needs for these children.  It was a unanimous decision.”

Contributions are being accepted through a special Aircharity donation portal, a custom-built fundraising platform hosted by MainStreet Bank, another chamber member who has stepped up to assist this effort by waiving all fees for donations received through credit card or electronic check, ensuring that 100 percent of donations go directly to the border children.

Click here to donate today.

Local Assistance for Border Children

In addition to the chamber’s partnership with the McAllen Chamber, the Dulles Regional Chamber’s Hispanic Business Council is championing a local effort to provide assistance to border children.

On Wednesday, July 23, the council held a special happy hour to accept monetary and clothing donations for immigrant children. The donations will be turned over to Youth for Tomorrow, a Northern Virginia non-profit that provides a home to at-risk children.

The council is encouraging residents and businesses to continue donations to the organization. Monetary donations may be made through the Youth for Tomorrow website.

The following is a list of needed items: new clothing and underwear for children age 7-17 years old, white towels, twin size blankets, twin sheets, twin bedspreads, new pillows, and personal hygiene products including shampoo, conditioner, soap, hand soap, lotion, deodorant, hair brushes, tooth paste, toothbrushes.

These items may be dropped off at one of the following locations (location information courtesy of the Virginia Coalition of Latino Organizations [VACOLAO]):

B-thrifty

13412 Jefferson Davis Hwy, Woodbridge, VA 22191

(Please take donations to the back door)

Monday through Saturday 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.

Sunday 11:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.

Hispanos Unidos de Virginia

1402  Shepard Drive, # 101, Sterling, VA 20164

Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday 1:00 – 6:00 p.m.

Centreville Chiropractic Center

13880 Braddock Road, Suite 108, Centreville, VA 20121

Monday through Thursday 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. and 2:00 p.m. - 6:30 p.m.

Friday 10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.