ACTIVISM
Renew, reuse, realize there are so many people in our communities doing good. Let’s recognize them.
By Susan Anspach

Diva (Photography by Hana Jung)

Second-Hand Store
DIVA
116 S. Pitt St., Alexandria; 703-683-1022; www.divaboutiqueva.com

“It’s important to me as a business owner that, in addition to providing great customer service and a unique shopping experience, we use our visibility as a retailer to support community causes [including American Heart Association movement Go Red for Woman, the Susan G. Komen National Race for the Cure and Alexandria’s April Sexual Assault Awareness Month’s Clothesline Project] which could affect our clients, who are primarily women,” says owner Cindy McCartney.

Volunteer Organization
VOLUNTEER FAIRFAX
10530 Page Ave., Fairfax; 703-246-3460; www.volunteerfairfax.org

Administrative assistant Carla Sanchez has been a loyal Volunteer Fairfax participant since spring 2008. “Every month … the VCF manager will email you a calendar full of events—from helping dogs get adopted, playing bingo with the elderly, passing food to the homeless. … Most of the people that I had the chance to meet in the organization are really into what they do, so when you are new they are all about helping you get situated and getting you ready to help others.”

Used CDs/DVDs/Games
CD CELLAR
709 W. Broad St. # B Falls Church; 703-534-6318; www.cdcellar.net

Used Car Dealership
CARMAX
45210 Towlern Place, Sterling; 703-404-4386
10400 Southpoint Parkway, Fredericksburg; 540-710-7781
2350 Research Court, Woodbridge; 703-576-6550; www.carmax.com

Gladys Abi-Najm (Photography by Hana Jung)

Philanthropic Restauranteur
GLADYS ABI-NAJM
Lebanese Taverna; Multiple NoVA locations; www.lebanesetaverna.com

“At the St. Jude’s Gala [in February at the National Building Museum], Gladys was flitting about everywhere like a hummingbird—rubbing elbows with guests, talking to chefs, chatting with volunteers,” food editorial intern Christina Lee recounts. “You could tell she was having a fantastic time supporting a wonderful cause, which made everyone around her feel they were also having a fantastic time supporting a wonderful cause. Her positive attitude was contagious.”

Pro-Bono Worker
JOANNE RANDA
CGG Lawyers; 10201 Fairfax Blvd., Suite 520, Fairfax; 703-934-1480; cgglawoffice.com

On Saturday mornings, CGG Lawyers senior paralegal Joanne Randa volunteers at Legal Services of Northern Virginia’s divorce clinics, screening, interviewing and advising low-income spouses on appropriate legal proceedings for uncontested cases. Come Monday, she takes it a step further. “I can sometimes come back here [CGG’s offices] to say, ‘Look, there’s a very nice man or very nice woman. Can we take their case?’” Randa, who co-chairs the Pro Bono Committee of the Paralegal Association of Northern Virginia, a group that netted close to over 180 hours of legal volunteer work over the past year, was named Pro Bono Paralegal of the Year by the National Federation of Paralegal Associations in October of 2008—but skims past the detail with a whiff of nonchalance. “It just kind of happened,” she says of her contributions. “There are lots of volunteer opportunities for someone with children in school. So you naturally do a lot of those things. But as they get older, you find you do have time and [you’re] not volunteering at school anymore. It made sense to do something that I know about.”