Started 20 years ago by the Society for Black Students on the Manassas campus, the annual Senior Citizens Holiday Celebration began with only six seniors in attendance. But this year there will be 150 seniors, with the list for the luncheon full to the brim two days after registration began on Nov. 8. Often, many of the seniors try to register for the luncheon in August because it is so popular.

Each year for the past three years, NOVA has teamed up with Home Instead Senior Care to bring warmth and joy to financially challenged and lonely seniors in the Prince William County area. Students, faculty and staff participate by stopping by the Christmas tree at the Howsman Building or the wreath at Innovation Park at the Manassas campus, picking up an ornament with a preferred gift listed by a senior, purchase the gift, and then returning it to the Provost’s office of the campus.
This year so far 75 gifts …

The B2P is one of a long list of useful items that can be made from recycled water bottles, including car bumpers, life jackets, rope, t-shirts, carpet, the ever-present yet undeniably handy reusable shopping bag, and even lumber for homes and decks.

Of the 38 percent of the population eligible to give blood, only 5 percent do so, according to the INOVA Blood Donor Services fact sheet. That leaves a huge gap between the number of people who need blood, and the number of people donating it. Does this mean we should demand that those 5 percent go out and give blood over and over until creating a legion of blood-deprived walking dead? No, it doesn’t.

For those of us who love the crunch of fallen leaves underfoot and the whisper of cold weather to come as the air turns crisp, now is the time to get out and find fall-themed activities to enjoy with a cup of hot apple cider in hand. There are many such attractions in the Northern Virginia area, one of which I was able to attend and report on, which was the Pumpkin Playground in Burke.