Monthly Village News for October 2026

From Frank...

I had a wonderful time at a Village-related conference in California last week. I was inspired by what I heard from other Village leaders and certainly came away with a laundry list of ideas floating in my head about possible things that we might do in our own Village. Perhaps most notable was hearing from the Pasadena Village Executive Director, Katie, about how they responded to last January's Eaton fire. She detailed what they did in response to the emergency and said, "Luckily, all our members survived. Many of their homes did not. People were alive but not okay." Then, she described the work that they did after reaching all of their members and how the Village motto, "Neighbors Helping Neighbors," was put into action on the ground.

For each of our members, we ask you to provide your contact info, the preferred means of reaching you, and information on your emergency contacts. For some of you, this information may change. For example, the emergency contact that you listed when you joined years ago, may have moved. Hearing how Katie and her team used the information in their database, was a stark reminder that it's critical to have you, our members, provide us with updated information so that we can be of assistance in the event of an emergency.

Although our area isn't likely to have a fire such as those out west, there are other emergencies to which our area is prone: hurricanes, power outages, blizzards, and even earthquakes! So, please log into our software (Helpful Village) and ensure that your information is up-to-date or call the Village office at 202-615-5853 or email us at info@cwpv.org.

Coincidentally, before I even attended the conference, we planned a training on October 13 at 3:30 to teach and/or remind members how to login and use the Helpful Village software. Once you're comfortable using the software you can update your contact information, upload a recent picture of yourself so others perusing the membership directory might recognize you, change your emergency contacts, and register for events! So, please in the interest of being prepared for whatever comes our way, take this training. If you're digitally inclined and don't need the training, please review your emergency contacts with us anyway.

The month of October is jammed packed with record number of 69 events and programs! These include a variety of wellness, educational, and social programs, both in-person and virtual. A few highlights include:

• A fall tree walk with Stella Tarnay, co-founder of Capital Nature, to tour and learn about our local trees - on Thursday, October 8 at 11:00 am.

  
  

• A presentation and Q&A session titled, "What to Know about Flu & COVID Vaccines" by Parker Ruhl, MD on Wednesday, October 14 at 5pm

  
  

• An outdoor Americana concert by Seneca Creek Bluegrass on Sunday, October 18 at 3pm

  
  

• Tuesday Talk at the library, featuring filmmakers Brandon & Lance Kramer. Brandon and Lance will discuss their film, Holding Liat, on Tuesday, October 20th at 6:45pm.

  
  

• Vaccine Clinic in partnership with CVS Health at the Village Square on Thursday, October 29th from 11am until 2pm

  
  

Those are just the highlights! Hopefully, there's something of interest for everyone. That's my vision, so please register early for these events so we can plan appropriately.

Finally, our Village relies heavily on individual donations in addition to membership fees, grants, sponsorships, and legacy gifts.

On Thursday, October 1, we  will kick-off our online auction with an in-person celebration on the Crescendo Rooftop at City Ridge. Tickets are $75 per person and can be purchased here. Our online auction will launch on October 1 and run through October 13. You can preview the item catalog and register for bidding in advance by clicking here. View all the programs and events for September and October right here.

— Frank Finamore, Executive Director