Over the last year, I or me and my family, have gone into the AWLA a few times in search of a dog…read moreor cat; whichever fits our lifestyle the best and normally we go to the "cat room" and visit with the cats and then am taken back by volunteers to meet whatever dogs are available. Normally the 2 volunteers that take me back are not chatty with me (but are with each other) and neither really seem interested in helping me - I believe Diane and Mattes. Nice enough people but they just seemed a bit annoyed or bored or both, seemingly every time we were there. That all changed the last time I was in, which was a few weeks ago and had 2 different people help me. They were volunteers Valerie and Lisa (purple hair). They both seemed excited to show me the dogs (and Valerie had helped me in the cat room - although there were only 2 cats and one was adopted!). Those two ladies were funny, cheerful and and answered all of our questions. Ended up not adopting but they said that was OK - I could come as many times as I wanted until I found the right dog (or cat).

Great experience fostering a cat with them so far! They gave us everything we needed for 2 weeks…read moreand very responsive and supportive. I feel like they try to get to know each animal and support folks who are fostering as much as possible. I can't speak to the adoption side, but they seem very accommodating to that as well, trying to find the best fit and take time to understand the behavioral info that I shared with them. For fostering, it is our call if we want to meet potential adopters at the shelter and elsewhere - this can be a little confusing but I think it's better to have those in-depth conversations with those who have spent more all-day/all-night one-on-one time in advance of meeting of creatures.

Don't know about the place but an excellent leader here, formerly from Asbury Methodist Village…read more Asbury Methodist Village is now led by hated narcissistic female leader. Many leaving Asbury to join old boss here or elsewhere.

Plus two stars for the administration's response to the pandemic. They've done a commendable job…read moreand I'm grateful that my mom and her friends and neighbors are safe and well.

This IS a wonderful place -- helpful people, good selections of foodstuff -- but the 3 or 4…read moredumpsters in that immediate area STINK and the stench is intolerable, whether you are just walking to the entrance - or even worse - waiting in place for the doors to open

Listen, you sign up for this, you get free food. It helps people who are in need, so if you're low…read moreincome, have SNAP/TANF benefits I highly recommend you utilize this service. Excellent Volunteer program as well. Thank you all for all you do.

I wanted to renew my pediatric/adult CPR/first aid/AED certification, so I found a class through…read morethe Red Cross website that worked with my schedule and signed up. I prefer to do the classroom-only option for classes like this, since I want as much hands-on training and discussion as possible to help me retain what I'm learning. (They do also offer many hybrid options online.) I'm very glad I signed up for a Sunday morning class so I could park on the road nearby, since I have no idea how anyone would be able to find parking around this location otherwise. (I recommend coming early and checking all street signs carefully for the parking restrictions/requirements.) Once I made it to the door, I pressed the bell and went upstairs. We started pretty much on time and every seat in the class was filled. The class consisted of text and videos on the television interspersed with group/partner activities and hands-on training. We got to use the adult-size torsos (with lights to show you if you were pressing hard enough), infant dolls, practice AED machines, training Epi-pens, and some basic first-aid materials. Luckily, the class members who attended on this day were fun and engaged, so we had good discussions. The class lasted the full 6.5 hours. (In the past, it's been 50-50 for going for the full time, since sometimes the class votes to take a working lunch to finish early.) The teacher also ended up taking more frequent breaks toward the end, since people were lagging after lunch. I do like that the full-day class means you don't have to take a separate test, since the instructor verifies you are doing all the hands-on techniques properly. We even got a pin after answer a final "quiz" question correctly at the end of the class. I left the class feeling prepared and ready to help with CPR or first aid in an emergency. The completion certificate link was sent via email, which is handy if I need to pull it up while I'm on the go.

Good space, friendly staff, quick turnaround, an your helping folks in under an hour. 5 stars!read more

ECHO is a great organization. ECHO accepts clothing, shoes, linens, electronics, computers, small…read morehousehold appliances, non-perishable food and school supplies year-round. The volunteers are very dedicated and helpful in accepting the donations and distributing them to those in need here in the community. The group is respectful towards those they serve, even referring to them as customers - allowing those in need the dignity they deserve. Donating items is quick, easy and efficient. The volunteers are kind and full of good cheer. ECHO will also advertise the specific items on their billboard so you can see what items are most in need. ECHO can't accept everything but they can recommend other organizations that accept furniture, perishable food or other items for donations. You can feel good that your donated items will go to those who can truly use them.

I like how they make it easy to donate certain items at drop-off locations. Everything I've read…read moreabout this group is very positive and makes me feel good about donating there.

Fabulous FOE in Old Town Alexandria, VA. Highly recommend!!! Great members with big hearts…read morededicated to giving back to our community.

Charity begins at home, and unfortunately, the Fraternal Order of Eagles (at least at evidenced by…read morethe behavior of their staff) could improve theirs. I am a professional singer who was hired to sing a concert here this evening, and the staff could not have been ruder, they had no place for us to put any of our belongings and firmly told us we're not even allowed to use the bathrooms. Obviously, I'm never coming back here.

I was looking for ways to become more involved in my community but was overwhelmed with where to…read morestart and how to find an organization to best meet my interest. Marion Brunken at Volunteer Alexandria was instrumental in helping me find what I wanted. Her experience in the field is extensive and expertise spot on. I swear she knows everyone in Alexandria! She took time to sit down with me to visit, understand my interests and goals and make recommendations on several different opportunities as well as what I needed to do to move forward. Within no time I was meeting with potential non-profits and am now a board member with Space Of Her Own. I highly recommend Marion and her team when looking for volunteer opportunities in Alexandria.

A great organization that can help you find a volunteer opportunity, or as a nonprofit…read moreorganization, they can help you find volunteers. They even run regular marketing workshops for nonprofits looking for volunteers, like this upcoming workshop: http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/nva/eve/905557278.html.

We just adopted a dog through AHOTO. Everyone on the organization that we interacted with was kind,…read moreprofessional, responsive, and very knowledgeable. We highly recommend them!

I adopted my cat through AHOTO. They asked me to foster and it was obviously a fail. The…read morecommunications and support were great. Natalie is very attentive to all their cats and kittens and super helpful with adoption. She knows which cat to pair which human with, and is always spot on. I would 100% always adopt from them.

This is one of the nicer Goodwill stores I have seen in the area, it looks newer, and was very…read moreclean. I managed to find some nice pieces for reasonable prices. I gave a lower review because their staff lack basic courtesy and made the overall experience both stressful and annoying. I would be shopping in an aisle and instead of going around, they would barrel through with a rack/cart and gruffly demand I MOVE, almost shoving me out of the way. I literally witnessed an employee barrel through the main walkway with a full rack and RUN OVER an elderly woman's foot really hard and bang into another woman's shoulder and KEPT GOING without apologizing or asking if she was okay. I was livid. I ran over to check on the woman who was RUN OVER and make sure she was okay. She was stunned. The employees here are endangering people's safety.

This store gets rated a three on a scale of 1 to 5 for few reasons. First, it's a smaller store. I…read morehave been to bigger Goodwills. They get points for the fact that I wasn't hit with the thrift store smell as soon as I walked in they were a decent number of carts in good condition. The store was well organized pricing seemed fair. Inventory was a little bit light. It's worth checking out if you happen to be in the area but I wouldn't necessarily make a special trip back here to go to the store