Tejada and Community Role Models

Arlington County Board Member J. Walter Tejada's efforts in the Community Role Models program was highlighted in The Connection. The program is organized by the county’s Volunteer Office to attract young, working adults who might be interested in volunteering, with a special focus on finding volunteers for youth services, environmental and community development programs. Last week, "county staffers and current volunteers gathered with 100 young adults at Whitlow’s on Wilson to celebrate the kickoff of Community Role Models, and to attract young volunteers to the program."

Sara Girovasi-Marron, a member of the Community Role Models task force organizing the program, said that the central idea is “to get people in their 20s and 30s involved … a lot of them may not be involved in civic life, and may not know how. Finding younger volunteers can help local programs. But the process can also let young adults know that they play a role in the community.”

Tejada worked with staffers and young working adults to form the Community Role Models task force and plan for the program last week. In addition, Tejada named the program and last week declared that “this county-wide program will tap into the one-third of Arlington’s population who may not otherwise be engaged in our civic life and seek to connect this valuable resource with youngsters who could benefit from a caring adult in their lives.”