We are excited to announce our next big fundraiser — a new Honor Star Brick Patio — and we need your help! Purchase a brick and inscribe it for someone special honoring a good deed, birthday, birth, marriage, wedding anniversary, bar or bat mitzvah, graduation, or other important event. You can also buy a special memorial honor brick in memory of a loved one. These memorial bricks will make up four brilliant Stars of David in this new patio area, which will be located to the right of the parking lot as you approach the building. It will replace the existing rest area that now contains the two wood benches. A personalized brick will cost you only $118. If you buy more than one, each additional brick will be discounted to $100!

You also have the option of purchasing and inscribing a stone bench that will be placed outside the building. There are several styles of benches, and they will be sold for $900, $1,400, or $1,818, depending on the style.

In order to meet our goal of building the patio before the high holidays, we have set a purchase deadline of August 3, 2012. However, we anticipate that they will sell out much sooner and encourage you to purchase yours today. For additional details or to purchase your brick or bench, please contact the synagogue office at 703-569-7577 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , or here for the online order form. If you use the form, you can still pay online using the buttons at the end of this article. Thanks for your support!

An artist's bird's-eye-view rendition of the finished patio is shown on the left. The existing benches will be refurbished and will resemble the picture on the right.

The back of the bench pictured on the left can be inscribed. Four of these benches will be placed at the entrance to Adat Reyim, two on each side. In addition, two benches resembling the picture on the right will be added to the existing patio in the center of the parking lot.

Honor Brick ($118 + 4% service fee) --

Additional Honor Bricks ($100 + 4% service fee) --

Refurbished Bench ($900 + 4% service fee) --

Curved Bench ($1400 + 4% service fee) --

Backed Bench ($1818 + 4% service fee) --

ECHO refurbishes donated computers and gives them to clients. If you have an old computer with a USB port and/or a flat screen monitor 19” or less that you no longer need, please consider donating these to ECHO.

ECHO seeks people who are fluent in the following international languages to assist ESL students by phone (not in person) with learning English through Rosetta Stone: Chinese, Arabic, Vietnamese, Korean, Farsi, Romanian, Urdu, Amharic, Nepalese, Indonesian, Hindi, and Portuguese. ECHO’s Rosetta Stone project is part of its commitment to assist people in our community to find jobs, or to find better, more stable employment. A volunteer who speaks any of those languages would contact the ECHO Rosetta Stone client who is having difficulty and offer tips on using the program. ECHO will teach the volunteers, who can do this from home on their own schedule. If you have these language skills, have some computer experience, and have a desire to help people who are trying to learn English, contact Roger Eisinger at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Other urgent current needs include peanut butter, jelly, over-the-counter pain medicines, deodorant, macaroni and cheese, queen-sized bedding, newborn gowns and onesies, as well as masking tape and 13- or 30-gallon garbage bags for use in the ECHO building.

If you are interested in working at ECHO, send an e-mail to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it and ask about the variety of jobs you can do. The needs are varied and work hours are extremely flexible.

We continue to collect your donations at Adat Reyim and deliver them to ECHO. Leave your food, clothing, toys, and household items in the red bins in the coat closet. If you take your donations directly to ECHO (7205 Old Keene Mill Road, between 9:30 am and 12:30 pm on weekdays, or between 7:00 and 9:00 pm on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday evenings), you can get a tax receipt. The back side of the announcement board in our lobby has current lists of specially-requested items.

Interfaith outreach group Peace By Piece will host a service day on Martin Luther King Day, January 16, 2012. We'll be painting a community residence in Arlington. A brief "how-to-paint-without-leaving-streaks" class will be given in the morning for those who are interested. We did this last year and it was great fun and very helpful to the people whose home was spruced up. If you are interested in signing up or learning more details, contact Jesse Freeman at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

For families with younger children who want to participate in Martin Luther King Day of service, check out Volunteer Fairfax. Families enjoy the opportunity to give back to the community by working on service projects provided by various nonprofits from the region. The experience allows children to witness first-hand how fun and easy volunteering can be, while providing quality family time. Contact www.volunteerfairfax.org for more information.

See below for pictures from this year's event.

Please sign up for our Annual Adat Reyim Watershed Cleanup, part of the International Coastal Cleanup event, on Sunday, September 25, from 1:30 pm to 3 pm, rain or shine, at Wakefield Park (8100 Braddock Road, second left into parking lot near ball fields -- look for our sign). Join your fellow congregants, along with the Friends of Accotink Creek, to help protect our nearby watershed by spending some quality time cleaning up debris and learning how we can help prevent watershed pollution. Why is this important? Not only is litter ugly, but trash is a threat to wildlife, such as birds, turtles, and fish that depend on the river. All supplies will be provided. Wear long sleeves, pants, and old shoes or boots. This is a great family mitzvah project, something for all ages, and teens are eligible for community service credit. Join us afterwards for ice cream. In just a few hours we can really make a difference! For more information or to sign up, please contact Jeanne Kadet at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

See below for pictures from this year's event.

Dear Friends,

You can help the relief effort in Haiti by donating specific items to be assembled into hygiene kits and distributed by the Church World Service. The kits that Adat Reyim puts together can mean the difference between sickness and health for struggling families in Haiti. We are working in conjunction with Burke Presbyterian Church to collect these items, assemble them in kits, and deliver them to CWS in early April. Donate one item, or donate many. This is a great family or group project. And know that you are part of making a difference. (All items donated must be new.)

Items needed for a Hygiene Kit:

• One hand towel measuring approximately 16" x 28"
• One washcloth
• One wide-tooth comb
• One nail clipper (no metal files or emery boards)
• One bar of soap (bath size in wrapper)
• One toothbrush (in original packaging)
• Band-Aids
• One Gallon plastic bags with zipper closure

Funds are also needed to cover the processing, completion and shipping costs of these Hygiene Kits. Checks should be made payable to Adat Reyim with "Haiti Hygiene Kits" in the memo section.

Please bring items to Congregation Adat Reyim, 6500 Westbury Oaks Court, Springfield, VA 22152. There will be a collection bin in the front lobby.

If you have any questions or if you are interested in the final portion of the project -- the assembly of the Hygiene Kits -- please contact Andrea Cate at (703) 503-4525.

Our next folk service will be held on April 27 at 8:00 PM. Please join us as we "sing a new song to G-d," using musical instruments as accompaniment and alternative melodies to many of the traditional Friday night prayers.

Please join us on Friday, March 30, at 8 PM, for our annual Pesach-music service. We will be singing some special additions to the service, as well as some prayers using familiar Passover tunes. Add your voices to ours as we "sing praises to G-d's name."

Join us for our monthly Sunday Morning Wellness Program at Congregation Adat Reyim! Each gathering will incorporate a range of relaxation techniques and stress mastery exercises of gentle movement, breath work, mindfulness, meditation, and self-massage. Learn and practice fun and effective tools to optimize your health and enhance your joy, your inner peace, and your overall sense of well-being.

Members and non-members of Congregation Adat Reyim are welcome to participate. Immediately following each practice session, all are invited to stay for our group sharing time, which will meet from 10 to 10:30 AM. A suggested donation of $5 per session is recommended but not required. A sign in front of the synagogue will state the meeting location on the date of each program.

Contact Lisa Eidelkind at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it for additional information.

MAGIC AND MORE NIGHT

FEATURING THE MAGIC OF "SPEED"

SAVE THE DATE -- MAY 19, 2012, AT 7 PM

ORDER YOUR TICKETS FOR THE MAGIC AND MORE

BUY FUNDRAISER NIGHT TICKETS ONLINE TODAY!

Magic and More Adult Ticket (Over 18) $25.00 + 3.5% Service Fee	Magic and More Child Ticket (4-18) $12.00 + 3.5% Service Fee	Magic and More Youth Ticket (3 and Under) FREE!
Magic and More Raffle Ticket $5.00 +3.5% Service Fee	Magic and More 5 Ticket Discount 5 x Raffle Tickets $20.00 +3.5% Service Fee