Financial Education Programs

 Virginia Cooperative Extension brings research-based financial education to classrooms and community centers in Arlington and Alexandria. Our free programs use hands-on activities to teach children about smart spending. We offer classes for all ages and abilities and currently offer classes in English and Spanish. If you need the class in another language, please let us know. Please reach out if you are interested in a class. We ask that you have a minimum of 10 people registered for us to hold a class.  Please contact Aisha Salazar at asalazar@vt.edu to request a program in your school or community.


Free Financial Coaching

VCE Master Financial Education Volunteers offer free and confidential financial coaching. Financial Coaches are available to answer your questions about money management, budgeting, debt reduction, retirement, saving strategies and more.  Sessions are based on one's needs; coaches help with budgets, answer financial questions, and provide helpful resources.  Coaches will contact you by email, Zoom, or phone.

See the many, many classes and programs at
https://arlington.ext.vt.edu/programs/financial-education.html

If you are interested in coaching, please fill out this form.

 

4-H 2026 Program Offerings

 4-H is the place for you! In 4-H you learn through experience while working with other kids and adults who care about you!  The Arlington County 4-H programs offer youth ages 5-18 opportunities to gain knowledge, leadership skills and community service experience through hands-on projects and activities. 4-H is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Virginia Tech, Virginia State University, and our local government. Arlington 4-H typically meets every other Saturday during the school year.  During the summer, 4-H meets on a modified schedule.

4-H helps young people grow into capable, responsible, confident members of their communities by providing information, opportunities, activities, and events which are educational, developmental, and fun.

Arlington 4-H Current Offerings

 

School-Year Projects:

• STEM – Hands-on science and technology activities
• Culinary – Cooking skills and nutrition education
• Financial Literacy – Smart money management for youth
• Civic Engagement – Leadership and community involvement

Upcoming Summer Programs:

• Overnight Camp – Front Royal, VA
• Food Preservation – Learn safe and practical techniques
• Project Aquatic – (Potential) Explore water ecosystems and conservation

Meet your 4-H Agent: Deborah Madden

Master Gardeners of Northern Virginia Programs

 

MGNV Programs

Extension Master Gardeners provide free gardening-related Virginia Cooperative Extension approved community service for Arlington County and the City of Alexandria. Working as both problem solvers and teachers, we can be found in many locales. We staff Plant Clinics, develop and maintain Demonstration Gardens, conduct Public Education programs. We are involved in schoolyard gardening for the young and horticultural therapy for the elderly and disabled. We  also assist VCE staff in training others to become Master Gardeners through the annual Master Gardner training class. See our “become a Master Gardener” page for more information.  You may also visit our “Frequently Asked Questions” page for answers to the most common questions about VCE Master Gardeners and what exactly it is that we do.

For more information on our programs & activities please visit our different sections below. They can also be accessed by using the programs drop down menu in the navigation bar above.

• Extension Master Gardener Help Desk
• Extension Master Gardener Plant Clinics
• Demonstration Gardens
• Public Education – Master Gardener Virtual Classroom
• Speakers Bureau
• Youth Education Program (YEP!)

Extension Master Gardener Help Desk Support

 VCE Master Gardener Help Desk is now open from 9am - 12pm Monday through Friday. We are closed on Holidays.

Got an insect or plant disease problem?   We can help! You can find us in our usual space at the Fairlington Community Center.   

Please call ahead at (703-228-6414) to make sure that a volunteer is available or submit your question to us directly by email with background information found in this form:

You can print and scan this form to return to us. Send this information and your photos to us at mgarlalex@gmail.com  

Before you contact us, check out this VCE publication with helpful plant problem diagnosis tips.

How to take good diagnostic photos:  
For best results, submit
1. a photo of the entire plant
2. a photo of the branch or section of the plant that is in question
3. closeup photos of the problem, the top and bottom of a leaf if applicable, the signs of insects if applicable.
4. Tips for taking a picture of an insect-  Put it in the freezer for a few minutes to slow it down enough to take a good picture; put it on a piece of sticky paper to slow it down; don’t smash it;  place it inside of a small glass jar? 

Meet the staff

 

Arlington and Alexandria’s VCE Financial Education Programs

 

The Master Financial Education Volunteers provide numerous financial literacy classes, both online and in person. These classes, programmed and managed by staff, involve goal setting, budgeting, paying off debt, saving, investing, and retirement.  Examples of these classes, with content based on Virginia Tech/Virginia State and other research sources, are listed below:

 

Living Well on a Fixed Income

Managing Debt

Spring Cleaning: Controlling Clutter

Financial Goals & Budgeting Basics

Budgeting for Groceries 

Traveling on a Budget

Credit Reports & Credit Scores

Banking, Saving Strategies & Financial Apps

Retirement Planning

Investing Basics

Preventing Identity Theft

Talking to Children About Money

Controlling Clutter

Federal Tax Basics

Estate Planning

Money Talk -- A comprehensive personal finance education series for women.

 

For more information on programs and to enquire about programs and classes, go to:

 

https://arlington.ext.vt.edu/programs/financial-education.html

 

Several of the programs are conducted in Spanish.

 

In recent years, volunteers have led many “Money Smarts Pay” classes at local affordable housing complexes, including curriculum required for qualification under the “save and earn” aspects of an Individual Development Account project. Extension staff and volunteers run dozens of financial simulation and game programs for Arlington Public Schools elementary, middle and high school students.  We also run teen age financial literacy classes at various apartment complexes and community centers. 

 

Financial Coaching.  Extension offers a free financial coaching program for area residents, helping them to deal with acute financial issues and to plan for financial success.  Coaches provide financial tools and references, guide clients in exercises, and refer them to other organizations. To submit an application, go to: 

 

https://arlington.ext.vt.edu/programs/financial-education/find-a-counselor.html

Seeking new Leadership Council members for 2025:

The role of the Leadership Council is to acts as a local advisory body, identifying community needs and priorities, guiding the direction of Cooperative Extension programs within that community, and ensuring they align with local concerns by providing input on program development, implementation, and evaluation, all while
promoting the Extension's presence and
services to the community at large. 


We are seeking community members to participate in our monthly meetings and occasional in-person activities regardless of whether you have a new and growing interest or extensive expertise in the program areas represented in our office:

• 4-H Youth Development Hands-on Learning
• Animal Sciences and Agriculture
• Computer Science and AI
• Health Sciences
• Horticulture/Gardening
• Invention and Innovation
  
  
• Agriculture and Natural Resources
• Master Gardeners of Northern Virginia (MGNV)
• Arlington Regional Master Naturalists (ARMN)
• Friends of Urban Agriculture (FOUA)
• Remove Invasive Plants Volunteer Group (RiP)
• TreeStewards of Arlington and Alexandria (TSAA)

• Family and Consumer Sciences
• Master Food Volunteer
• Master Financial Volunteer
• Energy Masters Volunteer

Energy Masters - New Year

On December 1 the Energy Masters volunteers completed their first work day for fiscal year 2013.
Six teams with three to four people on each provided energy and water saving services in 16 apartments at Marbella Apartments, a building owned by the Arlington Partnership for Affordable Housing.

Teams consisted of newly trained volunteers and at least one experienced volunteer from last year. In each apartment team members caulked leaks, cleaned refrigerator coils, opened air vent covers and vacuumed out the accumulated dust, installed energy-saving compact fluorescent light bulbs,
outlet gaskets, and low-flow showerheads and faucet aerators.

The goal of this program is to help low-income apartment residents save at least 10% on their
utility bills and also to improve the efficiency in buildings so that greenhouse gas emissions will be minimized.

Since the program began in the fall of 2011 volunteers have provided energy retrofits in 121 apartments and have installed 812 energy efficient CFL light bulbs, 1,857 outlet gaskets, 186 faucet aerators, 101 low-flow showerheads, and gave out 85 power strips.

Six additional work days are scheduled for 2013 with the goal of providing services in 150 apartment units. Stay tuned for more reports of how much energy residents save as a result of these efforts.

If you would like to become an Energy Master, please contact Jennifer at jabel@vt.edu.

Winter Offerings from Ag and Natural Resources - ANR

Welcome to winter!  Around here, we do not really have much cold weather until
January and February and some of our heaviest snows have come in March. With
reports of active insects as late as the middle of January to corroborate, we really
do not consider our landscape to be dormant until January. This information is
important to keep in mind as we look at the natural cycle of insect and disease pests
and contemplate the dormant woody plant pruning that is a regular winter
chore.

Our Master Gardener intern training that completed its classroom portion
will resume this month as we do our end of the month Pruning Practicum.

In January, the Master Gardener led public education outreach is conducting a 6-week
“Making Your Yard Sustainable” training.  The curriculum utilizes the adapted
Landscape for Life materials developed by the U.S. Botanical Garden.  They will
offer a small group of people a chance to do an in-depth analysis of the features and
processes of their home landscape with an eye to reducing the impact of
development and maximizing benefits to the environment.

Extension is proud to sponsor a joint Master Gardener/Master Naturalist volunteer led effort to provide home visits as part of the Audubon At Home program that seeks to educate residents
about ways to use their landscaped garden areas to enhance
and support our native insect and bird populations.


This training will be followed soon with the offering of a yearlong series of Sustainable Urban 
Agriculture Classes that start with January’s ‘Grasses for the Masses’ on January 12.

This is all a warm up for public education pruning classes that are available to the public in February.  Look for our calendar of pruning classes on our website that are
arranged in partnership with Tree Stewards of Arlington/Alexandria volunteers.
Tree Stewards work with county staff and city of Alexandria urban forestry programs to promote increased tree canopy, proper tree selection for planting, and beneficial maintenance practices.

Go to Tree Stewards website: www.treestewards.org to learn about the 2013 volunteer training class that will begin in February. 

Welcome Megan Mauer, Nutrition Outreach Instructor

Megan Mauer is a 2010 graduate of  Virginia Tech with a Bachelor of Science in Human Nutrition, Foods and Exercise concentrating in dietetics.

Previously Megan has served 1,700 hours with the Pittsburgh Health Corps where she assisted HIV positive clients with making healthy food choices from the agency’s food pantry.  She also
interned with Share Our Strength’s, Cooking Matters program, where she provided support to the evaluation team.  She has also worked for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) as a nutritionist educating and providing referrals for low-income moms and children under the age of 5.

Megan is very excited and eager to begin her new role as Nutrition Outreach Instructor for the Northern District. Through this opportunity Megan will be able to provide free trainings for volunteers to teach
wide-ranging nutrition curriculum for youth and adults. Megan is based out of Alexandria, and will be covering: Arlington, Alexandria, Fairfax, Loudoun, Prince William and Stafford Counties.

Welcome to Susan Pollack

On Dec. 28 Susan Pollack joined our staff in a temporary county-funded position
as coordinator of the Master Gardener volunteer program.  She is filling in for Kim
Haun who has been temporarily re-assigned to head the county’s urban agriculture
task force.

Susan is retired after working at USDA's Economic Research Service
(ERS) for 30 years.  While at ERS, Susan specialized in agricultural and rural
labor force issues, U.S. agricultural policy and legislation, US agricultural trade.
For her final 16 years, she was a senior analyst covering the world fruit and tree nut industries.

Susan has both an MS and BS in Agricultural Economics from Penn State and the University of Massachusetts.  Since retiring in 2010, Susan has volunteered as an assistant Market
Master at the Upper King Street Farmers Market in Alexandria, and become a certified Master Gardener with the Master Gardeners of Northern Virginia (MGNV).
She is also an enthusiastic yoga student. Susan will be working in our office 20 hours/week, so please stop in to say hello.

Please Support the ‘Energy Elves’ - Volunteer or Donate!

Here from today's Sun GazetteIf you're interested in the next Arlington Energy Masters aka "Energy Elves" volunteer training program partnered between Cooperative Extension/ACE/AMEN please call:
ACE at 703 228 6406 or VCE at 703 228 6400

Conservation Group Seeks Support for ‘Energy Elves’

The homes of 16 Arlington families living in the Marbella Apartments received an early holiday present – energy and water efficiency improvements provided by “Energy Elves,” the Arlington Energy Masters volunteers trained by Arlingtonians for a Clean Environment (ACE) and Virginia Cooperative Extension (VCE). 

A large group of the volunteers spent 154 hours collectively helping the residents conserve energy and water by installing compact-fluorescent light bulbs, power strips, and outlet and light switch gaskets; sealing cracks and leaks around windows and doors; and converting to low-flow aerators and showerheads. 

The program was developed specifically to support families living in affordable housing buildings throughout our community.

“The energy program not only helps to make our apartments more energy efficient by reducing energy costs, but it also provides education on how to conserve energy,” said  Shanette Yao, resident-services coordinator at Marbella Apartments, which is managed by the Arlington Partnership for Affordable Housing.

ACE has set a goal to raise $15,000 and secure 300 donations by Dec. 31 to support the Arlington Energy Masters program and ACE’s other conservation and sustainability initiatives. 

For information, see the Web site at www.arlingtonenvironment.org.

Extension Master Gardener Blog Posts

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Garden Professors Blog Invitation: Spreading the Word About Research-Based Gardening Information Posted: 18 Dec 2012 12:53 PM PST Having had the opportunity to meet many of you when I give talks or conduct demonstrations, I know how passionate master gardeners are about spreading research based information. With that in mind we’re asking you to help us spread the word about the Garden Professors blog and the new Garden Professors Facebook page we are putting together. Our group includes Linda Chalker-Scott from Washington State, Holly Scoggins, from Virginia Tech, Bert Cregg, from Michigan State, and myself, Jeff Gillman from University of Minnesota. You can read more about how the Garden Professors blog got started  in our eXtension feature article Our goal is to engage the public around research based gardening and horticulture We cover topics from new trends, flowers, trees (and tree care), while also debating hot issues such as compost tea, using native vs. exotic plants in the landscape, or GMOs.  While there are many differences in gardening across the U.S or even internationally, we find there is a lot of common ground (sometimes even literally) that science can help us understand about how to grow plants. For example, did you know that adding gravel to the bottom of your containers does NOT improve drainage? Adding Gravel to Increase the Drainage? Not so, says the Garden Professors Facebook Page Adding to the Facebook page example above, here are just a few examples of topics we’ve covered on our blog this week: Planting Edibles in the City (contemplating favorite edible plants that would work well in cities) Why Oh Why? (Trees) buried alive (another example of trees being planted too deeply) Closing the Loop (how MSU food waste compost helps grow greens for dining halls) Eternal [gardening] optimist (sometimes we just can’t resist the urge to try some plants) And in the future you can look to see more current events, issues,  and questions addressed, aimed at keeping you up-to-date with reliable, research based gardening information. Please stop by our blog or our Facebook page (where we think the comments are just as fun to read as the posts)….And let us know, what questions do you have about gardening that you’d like to see discussed on the Garden Professors blog? Jeff Gillman Associate Professor Department of Horticultural Science University of Minnesota

Interested in developing GreenSTEM?
Get Connected with Environmental Educators in Northern Virginia with NoVA Outside!

NoVA Outside Networking and Professional Development Event for Environmental Educators - Friday January 25

Guest Speaker: Vince Meldrum - Vice President of EarthEcho International


Register now at http://goo.gl/VFTQp

When: Friday January 25, 2013

Time: 11:00 AM - 2:00 PM

1952 Gallows Road
3rd floor conference room
Vienna, VA

This event will include:

• NoVA Outside’s business meeting to shape the future of this soon-to-be 501C3
• Discussion of NoVA Outside's 2013 events for students and educators
• Networking lunch
• Guest Speaker: Vince Meldrum, Vice President of EarthEcho International talks about organization development and fundraising
• This will be the first of four quarterly NoVA Outside networking events

Early bird registration http://goo.gl/VFTQp - now thru Jan 11th

December 2012 Calendar

Cooking Matters Program Leads to Healthy Changes

Jennifer completed two Cooking Matters courses in November. This popular program is the one in which participants attend six weekly classes where they receive a nutrition lesson, cooking instruction, and a bag of groceries featuring the ingredients for the recipe prepared in class. On November 26 she and Hareg Tecklu completed a Cooking Matters for Adults course at Ruby Tucker Family Center and on November 30 she and Shazell Robinson completed a Cooking Matters for Kids course at Mt Vernon Community Center.


Both programs had 15 participants each and both were in Alexandria. If you know of a site that could benefit from this course contact Jennifer Abel.

New Program in the Making

Family & Consumer Sciences agents are developing programming to teach healthy lifestyles for people with type 2 diabetes in Arlington.  The program, Balanced Living with Diabetes, was developed by Virginia Tech researchers in the Human Nutrition, Foods, and Exercise Department.  It is aimed at teaching people how to manage blood glucose better by improving their eating and physical activity habits.

Katie and Jennifer are in the planning process now and look forward to piloting classes in the spring.

The Mission in ANR Involving Four Basic Program Areas

The Agriculture and Natural Resources Extension program will focus on core mission messages in
2013.  Our basic programs fall within the areas of Urban Agriculture, Sustainable Landscape Management Practices, Urban Forestry, and Natural Resource Conservation with much overlap in these four areas. Our support for the Tree Stewards volunteers helps to support the Urban Forestry canopy mission.  The work of these trained volunteers, provides the backbone for a package of public education that promotes concepts of the right tree, right place and correct pruning and planting  techniques. Tree Stewards will begin their annual volunteer training course on February 13th.   Applications are available at their website at www.treestewards.org    

The Arlington Regional Master Naturalists will again be offering a spring training class for members interested in working to protect and promote good management practices for our green space natural resources. Engaged in outreach that reaches from water quality monitoring to native plant sales, and bringing wildlife to schools, this growing group of volunteers has been supported and sponsored by Extension for the past 5 years.  For more information about their activities and programs see: www.armn.org

VCE Master Gardeners are the arms of Extension ANR outreach that encompass Sustainable Landscape Management practices and urban agriculture education. ANR provided 112 public programs on these subjects during 2012.  With the recently completed 2012 training class completed, the program is safely moving forward on a new fall training rotation.  We are so pleased to be looking forward to the following events:    March: Arlington Home Show and Landscaping Expo,   April: Alexandria Earth Day; MGNV Plant Sale; the opening of our fifth farmer’s market plant clinics and our fifth demonstration gardens.  In 2013, we will offer new online course resources.  Look for our series at the Arlington Public Schools Adult Continuing Education classes in the spring and the new U.S. Botanical Garden curriculum-based, Landscaping for a Sustainable Yard beginning on January 19th. For more information about this series or any of our fine public education offerings go to our website or to the Master Gardeners of Northern Virginia website at:  www.mgnv.org

Kids get a Dose of Reality

Every year FCS agent Jennifer Abel and the Master Financial Education Volunteers conduct several Kids Marketplace and Reality Store events to help teach children and teens about smart money management skills.  In these hands-on simulations, students receive hypothetical family situations and a monthly income.  They visit a series of stations (housing, transportation, entertainment, groceries, clothing, personal care, medical, etc.) and make decisions about how to spend their money.

The goal of the exercise is for the participants to take care of the needs of their hypothetical families without running out of money while also putting some money into savings.  Kids Marketplace is for elementary school students while Reality Store is for teens in middle and high school.

These events have been very popular this fall.  In November, staff and volunteers led a Kids Marketplace for 71 students at Barrett Elementary School, a Reality Store for 347 eighth graders at Hammond  Middle School, and a Reality Store for 25 teens from military families from around the country who assembled for a conference at the Crystal City Sheraton.

Participants learn a great deal at these events as evidenced by the evaluations that they complete. Many cite the importance of saving, gaining a greater understanding for what their parents have to deal with, and the importance of planning before having children as key lessons that they learn.  Many more events will be held in 2013 so if you are interested in volunteering (requires no preparation work before the event) please contact Jennifer Abel: jabel@vt.edu.

Master Food Volunteers Cook Up a Healthy Summer

Ever since Katie and Jennifer graduated the first local group of Master Food Volunteers in May these 15 people have wasted no time in teaching Arlington and Alexandria residents about healthy food choices. Here is a summary of just some of the things they have done.

                Aleksandra Damsz taught a lesson to a group of kids at Carver Community Center on how to choose fast food with less fat and sugar. She also helped Sue Grace with a series of nutrition classes for a group at the Nauck Family Life Center by leading physical activity lessons. Carolina Spencer led a class on Cooking for One at the Aurora Hills Senior Center. Catherine Hader helped Katie teach a series of classes to TSA employees on the DASH diet and worked together with Alice Eichers to teach a class on low-salt cooking. She also taught a low-salt cooking class at the Nauck Family Life Center. Desiree Morningstar taught a series of three classes on hearty salads for weekday lunches. The classes were very well received and Desiree will be taking her show on the road, providing the series at a local church. Desiree also helped Sue Grace with the series at the Nauck Center by teaching a physical activity lesson and has been helping Jennifer and Hareg with the Cooking Matters course at Macedonia Baptist Church. Volunteer Kris Angerthal  has been helping with these classes as well. Diane Blust helped Katie with several canning classes in Fairfax and worked with Katie and Jennifer on a canning class in Arlington. Janet Al-Hussaini has been doing cooking demonstrations at the Great Falls Farmers’ Market and will be offering a series of Middle Eastern Cooking classes at Fairlington on Wednesdays in September. Julie Mendoza helped Katie with a canning class out in Reston. Lynnette Vango taught nutrition to three groups of pre-schoolers, helped with a series of three cooking classes at the Carpenter’s Shelter in Alexandria, and has helped with nutrition and cooking lessons at all five of the Cooking Matters classes at Macedonia Baptist Church. Ruth Schulman led two of the cooking classes at the Carpenter’s Shelter. Sara Knopp helped out at one of the Carpenter’s Shelter classes. Ruth and Desiree also represented Master Food Volunteers at VCE’s exhibit at the Arlington County Fair. Susan Grace led a series of three nutrition classes at the Nauck Family Life Center. Susan Lagon helped with a canning class in July and is teaching several healthy eating programs for seniors at various centers in August.

                 We are grateful for the enthusiasm of these volunteers and look forward to their contributions in the fall.