Neighbors, bowlers, workers pitch in for Children's Hospital

On Saturday morning, I went to Dranesville and watched as teenagers flung ball after ball down the polished hardwood lanes of the Bowl America there. The students were from the Key Clubs at five Northern Virginia high schools -- Dominion, Potomac Falls, Washington & Lee, Bishop O'Connell and Broad Run -- and under the gentle guidance of Heather Talbert of the Dulles Area Kiwanis Club, they were raising money for Children's Hospital. By the time the last pin fell, the teens had collected $1,047.

Three weeks earlier, the neighbors of Lois Kelso Hunt braved the cold and went door-to-door in their Shooters Hill neighborhood of Alexandria, singing carols and taking donations. It's a 42-year-old tradition, one that this year raised $1,348.

A few weeks before that, I was a guest at Hoffman, Wasson & Gitler, a patent law firm in Crystal City. Marty Hoffman turns his annual holiday party into a Children's fundraiser. This year, attendees donated $10,535.

Last year, Sandy Pradas of Joyful Heart Yoga in Vienna gave a week of classes in exchange for a donation to Children's, part of what she calls her "karma yoga project." Her clients gave a karmically pleasing $687.

I'll announce the grand total next week (we're still working our adding machines) but today I want to thank Heather, Lois, Marty, Sandy and everyone else who cajoled, nudged, entreated, begged and otherwise persuaded their friends, neighbors, co-workers and/or customers to support this annual fund drive.

We often hear how the bonds of community are breaking down. Perhaps, but there are many places in the Washington area where like-minded people pool their time and resources for a good cause. My thanks to this year's group donors (plus a few from last year that came in after the 2008-09 deadline):

Golden Girls ($11.37)

Circuit Court of Fairfax County, Office of the Commissioner of Accounts ($45)

East Coast Commercial Cleaning Co. ($50)

Northampton Street Players, performers and audience members of Blessed Sacrament's "A Christmas Carol" ($50)

Brumfield Elementary School employees ($50).

BSB Bridge Group ($64.85)