The Campagna Center

Thank you Inova for awarding our New Neighbors Program a $25,000 Community Health Opportunity Grant! New Neighbors serves adult English Language Learners in our community and will be launching Career-Employment Coaching this fall to promote economic stability, supported by this grant.

Our Director of Youth Language and Adult Literacy Programs, Katrina Foelsche, and our Chief Program and Operations Officer, JaLissa Coffee Lyon, attended the 2026 Inova Community Health Opportunity Luncheon on June 16th to receive this award alongside other grantees.

Want to get involved with this new initiative? We are seeking volunteer Career Coaches to help out! Learn more at our upcoming virtual Campagna Center Mentoring Open House on Wednesday, June 24. (link in our bio to learn more & sign up)

On June 6, more than 200 Wright to Read students, family members and tutor-mentors attended our annual picnic to celebrate the end of the school year. In addition to the fun had through creating giant bubbles with a bubble chemist, face painting and fierce lawn game competitions, every WTR student left with a personalized summer reading package of books and prizes, in addition to a copy of our the 2026 Readers Take the Page literary journal.

While the school year winds down today, Wright to Read’s work this summer is only beginning, as we launch our big recruitment drive for new tutor-mentors to join our wonderful team of volunteers! Want to learn more? Attend our virtual info session happening Wed, 6/24 at 6:30 pm – RSVP at https://CampagnaMentor.eventbrite.com for the Zoom meeting details.

We are proud to share that we’ve earned Candid’s Platinum Seal for Transparency. Candid is a database of nonprofits all over the United States that is accessible to the public for them to learn about organizations they care about. Platinum is the highest level of transparency awarded and recognizes our organization’s exceptional management and reporting.

Thank you to all of our staff who made this recognition possible!

You can check out our Candid profile at the link in our bio.

Our Early Childhood programs celebrated the parents and caregivers of our littlest learners with two special events, a Mommy & Me Tea and a Build with my Buddy event. Activities included painting and creating Mother’s and Father’s Day crafts to give to their parents.

Our Early Childhood programs from across the city celebrated the many cultures and nationalities represented by our children, families, and staff as part of our annual Multicultural Festival. Over 58 families attended, and 9 countries were represented, including Trinidad and Tobago, Afghanistan, Sudan, El Salvador, India, México, South Korea, Jamaica, and Ghana. Activities included a Storytime in partnership with our Wright to Read Program and local children’s book author, Hanh Bui, who read her latest book The Yellow Áo Dài, and a fashion show parade highlighting the many nationalities represented in our programs.

Thank you to our many partners who came out to support this event: ‘s Early Childhood Wellness Program, and members of Global Youth Action Network

Recently, our New Neighbors Program’s End-of-Year Celebration congratulated students and teachers on completing another fantastic year of the program. 34 students, 20 volunteer teachers, and 27 family members and guests attended. The event also highlighted the cultural diversity within the program, reflected in a shared meal that featured dishes from Afghanistan, Mexico, Egypt, and other countries.

You can read more about this event and other Campagna updates in our May newsletter that went out last week (link in our bio).

Thank you to Literacy Foundation for our 2026 adult literacy grant! Funding received will support our New Neighbors Program, which provides English Language Learning classes and wrap around supports for adults. In this photo, one of our dedicated volunteer teachers leads a lesson.

Celebrate the start of summer by grabbing a scoop or a pint at in Old Town this Wednesday at our Ice Cream Social Fundraiser!

25% of all sales from 4 to 7PM will be donated to Campagna Center. You’ll also have a chance to check out our signature flavor pairing, “Summer Camp-agna” which features Brambleberry Crisp, Buttercream Birthday Cake, and Double Dough.

Yesterday, Mesia Dillard-Warner, our Director of Preschool Programs and Services, received the Educator of the Year Award from at the Community Champion Honors, presented by System. We are so proud of Mesia and her amazing impact, including being a trailblazer for the ALX preschool initiative which supports coordinated enrollment for early childhood care and learning across the city of Alexandria. Thanks to Mesia, more children and families in our city will be connected to critical early childhood education and care that meets their needs.

Mesia accepted the award surrounded by the Campagna community! From left to right: Elizabeth (Liz) Magyar, Director of Infant and Toddlers Programs and Services, Edith Hawkins, President & CEO, JaLissa Coffee Lyon, Chief Program and Operations Officer, Mesia Dillard-Warner, Director of Preschool Programs and Services, Katia de Hoyos-Duncan, Early Childhood Education Site Manager, Tiffany Ramsey, Early Childhood Education Site Manager, Christine Schull, Campagna Board Member.