Nearly 50 years of working to give back to the community have paid off.
“It is one thing to receive an award. It is another to know that our volunteers and members of the community were the ones to nominate us and our peers in the business community that chose us. We are both humbled and grateful, said Steven Liga, ACTS CEO, after winning the Prince William Chamber of Commerce’s 2018 Health & Human Services Award.
“The Chamber Award is particularly gratifying because it was our peers in the business community that recognized that we are an integral part of what makes this county great,” Liga said. “Being chosen by the businesses in this county validates that they see us as peers.”
The story of the Dumfries-based nonprofit dates back to 1969 when thirteen local churches collaborated to help a family whose home was destroyed by fire.
“They decided that an organization that brought all their resources together to provide assistance to people without regard to their religious affiliation and that would be run by lay people would be an asset to the community,” says the ACTS website.
ACTS’ founders then established Prince William County’s first food bank and developed a homeless shelter in local churches.
As the community grew, ACTS’ services expanded to meet additional needs. Services today include a comprehensive domestic violence prevention and intervention program for the whole family.
The ACTS Helpline provides an anonymous suicide-related crisis telephone service, as well as resource referrals. The support groups sponsored by the Helpline are essential to those who have lost a loved one to suicide or who have attempted suicide themselves.
Most recently, SAVAS (Sexual Assault Services) joined the ACTS family in 2012 as the only sexual assault crisis center serving the greater Prince William community.
Today, each of the programs addresses the mission of ACTS: to alleviate hunger, homelessness and interpersonal violence in order to help individuals achieve self-sufficiency.
“The staff and volunteers that serve our community through ACTS are normally unsung heroes. This was a wonderful experience to have our work recognized,” said Liga.
During the last fiscal year, ACTS provided 817 families with $238,000 in financial assistance through their Emergency Assistance Program; distributed 650,000 pounds of food from their food pantry; transitioned 99 households from homelessness into permanent housing; admitted 43 adults and 77 children into their Safe House; answered over 7,000 suicide-related calls through Helpline and served 3,414 domestic violence clients and 717 sexual assault clients. In short they provided services to fifteen percent of the entire population of Prince William County (71,000 people).
“We do what we do for our community because we feel called to do it,” Liga said. “Certainly not for recognition. However, to receive such a public thank you made all of us at ACTS feel very proud.”
“And the Winners Are” is a series highlighting Prince William Chamber of Commerce business award winners.
