Local Nonprofits Team Up to Help People with Disabilities

It’s not uncommon to see a private company supporting a like-minded not-for-profit organization. But in Manassas, two not-for-profits have decided that there is strength in numbers.

George Mason University’s and , which provides opportunities for people with disabilities, have been supporting each other since the Hylton Center opened its doors in 2010 with the dedication of the facility’s Didlake Grand Foyer, made possible by a family bequest.

The goal of the unlikely partnership is to foster community involvement and provide opportunities for people with disabilities, explains Bill Reeder, dean of the GMU College of Visual and Performing
Arts.

“The Hylton Center employs people with disabilities and provides opportunities for them to participate on and off the stage,” he says. In addition, the Didlake Grand Foyer is a large welcoming expanse inside the front doors of the center, dedicated to inclusive community gathering.

Only a few weeks remain before Shooting for the Stars, the nonprofit duo’s annual fundraising event.

“We’re working hard to get every detail sorted for the premiere fundraising event of the season,” said Nathan Gilbert of TFB Wealth Management, Shooting for the Stars Committee Co-Chair. “We’re
gearing up for a memorable wine reception and dinner on Sept. 18. The next day, our golf tournament and sporting clays competition will bring out our community golf and shooting enthusiasts. All of this
benefits two organizations with significant importance to the community.”

The dinner and wine reception, billed as “An Evening in the Poplars,” will be held in a 1929 stone manor house at the Poplar Springs Inn in Warrenton. Live entertainment, as well as live and silent auctions,
accompanies the more culinary aspects of the evening.

“We already have some fantastic items arranged for the auctions,” explained Mike Sawyers of ECS Mid-Atlantic, also a committee co-chair.

Auction items include a number of diverse experiences, ranging from dining opportunities to the chance to drive a military tank.

The golf tournament tees off the following day at the Piedmont Club in Haymarket, a Tom Fazio-designed course in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Golfers will play 18 holes on the scenic championship course, enjoying entertainment and food throughout the day. The sporting clays competition will run simultaneously to the golf tournament, taking place at the Bull Run Shooting Center
in Centreville.

Participants will traverse a 50-target sporting clay station course with 14 stations located in an open field and nestled among the woods, also featuring entertainment and food.

While the event is a fundraiser for the two nonprofit organizations, Gilbert says the real beneficiary of this event is the community. “Didlake and the Hylton provide many services and opportunities for the people of Prince William and Fauquier counties and the surrounding areas. Proceeds from this event allow us to extend our reach.”

Didlake, Inc. is a social enterprise dedicated to enriching the lives of people with disabilities. For more than 45 years, the organization has provided wide-ranging resources that expand opportunities for people with disabilities in Virginia, Maryland and Washington, D.C. Its support services include training that prepares individuals to enter the workforce and award-winning business solutions provide jobs for many of the people trained by the company.

Dedicated to bringing a world-class performing arts venue to the Prince William region, the 85,000-square-foot Hylton Performing Arts Center is home to two unparalleled performance venues for local
arts groups and performers from around the world, as well as university-related activities. The only building of its kind in the area, the Hylton Center is quickly becoming the cultural hub of Prince William County and its surrounding communities.