Economic Opportunities Commission

Alexandria's Economic Opportunities Commission (EOC) serves as an advocate on behalf of low-income families in Alexandria, Virginia. The EOC, which serves as an advisory commission to Alexandria's Community Action Agency, advises the Alexandria City Council, the Virginia State Legislature and the Virginia Congressional delegation about legislative matters regarding issues including: 

• Employment
• Affordable housing
• Health care
• Homeless prevention
• Utility costs
• Abusive lending practices 

By-laws

Legislative Priorities for 2012 General Assembly Session

All Hands On Deck 2012 spruced up Community Lodgings.  Read more.  

All Hands on Deck

Allison Silberberg (Chair of the EOC) hands a gift of appreciation to Home Depot Store Manager Joe Hand, who helped make "All Hands on Deck" a success. (Left to right) Joe Hand, Charniele Herring (State Delegate of the Virginia General Assembly), Rob Krupicka (City Councilman), Allison Silberberg, Congressman James P. Moran, and Pam Michell (Executive Director, New Hope Housing).

In 2011, the EOC initiated "All Hands on Deck," an annual community-wide project to perform a makeover of a local nonprofit facility. The first "All Hands on Deck" project focused on the Alexandria Community Shelter, the City's shelter for homeless individuals, which is managed by the nonprofit New Hope Housing. 

Commission members solicited the donations of furnishings and supplies from across the community. Home Depot, the project's largest donor, provided paint materials, blinds, flooring, lighting and landscaping material, as well as on-site volunteer expertise and assistance from store manager Joe Hand and 40 Home Depot staff.

Hooray for Books!, an independent bookstore in Old Town Alexandria, organized a book drive that provided new and gently used books for shelter children and adults. Other donors included: NextDay Blinds, Honest Tea, Los Tios, MOM's Organic Market, Dunkin' Donuts, Trader Joe's, Atlantis Pizza, La Casa Pizzeria, the Ladies Group at the Bethlehem Baptist Church, the Calvary Chapel, Barstons Child's Play, Monterey's Pizza, AMC Theatres (Hoffman 22, Alexandria), the Hoffman Company, Double R Productions, Hungry for Music, Jubilee Jobs, Starbucks, Whole Foods, Focus Data Solutions, U.S. Air Force families and numerous individual donors.

The EOC is grateful for each contribution. Over 100 volunteers, including Home Depot experts, EOC members and shelter residents, remodeled the shelter, an example of community action and civic engagement at its best. 

EOC Chair Allison Silberberg stated, "Together, through 'All Hands on Deck,' we are reaching out to the most vulnerable in our midst and showing how the whole community cares deeply and wants to see everyone do better, especially during these tough economic times. We are also raising awareness about unmet social needs in our community."

Related Links:

• Video (Donated by Double R Productions)
• Old Town Patch Story
• WAMU Story
• Channel 7/NewsChannel 8 Story
• Local Kicks -Women with Passion Achieve their Goals
• Mt. Vernon Patch Story- Shelter Open House
• Photos
• Additional Photo Gallery   (The name is "allhandsondeck" and the password is "alexandria".)