FIRST ANNUAL VWAA GOOD WALKS EVENT -



LOUDOUN CHAPTER OF THE VIRGINIA WOMEN ATTORNEYS ASSOCIATION

The First Annual VWAA GOOD WALKS EVENT is sponsored by the Loudoun Chapter of the Virginia Women Attorneys Association and is the first event of a new project which has the goal of becoming a state-wide event for all VWAA Chapters.





CURRENT EVENT

The first VWAA GOOD WALKS fundraising event will occur on April 6, 2025 in Delaplane, VA from 1:00 5:00 pm. Team members will walk a five mile route around Sky Meadow Park .



We will be walking at Sky Meadow State Park BUT PLEASE NOTE that Sky Meadow State Park is divided into two sections. We will be hiking on the East Side of Route 17, on the LOST MOUNTAIN TRAIL SIDE. This is the less well-known side of the park It is across Route 17 on the opposite side of the village of Paris and is not on the same side of the more well-known main entrance of Sky Meadow at Edmonds Lane.



To access the Lost Mountain Trail area of the park - if you are coming from Middleburg, take Route 50 west, drive through Upperville (see note below about car pooling from Upperville) and continue up Route 50 to the intersection with Route 17 (a T intersection). Turn left onto Route 17 and then take the LEFT ENTRANCE INTO THE LOST MOUNTAIN AREA SECTION OF THE PARK. LOOK FOR RED AND WHITE BALLONS AT THE ENTRANCE OF THE PARK.



Once you have turned left off of Route 17 into the Lost Mountain Section of the park, stop at the first wooden kiosk on the right side****, grab a parking envelope, complete and return, then continue up the drive following the road towards the left and park across from the gray barn building. We will all meet at the information kiosk at the trail head which is a bit further up just past the bus and horse-trailer parking area.



****Parking at Sky Meadow on that side of the park is on an honor basis. It is $10 per vehicle, regardless of the number of people in the car. If you want to save on parking costs plan on meeting folks in Upperville between 12:30 and 12:45 pm in the parking lot across from the Trinity Episcopalian Church. Walkers can leave their cars there and join up with others to take one car to the park to save on parking costs.



All net proceeds raised by The Loudoun Chapter in its first VWAA GOOD WALKS will be donated in honor of Congresswoman Jennifer Wexton. Jennifer Wexton has deep ties to Loudoun County. She has resided in Loudoun for over twenty years and continues to live here with her family. Jennifer practiced law in Leesburg, Virginia initially as an Assistant Commonwealth Attorney for Loudoun County and then entered private practice in Leesburg in 2005, eventually becoming a partner with Ritenour, Paice, Mougin-Boal and Wexton and then with The Laurel Brigade Law Group. In 2014 Jennifer was elected Senator for Virginia's 33rd District. In 2018 Jennifer was elected to Virginias 10th Congressional District for the US House of Representatives where she will serve until the end of her current term.



In September of 2023 Jennifer was diagnosed with progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP). PSP is an adult-onset, neurological disease that impacts movement, thinking, speech and vision. Rather than letting this disease stop her Jennifer has now turned her innate strength and courage to battling this disease. All net funds raised by the Loudoun Chapter will be donated to research focused on combating and curing PSP. Anyone with questions about the project can contact Christine Mougin-Boal at [email protected] - 703.777.6161





GENERAL DESCRIPTION AND BACKGROUND OF EVENT

VWAA GOOD WALKS is a chapter-based event wherein each local VWAA chapter can create a team of walkers who will walk a five mile route in their community. Each participant will seek donations from third parties for fund-raising in support of a local charity or cause identified by each local chapter. Team members will register and use a walk/race event app to track each team member and how much each team member has raised in donations. The Dames Foundation has underwritten some of the original costs of the project and supports the event. The mission of the Dames Foundation is to expand, through philanthropy, the professional development, public policy, and educational work of the Virginia Women Attorneys Association (the VWAA).



WHY DO THIS

We believe this project fully supports the mission of the Virginia Women Attorneys Association.



First it promotes each chapter to put on and participate in a fund-raising event which will support an identified need in their local legal and public community. Allowing each chapter the flexibility to designate the recipient of the funds raised helps tailor each program to meet the needs of their community.



Second by creating a team that will have to walk a 5 mile course, local chapters can help promote physical activity and a team activity for its members, fostering a greater cohesiveness and shared experience for each chapter.



Third, this event provides a platform for our chapters to go out into the community and support a local need. As each chapter participates in such a walk, the VWAA will be supporting our communities both locally and across the entire state.