The good Cornellians can do: Dorine Colabella ’91

Five years ago, Dorine Colabella '91 joined the Assistance League of Northern Virginia (ALNV). This volunteer effort works with local Title One schools, where the majority of students live at or below the poverty line. ALNV provides food for the children on weekends and during school breaks, when they don’t receive breakfast and lunch at school. The organization also provides essential clothing and free books, along with literacy tutoring for students in grades K-2.

Dorine still recalls her first day of tutoring.

“A young boy came up to my station. I noticed he was not wearing socks despite the temperature outside and heavy rain,” she says. “When I asked why he had no socks on, he replied, ‘My brother got to wear them today.’ I knew there were children in my area who needed support but had no clue how many and to what extent.”

Since then, Dorine has worn many hats at ALNV: as clothing chair, VP of clothing and literacy, and most recently VP of resource development. She also helps hands-on with packing 1,900 gallon-sized bags of food for students to take home and eat over the weekend, with assembling handmade pillow packs complete with toothbrush, paste, and a bedtime book, and with reading tutoring.

“The children’s smiles tell the whole story,” Dorine says. “When they receive their new book and can’t believe they get to keep it or tell me how they are going to share their new clothes with a sibling or friend who doesn’t have enough, I couldn’t be happier with how I am spending my time.”

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