Welcome to all of the new members and families that have recently joined WBFN. I hope you, as well as our seasoned members, have seen that another busy season has already begun at WBFN. October was a celebration of Harvest and Halloween. In October, November and December WBG focuses on family issues through a series of events. In October’s Mosaic and on our website, the full program of events can be viewed. October saw the WBFN Annual Picnic take place—a demanding and rewarding task for the volunteers involved. Thank you to all of those that made it happen once more, and to those that came and had fun!

Now we turn to November, the month of Thanksgiving in the USA, when families gather, give thanks and share meals and time together. It’s a good time for all of us to think about what we can be thankful for in our lives and also to express our gratitude to the people we love and care about in person or via our preferred social media.

The WBFN Information Seminars and all of the English classes are now in full swing. The third Information Seminar in this fall’s series, focusing on Income Tax in the US, is scheduled for November 9. A new speaker working in this field will donate his time to present the topic. We hope you will benefit from it and join us in showing our appreciation. Afterwards, please give us your feedback so that we can better tailor these seminars to suit your needs, as US income taxes can be a particularly confusing matter for WBFN members.

In November we also start planning the Children’s Holiday Party, which this year is scheduled for December 10. Every year, many WBG families (recently, over 800 people!) attend the party. It takes a lot of volunteer effort to organize and put together the party, and this year we are again looking for dedicated and talented volunteers to make this happen. The Children’s Holiday Party is just one of the great events organized by WBFN in which you could get involved. If this timing is not right for you, perhaps you would like to join us in planning our spring events, which include the Children’s Art Contest and the Annual Exhibit.

WBFN is also looking for Event Coordinators to help plan and organize these other WBFN events. An Event Coordinator supervises a team of volunteers to make an event happen. This team plans the event and in turn supervises more volunteers who help before, during or after the event.

Members with young children that they want to bring to an event might find this a nice way to contribute to the WBFN community. Teens that are looking for ways of earning community service hours can also help run activities at events. Members who are looking for jobs can use these opportunities to gain experience or learn new skills.

If you are interested in becoming a volunteer, please get in touch with us to learn more. You can devote as few or as many hours as you wish. We are introducing ways of helping our members to discover the various volunteering opportunities that are available in our organization. Come and see our Members’ Corner and find the one that best suits you, or just give us a call or send an email.

As we look forward to Thanksgiving, I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of the members who help WBFN in their respective ways to welcome and maintain a community for WBG families here in Washington and around the world.

Annemarie