Letting Employees Call the Philanthropy Shots (Forbes): “Corporate volunteerism is on the rise, yet companies still face challenges getting employees engaged [...] While these programs are growing, engagement is not following suit, with some studies showing that volunteer participation is holding steady.” The piece then profiles Freudenberg-NOK, a technology company whose annual volunteer time comes to “more than 55,000 man hours.” In addition to hiring employees who already believe in corporate philanthropy, the “employee-centric quality of allows not just for greater engagement, but also greater community impact.” How does your company encourage and catalyze volunteer projects?

Northern Virginia schools open; surging enrollment projected (Washington Post: Local): “Schools across Northern Virginia reopened Tuesday with surging enrollment projected in some counties. Fairfax County, with the largest school system in the Washington region, was expecting more than 181,000 students, up from 177,606 the year before.” In Prince Williams county, officials were expecting more than 2,000 additional students; Alexandria, Arlington Country, and especially Loudon County also experienced enrollment jumps. According to WTOP, the Arlington system “expects the largest enrollment since the early 1970s.” Learn more about helping local students with back-to-school needs right here.

Prince George’s bulks up efforts to slim down residents (Gazette): “Prince George’s County officials are looking at ways to help residents slim down. About 71 percent of the county’s estimated 871,000 residents are overweight or obese, according to numbers from 2008 to 2010 in the county’s 2012 Health Action Plan. [...] To address the issue, the health department is looking at increased communication with residents through public screenings [...] It is also considering seeking grant money that would support healthy lifestyle programs.” You can learn more about Catalogue Health & Mental Health nonprofits based in Maryland this way. What do you think are effective ways to encourage, and enable, active living?