Becoming an Advocate with Cornerstones is simple!
At Cornerstones, our mission is to ensure that everyone living and working in our community has stability, empowerment, and hope to thrive in our community. Through our advocacy efforts, we support neighborhood, local, state, federal, and private sector policies that:
- Build and Preserve Affordable Housing
- Invest in Connected and Resilient Children, Youth and Families
- Create Good Jobs and Economic Security
- Advance Systems Change to Undo Racial and Social Inequity
Get Involved – Opportunities to Learn,
Engage, and Take Action
Mark your calendar for our next advocacy event on Thursday, October 13 from 4:00-9:00pm at the Hyatt Regency Reston. Cornerstones will host a
Community Forum on Policy, Advocacy, and Action for Thriving Communities. Join our network of advocates working to break down barriers and create more equitable communities. Registration information coming soon!
Our Advocacy Platform
We support legislation and budget investments that will meet the need for more affordable homes. We support legislation and investments that will help working families and people at the lowest income levels access and stay in safe, stable, and affordable housing.
Click here to read the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission’s December 2021 Report on Affordable Housing in Virginia.
We support legislation and budget investments that help children and families build resiliency and stay connected to strong communities. We support legislation and investments to eliminate barriers to school success, strengthen school-family-community partnerships, and help our youngest learners.
Click here to read Voices for Virginia’s Children’s November 2021 Report on The State of Virginia’s Children.
We support legislation and budget investments to protect our workforce, create pathways to career success, and pay our workers a living wage. We support legislation and investments to help our workers care for themselves and their families if they are sick or unable to work.
Click here to read the United Way of Virginia’s 2020 Report on families facing financial hardship in Virginia.
We support legislation and budget investments to undo the damage done by decades of racial and social inequity. We support criminal justice reforms and strong community relationships. We support civic engagement, leadership and action in community building, policy making, and elections.
Click here to read about Fairfax County’s One Fairfax Policy and how the county is working to ensure that all residents have opportunities to succeed.
Advocacy in Action: Our Work to Create Meaningful, Enduring Change in our Community
On May 12, Senator Jennifer Boysko, Delegate Irene Shin, Mayor Sheila Olem, Supervisor John Foust, and School Board Representative Elaine Tholen joined us at Herndon High School to answer questions and engage in conversation with our high school seniors/future community leaders. Many thanks to our elected officials for participating, to Herndon High School for partnering with us to host this great event, and to all the students who showed up, made their voices heard, and made this event great!
On April 12-14, affordable housing advocates delivered their testimony to the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors on why affordable housing matters and why dedicated, recurring funding for affordable housing needs to be included in the county’s budget. Click here to view recordings of the April 13 budget hearing, including testimony from housing advocates throughout the county. Kerrie Wilson, Cornerstones CEO, presented testimony on behalf of the Affordable Housing Advisory Council (beginning at 41:38) and Amanda Caughran, Cornerstones Director for Advocacy and Public Policy, presented testimony on behalf of the Cornerstones Advocacy Committee (beginning at 1:06:38).
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