A 101-year-old Northern Virginia woman and a retired Fairfax County math teacher have spent five years meeting weekly through a Reston-area nonprofit. They have a finished queen-sized quilt to show for it.

Dorothy and Wanda connected through the Shepherd's Center of Northern Virginia's Friendly Visitor Program, which pairs volunteers with older adults for regular in-person visits. The nonprofit, known as SCNOVA, described the pair on Sept. 15 as one of its longest-running visitor matches.

There is no script. Matches are based on shared interests, personality and location. For Dorothy and Wanda, the shared interest was quilting.

Wanda's mother was a quilter. That connection drew Wanda to Dorothy, and the two spent years planning fabric, cutting pieces and talking while their hands stayed busy. After five years of weekly visits, the result: a completed queen-sized quilt.

Two careers, one shared hobby

Dorothy grew up in Iowa and moved to Northern Virginia to work in federal government accounting, a career that lasted nearly 40 years. She spent years as an usher at Wolf Trap and George Mason University's Center for the Arts.

Wanda grew up in Panama City, Florida, one of four sisters who all became teachers. She taught high school math in Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) for 30 years, then spent 16 more years as a substitute. She has volunteered with SCNOVA for a decade.

500 connections in 2025

In 2025, SCNOVA volunteers made more than 500 connections through the Friendly Visitor and Friendly Caller programs combined. In its Sept. 15 blog post, the organization said volunteers consistently report they get as much from the weekly hour as the people they visit.

SCNOVA's 250-plus volunteers have logged more than 218,000 hours since the nonprofit's founding in 1998, serving more than 3,000 older adults across Reston, Herndon, Vienna, Oakton, Great Falls, Dunn Loring and parts of Fairfax. All programs are free, and no referral or income qualification is required.

Beyond the visitor program, SCNOVA offers a Friendly Caller program for those who prefer phone check-ins and a Handy Helpers program for small home repairs, yard work and technology help.

Residents interested in volunteering or requesting a visitor can call (703) 281-0538 or apply at scnova.org/volunteer/volunteer-application/.