Abby Hamilton, president and CEO of United Way of Roanoke Valley, answers a question about how Roanoke s human services nonprofits handled the COVID-19 pandemic over the last 13 months.
The worried man on the phone asked Anne Marie Green whether he could safely make himself a ham sandwich.
The call had come in on the 211 line during the early weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic. Under a contract with the Virginia Department of Social Services, the Council of Community Services in Roanoke runs Virginia 211, a helpline that refers callers to health and human service agencies that can meet their needs. Administrative staff, including Green, the councilâs president, were personally fielding calls about COVID.
Junior League of Roanoke Valley holding food, book drive for local families
New initiative to benefit local community
Tags:
The volunteer organization partnered with Feeding Southwest Virginia and the West End Center for Youth.
They’re collecting food items like peanut butter, beans, rice, 100% juice, soup, pasta, canned meat, canned fruit and canned vegetables.
They’re also collecting new or gently used books for elementary-aged students.
“Over 60% of low-income households have no books in their homes. Making books available to children from these families can have a significant impact on their literacy skills and academic potential,” said Amanda Nastiuk, the executive director of West End Center for Youth. “West End Center seeks to help students achieve grade-level reading by third grade. Third grade has been identified as important to reading literacy because it is the final year children are learning to read, after which students are “reading to learn.”