Mark
Hudzik, President
Dr. Richard LaBarbera, Vice President
Becky Grindstaff, Treasurer
Danny Perdue, Advisor to the board and a past president
Peggie Barker
Penny Guilliams
Veronica Gwynn
Dianne Hall
Todd Hammock
Steve Holley
Bill Jacobsen
Betty Kingery
Tom Maresh
Joe Newbill
Joel Shepherd
Wayne Treadway
Pat
Koger has been Executive Director of United Way of Franklin County
since November 18, 2002.
When asked why the mission is so important, she said
it’s the look in people’s eyes and expressions on their faces. It’s
the difference in a life…
Billy
(not his real name) is in his forties and has been diagnosed with
a personality disorder and a major depressive disorder, in addition
to numerous medical issues.
READ MORE » |
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Some
years back, Blue Ridge Legal Services assisted a woman who had
purchased two adjoining burial plots for her and her husband when
they died.
READ
MORE » |
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In
her younger years, Delores was a pillar of strength and leader
in her community – loved and respected by many.
READ MORE » |
| |
A
39-year-old woman came to Helping Hands, having recently left
an abusive relationship with her husband.
READ MORE » |
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One
telephone call was from a young mother. She said that she just
couldn’t go on and was thinking about killing herself.
READ MORE » |
| |
Two-year-old
Wayne was initially diagnosed with language delay.
READ
MORE » |
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Billy
(not his real name) is in his forties and has been diagnosed with
a personality disorder and a major depressive disorder, in addition
to numerous medical issues.
Billy
comes from a family with severe problems including alcoholic parents.
He was a victim of childhood physical and sexual abuse, and he has
difficulty with long-term memory.
He did not speak until he was nine and spent time at the Virginia
Treatment Center. Billy dropped out of school in the 9th grade and
cared for his invalid father.
Billy received his GED but had only a series of short term jobs with
no success due to limited coping skills and inappropriate social skills.
Billy lived on his own after his father died and depended on charity
to pay his bills and the food bank to survive.
He entered the training program at Goodwill Industries with serious
doubts about his ability to succeed. However, receiving his first
paycheck really seemed to motivate him. Billy began to work very hard
on gaining new work skills and improving his dependability and ability
to get along with others.
He became so skilled using the radial arm saw in the woodshop that
his nickname became “Termite.” Soon, he was named Employee of the
Month and referred to Supported Employment for placement in the community.
While he was in the workshop, he saved his money so he could fix his
car, get his license, and get insurance.
He is now successfully working at a local business and is so motivated
to work that he still comes to the workshop on his days off.
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Some
years back, Blue Ridge Legal Services assisted a woman who had purchased
two adjoining burial plots for her and her husband when they died.
The woman paid her husband’s plot in full at the time he was buried.
She made payments on her plot and thought she had paid it in full.
When she checked into it, she was told that she never finished paying
on her plot, so they were treating it as a defaulted contract. In
order to be buried beside her husband, she would now have to pay a
much higher purchase price for the plot.
We (BRLS) calculated that she would owe approximately $50 under the
original contract. The memorial service refused to accept a tender
of the balance, so a lawsuit was filed seeking a court order to sign
over the burial plot deed to her. Once the court papers were filed
and served, their attorney agreed to accept the $50 and gave our client
a deed to her burial plot, so she could still be buried next to her
beloved husband.
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In
her younger years, Delores was a pillar of strength and leader in
her community – loved and respected by many.
Then came the day that Delores, already in her 70s, began feeling
a twinge in her hip. She went to doctor after doctor, but the twinge
progressed to insufferable pain. Soon, she was barely able to walk.
Unable to afford much medical care or to pay for many medications,
she took physical therapy as long as her limited insurance allowed,
but soon found herself unable to afford even that.
Delores came to the YMCA, where she shared her story with the staff.
She was soon overwhelmed to find that the YMCA was able to offer her
financial assistance on her membership, allowing her to continue with
her water therapy program. Within months, through both the resources
of the facility and the oversight of YMCA aquatics and fitness staff,
Delores was walking again without a walker.
She later said, “I believe that without the YMCA, I’d be totally crippled
and miserable today.”
United Way support for the YMCA has underwritten hundreds of people
like Delores in their efforts to become healthier, happier, and more
productive in life.
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A
39-year-old woman came to Helping Hands, having recently left an abusive
relationship with her husband.
She had a teenage daughter and wanted her to be free of the worry and
anxiety that existed in the household.
The woman had three years of college and nursing training, so she had
found a job. But, to move into a new place, she needed to be able to
pay the up-front deposit for the apartment, which she could not do alone
since she had not yet started her new job and was receiving only a minimal
child/spousal support payment.
With assistance from Helping Hands, the woman was able to leave the
Family Resource Center, have her daughter living in a safe environment,
and start to work. The assistance from Helping Hands was enough to get
her started on the road toward self-sufficiency and to get her life
back.
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One
telephone call was from a young mother. She said that she just couldn’t
go on and was thinking about killing herself.
A trained telephone volunteer listened to the caller’s problems for
about 30 minutes – talking with her until the mother was convinced she
did indeed have much to live for.
Another woman caller said she couldn’t see anything but black. The phone
line volunteer established that she was having an anxiety attack and
let her talk about her concerns. After learning that the woman was seeing
a psychiatrist, the volunteer was able to put the two in touch and follow
the health professional’s advice concerning the caller’s safety.
Volunteers who staff CONTACT’S telephone hotline 24/7 are trained to
deal with individuals in crisis situations and to help them make sensible
decisions whey they are unable to think clearly on their own.
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Two-year-old
Wayne was initially diagnosed with language delay.
When he was brought to Roanoke Valley Speech and Hearing Center, he
had an expressive vocabulary of only 11 words.
His mother had noted that because he had so few words, he sometimes
screamed or hit to get attention. Wayne started therapy and initially
did not respond well. However, once pictures were introduced to supplement
his communication, his use of words really took off. At the same time,
the screaming and hitting to get attention began to stop.
When Wayne was discharged from therapy, his expressive language skills
were well within normal limits.
