Fundraising activities held at Brandon Oaks in support of scholarship program

ROANOKE, Va. – Residents and staff at Brandon Oaks develop special relations with the student-employees.

They wanted to find a way to really give back after noticing how hard they were working, so they looked into several options. They decided that there should be a scholarship program to help high school seniors who want to continue their education but don’t have the money to do so.

A variety of fundraising activities, including a putt-putt competition, were organized by the locals in support of the resident scholarship program. “Swinging for Seniors” was the name of the tournament.

An additional event for raising money included a recently introduced robot that assists with the distribution of meals at a senior community. Residents felt it would be interesting to give the robot a name, so they paid over a buck or two to contribute their idea. Trey was selected as the winning name for the robot.

Amanda Mansfield, who is the director of philanthropy at Virginia Western, said, “At a certain point in your life, you think about what’s next and who’s next and everyone wants to be able to reach out a helping hand. Especially to someone who’s currently reaching out a helping hand to you. I think that knowing and caring about these students and their demonstration of who they are as people, just inspired the residents to take the step.”

The scholarship awards ranged from $500 to $1,000. This coming semester at Virginia Western Community College, there will be three students who have been awarded one of these scholarships and will be attending their first day of classes.

The three students have said that they want to continue their volunteer work at Brandon Oaks even when they begin their college careers.