ROANOKE, Va. – “I think that it’s a great time of year to remember that we’re all in this together,” Mill Mountain Theatre Producing Artistic Director Ginger Poole said.
Tuesday marked the tenth year of the annual “Giving Tuesday.”
While many national organizations are asking you to donate, there are also non-profits that need support right here at home.
“I think if we look at it as the big picture of giving to the full community,” Poole said. “It’s a day of giving where everyone can be engaged, and it shows focus to the non-profits in our area.”
Poole said that donations help keep the arts alive, by keeping the theater maintained.
“That exposure builds appreciation, and that appreciation builds we hope, that it’s a future patron, sometimes it’s a future student, sometimes a future board member,” Poole said.
Another organization that is asking for your donation is the West End Center for Youth.
Karen Pillis is the Executive Director of the center, which provides a place for youth to go after school.
“We start when they are very young, and we hope to keep them all the way through high school,” Pillis said. “We provide after-school tutoring, enrichment, and remediation. We have outdoor groups every day.”
The center runs almost entirely on donations, including full-time mental health services.
“Our children are going through so much in the world and it’s really nice to have that mental health support here on site to be able to help them when they’re going through those rough times.”
Pillis said that the impact on the community is worth the donation.
“We are doing something really important for our neighborhood. Providing a place for our kids to be safe and be supported, to provide caring adults for our young people,” Pillis said. “The dollars that our donors give are so appreciated. Our children every day are thankful that they’re here.”
For information on how to support Mill Mountain Theatre click here. For information on how to support the West End Center for Youth click here.
