Latest news with #LocalOfficeonAging
Yahoo
25-02-2025
- General
- Yahoo
LOA concludes Soups for Seniors, continues aiding elders in food insecurity
ROANOKE, Va. (WFXR) – The Roanoke Valley Community worked together to support older residents through the Local Office on Aging's (LOA) annual Soup for Seniors Food Drive. The driver concluded this month in hopes of bringing essential nutrition to more than 2,800 seniors. They collected around 46,000 pounds of shelf-stable food. Soups for seniors started in October of 2006 and has become a staple for addressing food insecurity in the regions population. Volunteers packed more than 2,800 bags with soups, peanut butter, crackers, and other items to distribute to elders across the Roanoke Valley. Some individuals rely on Meals on Wheels or other LOA services. Local Office on Aging hosts Soups for Seniors food drive 'This program represents a tremendous community effort, with more than 600 volunteers coming together to make it successful,' said Ron Boyd, president and CEO of the Local Office on Aging. 'We distributed essential food items to more than 2,800 clients who receive in-home care and to residents in low-income senior housing. When you consider rising food costs and the basic need for nutritious food, these supplies make a real difference in helping our seniors maintain their independence.' This community drive has been made possible through partnerships with AARP Virginia, Salem Lions Club, and other local businesses. The Church of St. Peter and St. Paul hosted the distribution center. Even though the annual drive has ended, seniors need food year-round. LOA's Emergency Food Pantry accepts donations of shelf-stable food from Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., at 4932 Frontage Road NW. For more information about the LOA's senior assistance programs call 540,345-0451 or you can click here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
22-02-2025
- Yahoo
‘A Force For Good,' friends of Susan Williams remember her legacy
ROANOKE, Va. (WFXR) – Those who knew Susan Williams described her as funny, loyal, generous, energetic and persistent. After her death Wednesday morning, they still cannot believe someone like that is gone. 'When I first heard about the murder, I didn't think anything about it because I didn't think it would be her,' Shannon Abell, Williams' friend and former co-worker, said. 'Then when they announced the name, it was a total shock, and it was something I never expected.' Abell said Williams always tried to help people, serving on several non-profits. In 1988, she became the executive director of the Local Office on Aging (LOA), a non-profit organization focused on helping senior citizens remain independent for as long as possible. ORIGINAL REPORTING | Police identified victim killed on Yellow Mountain Road, suspect charged with murder During nearly three decades there, she led the organization through big changes. 'She was a persistent, very charismatic leader,' Ron Boyd, the president and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of LOA, said. 'Some of the things she led LOA through was the purchase of our first facility there on Campbell Avenue, the formalization of case management services, and our largest Meals on Wheels fundraiser that we hold.' Both Abell and Boyd said she always wanted to know about her co-workers, and she would remember all their birthdays. She also loved to travel worldwide, but she would always think of them wherever she went. 'She would bring back mementos from the trip and give it to all of us,' Abell said. 'We would have those sitting on our desk or bookshelves in the office, remembering some of the trips and places she had been.' Boyd said he plans to work with the Board of Directors to honor the legacy in some way at the office in the future after the freshness of the incident dies down. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
