Volunteers are vital for keeping Roanoke Area Ministries operating, allowing the paid staff to take care of specialized jobs, such as running the Emergency Financial Assistance Program.
In the early 1970’s, the Vietnam War was very unpopular with some citizens at home and also with some of those who were being sent overseas to fight. Yet Tracy
Betsy Biesenbach
Special to The Roanoke Times
Last March, Bre Vassar, chair of Roanokeâs Historic Garden Week in Virginia tour, had already begun lining up volunteers to open their homes and gardens when the 2020 tour was canceled due to COVID-19 restrictions.
âIt was a little depressing,â she said, since she had already been working on the project â which is sponsored by the Roanoke Valley Garden Club and the Mill Mountain Garden Club â for several months.
At the time, most people thought it would be just a matter of weeks before everything got back to normal, but last spring, in an almost-prescient move, the Garden Club of Virginia â which provides publicity and support for the statewide event in exchange for a portion of the ticket sales â decided to encourage its member groups to hold outdoor-only events this year.