The story below is a preview from our May/June 2017 issue. For the full story Subscribe today, view our FREE interactive digital edition or download our FREE iOS app!
How the West End Center benefits kids and families in and around the Roanoke Valley.
Awarded in a tie for silver in our “Best of Roanoke” reader poll for “Most Worthy Group to Donate To or Volunteer For,” the West End Center serves as a safe haven for neighborhood children and provides them numerous programs that better their growth. They serve 200 children each year who live in disadvantaged neighborhoods.
“There are so many organizations and a lot of selfless people who are working for nonprofits and trying to make a difference in the valley,” says Melanie Moro-Huber, development coordinator and office manager. “To be recognized among our peers…it’s humbling, encouraging, and it means people recognize how hard we’re working and how much we do care and are trying to make a difference. That acknowledgement means a lot!”
The West End Center was originally formed in 1979 as a response to crime and vandalism in the West End and Hurt Park neighborhoods. Their mission to create positive and nurturing child development communities allows them to work with local families.
These children have limited resources, but with West End Center’s comprehensive programs, they are able to stay off the streets, focus on grades and schoolwork and have access to assets needed to help them become productive, responsible adults.
Many have since enrolled their own children in the program, gone to college, served in the armed forces or otherwise pursued successful careers. Often times the kids who grow up in the West End Center come back during high school to volunteer their own time. A few have even returned to work at West End Center, paying back their community.
“We get so many kids that go through high school and graduate and they come back in the summer,” Moro-Huber says. “That’s a prime example of giving back. We also have staff and board members who have been here forever, some 25-plus years. The fact that all of these people have stuck around for so long to invest their lives into this place, it is a testament to the vision of hope we have to continue on to make a difference in kids’ lives and the world.”
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