President's Message

April is Volunteer Appreciation month, a time to honor those who give of themselves to help others. Here at Volunteers of America Chesapeake we have over 2200 volunteers who donate their time and unique talents to help us care for the over 10,000 men, women and children we reach each year. I am truly thankful for those individuals. Recently, our Residential Program Center held an Open House to showcase their facility as well as recognize the tireless efforts of their volunteers. I had the opportunity to present each honoree with a certificate and personally thank them for their dedication. It was such a wonderful feeling to meet these individuals and hear the stories of how they were Called to Care.

Our organization has grown tremendously over the past year, spurred by the dedication of our staff and volunteers and over the next few months we will ask them to take on greater responsibilities and care for even more of our neighbors most in need. This increased urgency has been met with an overwhelming response. Corporate partners like Johnny Rockets and Comcast have signed on to host events and fundraisers as well as provide volunteers to benefit our programs. Individual donations are increasing thanks in part to our $1 Can Make a Difference campaign supporting homeless veterans, and even the youngest among us are answering the call. 5-year-old Cora Niles is foregoing a birthday party, opting instead to collect donations for our Lighthouse Center, a homeless services day center in Virginia Beach.

I could not be more overcome with pride and appreciation for these individuals and organizations that have reached out to help further our mission. We are strengthening our partnerships with The District of Columbia to provide more health services in our nation’s capitol; we are hiring direct support professionals in our intellectual disabilities service area and leveraging the strengths of all our 29 programs to provide a continuum of care for those we serve. We would not have these successes without our dedicated staff, donors and of course volunteers.

Thank you so much for your continued support and God Bless,