The Voice Has Spoken!

The Voice has spoken - Voice of the Blue Ridge to be exact.  Foundation for Roanoke Valley announced today that the agency has won the Foundation’s second “Project Make-A-Difference.” Project Make-A-Difference is a “crowd-powered philanthropy” grants initiative of the community foundation that spotlights two local nonprofit organizations and their needs and invites citizens to take an active role in making a difference by casting votes on the Foundation’s website.

In a fiercely competitive contest that saw numerous lead changes throughout the month of May, Voice of the Blue Ridge eked out the win at the bell over the Girl Scouts of Virginia Skyline Council.  The total votes from throughout the country were staggering, with over 6 million votes cast between the two organizations, as compared to just under 1 million total votes in the Foundation’s inaugural contest in February.  The final percentages were 50.6 % of the vote for Voice of the Blue Ridge to 49.4% for the Girl Scouts. 

Voice of the Blue Ridge provides numerous services to meet the needs of the blind and visually impaired, with a special focus on accessibility to the printed word, audio aids and technical communication aspects.  The agency will receive a Foundation grant of $1,000 to assist Adaptive Technology Center students, many of whom are elderly or on fixed incomes, with transportation to and from the Center.  The Girl Scouts of Virginia Skyline Council was seeking support for its “camperships” program that enables girls from low-to-moderate income families to attend summer camp, something which might otherwise be inaccessible to them.  Such summer camp experiences help these girls acquire self-confidence and positive decision-making skills. Foundation for Roanoke Valley encourages the community to get to know both organizations and the good work they do.  

The Foundation selects two local nonprofit organizations for the grants contest quarterly.  The organizations are profiled on the Foundation’s website, and voting lasts one month.  The winning organization receives a $1,000 grant.  The Foundation has sole responsibility for final determination of the winning grant. Qualified charitable organizations in the cities of Roanoke and Salem and the counties of Alleghany, Botetourt, Craig, Franklin and Roanoke are eligible to participate.  To be considered for August, an organization must complete and return the Project Make-A-Difference application by June 30, 2011.  Visit www.foundationforroanokevalley.org/pmad.asp for more information.