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The Rotary Club of Roanoke-Downtown has partnered with the Rescue Mission of Roanoke to dedicate a “Peace Pole,” outside the women and children’s center, inscribed in four languages with the message “May Peace Prevail on Earth, ” in English, Spanish, French and Arabic. The dedication is part of an International Peace Pole movement, reflecting the hope for peace among people and communities worldwide.  Lisa Thompson is director of development and communications for the southeast Roanoke homeless shelter:

For about a decade the House of Bread non-profit has been helping under-resourced women build job skills and regain their footing by training in a hands-on commercial kitchen. This Saturday in keeping with theme, House of Bread will hold a first-time fundraiser – a “bake off,” featuring some well known local figures. A baking competition, a soup and bread dinner featuring House of Bread’s own baked goods and a celebrity desert auction featuring bakers like Mayor Joe Cobb, city council woman Vivian Sanchez-Jones and delegate Sam Rasoul. The Bake-off is this Saturday from 6 to 8pm at Greene Memorial United Methodist Church. Lisa Goad is the program coordinator for house of bread, which works out of a shared kitchen space in Roanoke’s West End neighborhood. More from WFIR’s Gene Marrano:

A solemn ceremony this morning at Roanoke-Blacksburg Airport in remembrance of the September 11th, 2001 hijackings and terrorist attacks that took down the World Trade Center Twin Towers in New York and hit the Pentagon, killing almost 3000 people. ROA executive director and CEO Mike Stewart recalled the first responders and others on that fateful day 25 years ago. Stewart was working at busy Chicago-O’Hare Airport on 9/11 2001, which like every other airport in the country was shut down for several days. This morning’s ceremony at Roanoke-Blacksburg Airport included a Wreath of Remembrance ceremony and “God Bless America” sung by all in attendance.

“Together we remember,” – a ceremony on Friday at Salem Fire Station number one, honoring the almost 3000 lives lost in the terrorist attacks on September 11th, 2001. An emotional Salem Fire-EMS chief Stephen Simon told local first responders, elected officials and other guests we must never forget what happened 25 years ago. The ceremony included a posting of the colors, bagpipers playing Amazing Grace, the laying of wreaths at the bottom of a steel beam that came from a World Trade Center Tower, and a symbolic bell ringing.

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More than 85-percent of the homes in the City of Roanoke were built before 1978.  That means they probably have lead paint.  The city has received funding to help homeowners with lead remediation.  WFIR’s Denise Allen Membreno has more.

The City of Roanoke has received $6.25 million to remove lead paint hazards.  Over the next three years they will work on as many as 150 homes.  The work is done through Lead Safe Roanoke.  The city has operated the program for more than 20 years, completing lead remediation in 559 Roanoke homes. Program Director Katie Kennedy says when they are called to a home, it’s rare NOT to find lead contamination.

“We’ll actually come out and do a full lead inspection and risk assessment,” said Kennedy. “And so we’ll test every single painted surface in your house to determine whether there’s lead paint there and whether or not that paint is a hazard. Lead paint when it’s deteriorating, so if it’s chipping or peeling, it often looks like alligator scales.”

The goal is to make homes safe for families. Lead exposure can seriously harm children and cause lifelong health effects. To qualify for the program you must live in Roanoke City. The home has to have been built before 1978 and is not located in a floodplain. There are income eligibility requirements. And a child age 5 or younger must live in or regularly visit the home. Find a link to the application at WFIRNews.com.  Denise Allen Membreno WFIR News.

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Roanoke City has received $6.5 Million to continue its lead remediation program.  WFIR’s Denise Allen Membreno has more on who is eligible for the program.

Lead Safe Roanoke has competed lead remediation in 559 homes in the city during its 20-year history.  But with more than 85% of the city’s homes being built before 1978 there is a lot more work to do. Lead exposure can seriously harm children and cause lifelong health effects. That is why one of the eligibility requirements is a child age 5 or younger must live in or regularly visit the home.

“The only way you can actually know if somebody has lead poisoning is to have a blood test. And it’s really important at your child’s well visit at age one and two. If you live in a pre-78 house or your child spends time with their grandparents or other family members in an older home, that you make sure that your pediatrician during their well child visit is testing their blood for lead.”

That is Katie Kennedy Program director of Lead Safe Roanoke.  She says to qualify for the program you must live in Roanoke City. The home must have been built before 1978 and is not located in a floodplain. There are also income eligibility requirements. Find a link to the application at WFIRNews.com.  Denise Allen Membreno WFIR News.

Online application for Lead Safe Roanoke

In the past several weeks two towering, iconic women that impacted American culture and politics for decades have passed away. First Dolly Parton, and last week journalist, publisher and early second-wave feminist Gloria Steinem. A Virginia Tech professor who had a brief encounter with Steinem years ago at a conference remembers her. Dr. Bonnie Zare is professor of sociology and women’s studies at Virginia Tech, she recalls meeting Steinem at an airport. In the mid-60’s Steinem went undercover for about two weeks to work as a Playboy Bunny at Hugh Hefner’s place in New York, intent on exposing the conditions the women working there had to endure. More from WFIR’s Gene Marrano:

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A new event is coming to the Dog Bowl Market.  5 Points Music Sanctuary is celebrating arts from all disciplines.  Denise Allen Membreno has more

The first ever 5 Points Art Harvest is a celebration of art, creativity, music, and community. 5 Points Founder and Executive Director, Tyler Godsey says the event is an invitation to create art.

“This event itself has got different forms of interaction points and what we’re calling harvest stations,” added Godsey. “So we have a bunch of instruments where we’re doing an instrument giveaway in which people can come and decorate their own guitars, ukuleles, mocarenas, and a bunch of instruments. We’ll be able to decorate those, take them on the parade. We have a tie-dye station for people to get free tie-dyes and do tie-dye bandanas. We have a community mural that we are painting together. There’ll be a paint-by-numbers concept.”

Other hands-on experiences include a bubble garden, yard games, face painting, and a goat petting zoo. Godsey says this event is about collaborations.

“Core partner for this event is VIA, which provides jobs and schools for families with autism and those with developmental disabilities,” said Godsey. “We will have a Five Points dog walk and parade. We partnered with the Daisy Art Parade to come in and create a little mini Daisy Art Parade at the Dog Bowl. We’ll feature a Five Points poster gallery that will have all of our poster artists that work for us throughout the year.”

The 5 Points Art Harvest is September 13th at the Black dog Salvage Dog Bowl Market from 11 am to 4 pm.  Find a link to tickets and information at WFIRnews.com.  Denise Allen Membreno WFIR News.

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The 5 Points Art Harvest is your chance to enjoy and create art.  The inaugural event offers different ways to experience creativity.  Denise Allen Membreno reports.

5 Points Music Sanctuary is famous for putting on concerts, but the new 5 Points Art Harvest is a way to celebrate all forms of art.

“It is the platform of creative capacity that we offer to photographers, live painters, installation artists, street performers, poster designers,” continued Godsey. “All of these individuals are seeking ways in which they can explore their own creative ingenuity. And one of the things that’s really important for me and important for our organization is to honor the fact that we have platforms available and not just be focused on how we present music, but it’s on how we present a community. that goes along with that.”

That’s Tyler Godsey Executive Director of 5 Points Music Sanctuary.   The 5 Points Art Harvest is September 13th at the Black dog Salvage Dog Bowl Market from 11 am to 4 pm.  It has what Godsey calls Harvest Stations where all ages can interact and create art.  The goal is to create a sensory friendly event.

“The Dog Bowl is a public access space,” said Godsey. “It’s not just a place where we put on our concerts. I view that as a community asset for the long run. And when we put on events there, I do want to look at how we can explore not just what we hear, but the things that we see, the things that we taste, the things that we share. When we understand that these experiences are about all of the senses, we can start to open up our minds and our eyes to different ways in which our community He comes together for these things.”

Find a link to tickets and information at WFIRnews.com.  Denise Allen Membreno WFIR News.

Art Harvest Information

Art Harvest tickets

The loss of Medicaid coverage expected by new work requirements and funding cuts to SNAP – the food stamp program -could place more strain on local food pantries in Southwest Virginia – and on food banks like Salem-based Feeding Southwest Virginia.  President and CEO Pam Irvine says they’ve started to see more people seeking assistance at the food pantries they service over 26 counties and in 9 cities, as components of the Big Beautiful Bill start to come online; many of those changes to Medicaid and SNAP in the budget bill were timed to go into effect after the mid-term elections. Governor Spanberger has signed an executive order called Keep Virginia Covered but acknowledges the Commonwealth won’t have all the funds needed to cover all the potential losses to the SNAP program that gives lower-income families more purchasing power when they buy groceries. More from WFIR’s Gene Marrano:

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A Blacksburg non-profit has been named a finalist for the 2026 DOT-ORG Impact Awards.  The winner of the international award wins $50 thousand. WFIR’s Denise Allen Membreno has more on Hope to Walk.

Hope to Walk has been providing legs to amputees in developing countries since 2015. Founder Phil Johnson has invented a low-cost prosthetic leg which the organization gives to amputees at no cost.  In the past 11 years Hope to Walk has grown from three clinics to 7 clinics, several of which are in development. Reed Kennedy, Volunteer Executive Director says the legs are made in Blacksburg, bagged and then volunteers take them overseas to fit those in need.

“And they then use the components in the kit to customize the lead to the patient,” explained Kennedy. “They’ll grind the foot down to the right size, they cut the pylon off at the right length, and they build the socket.”

The clinics are in Honduras, Guatemala, Dominican Republic, St. Lucia and Tanzania.  Kennedy says Hope to Walk’s mission of helping amputees has coincided with an initiative of Lions Club international

“They have adopted diabetes as one of their focus areas and hope to walk,” said Kennedy. “We’re kind of the back end of diabetic treatment for those that get an amputation. We restore their ability to walk. And about 80%, Phil, estimates of the patients that he puts a leg on, they’re diabetics. They lost their leg due to diabetes.”

Kennedy says it costs $250 dollars to make each leg. As a finalist for the 2026 Dot-Org Impact Awards they are guaranteed to receive at least a 25-hundred-dollar prize.  Hope to Walk and 35 other finalists are vying for the $50,000 grand prize.  Denise Allen Membreno WFIR News.

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A Blacksburg nonprofit is expanding and receiving international attention.  As WFIR’s Denise Allen Membreno tells us Hope to Walk is meeting the need of more amputees in developing countries but the need for more prosthetics is increasing as well.

In its 11 years of providing free prosthetic legs to amputees Hope to Walk has grown from three clinics to clinics in Honduras, Guatemala, Dominican Republic, St. Lucia and Tanzania.  Reed Kennedy, Volunteer Executive Director says in 2025 the organization almost tripled the number of amputees who received legs the prior year, and this year they are tracking to double last year’s total. He says the need is growing.

“Last I heard, 72 million people are amputees that can’t afford a prosthetic leg,” said Kennedy. “And it’s growing because of the diabetes, which is raging not just here in the US, but in other countries as well.”

 As a finalist for the 2026 Dot-Org Impact Awards they are guaranteed to receive at least 25-hundred-dollar prize.  Hope to Walk and 35 other finalists are vying for the $50,000 grand prize. Kennedy says it costs $250 dollars to make each leg a small price to change someone’s life.

“He came in and Phil fitted up with a leg and he started walking there in the clinic and I looked in his face and tears are coming down his eyes,” remembered Kennedy. “His daughter and grandson are there. They start crying. Then I start crying. I was not expecting the emotion of getting a leg and what it means to these folks because it totally changes their life.”

Kennedy says these prosthetic legs breath new life into the individuals they fit. Adults can go back to work and the children they serve can once again play and go to school.  Denise Allen Membreno WFIR News.

Hope to Walk

Brand new bicycles and safety training for 125 deserving youngsters in Salem City Schools. That could be the reality by the beginning of the new year, as part of the Salem Lions Club “Wheels of Hope,” initiative. Garry Lautenschlager is with the non-profit Salem Area Ministries, which was turned down for a grant the non-profit community organization has been awarded in the past on several occasions to establish school food pantries – then the Salem Lions Club came to the rescue, making a significant contribution towards the purchase of 125 bicycles that will go to children most in need at Salem elementary schools. More from WFIR’s Gene Marrano:

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The Salem VA Health Care System is inviting all area veterans to come out Saturday for the VetFest Veteran Enrollment Fair.  WFIR’s Denise Allen Membreno has more.

The Salem V-A wants to make it easy for veterans to get the healthcare and benefits they have earned through their service to the country.  So, Evan Hinkley, Salem VA Public Affairs Officer, says they’ve created a one stop shop.

“Veterans who are looking to enroll should bring their DD214, a valid photo ID, and any pertinent insurance information along and that will help us with the enrollment process,” continued Hinkley.

Hinkley encourages all veterans to come even if they are missing some of that documentation.  He says there are other ways to determine their eligibility, it just may take a little longer.

In addition to enrolling, Hinkley says some services will also be provided.

“The goal of this event and having it on a Saturday, though, is to really be accessible to a lot of veterans who maybe work the 9 to 5 or are busy throughout the day. And also in terms of a one-stop shop, that it won’t just be enrollment, but also the same day appointment, the benefit, and a number of other services, which include a toxic exposure screening for veterans who are enrolled, one-on-one private mental health care, homeless care teams, suicide prevention, women’s health.”

Hinkley says the Veterans Benefits Administration will also be on hand to handle claims and answer questions.  VetFest Veteran Enrollment Fair is from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. this Saturday at the Salem VA Medical Center. Denise Allen Membreno WFIR News.

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The Salem V-A Medical Center wants to make is easy for veterans in Southwest Virginia to enroll for healthcare and other benefits.  So it is hosting The VetFest Enrollment Fair.  Denise Allen Membreno reports.

This Saturday veterans can enroll in V-A health care and then that day they can receive an initial Primary Care appointment with a V-A Doctor. Veterans should bring their DD-214, a valid photo ID, and any insurance information.  There will also be toxic exposure screenings, one-on-one private mental health support, Women’s Health, Homeless care, Suicide Prevention, and Caregiver Support.

“The goal of this is to truly be a one-stop shop to connect veterans across the Roanoke Valley, across Southwest Virginia to the VA care and benefits that they’ve earned for serving and to have these services offered all in one day in one convenient location.”

Hinkley says if you have been denied before come apply again as the requirements have changed and you may be eligible. The Veterans Benefits Administration will also be on hand to handle claims and answer questions. Hinkley adds they are always looking for help.

“One important booth at the event will be a volunteering booth where anyone in the community is open and welcome to sign up and learn more about volunteering opportunities at the VA,” said Hinkley. We always need more people to help veterans with various items that are here at the VA, whether they’re inpatient, outpatient, or maybe even drivers who can help drive veterans to and from appointments.”

There will be summer picnic food and snacks. VetFest Veteran Enrollment Fair is from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. this Saturday at the Salem VA Medical Center. Denise Allen Membreno WFIR News.

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