Local Business Provides Employees Opportunity To Direct Business Contributions

Joel Shepherd with Rwandan some of the children that are being supported by Virginia Furniture Market.
Joel Shepherd with children in Rwanda.

Underserved Community in Rwanda to Receive Aid

Christmas is the time for gift giving and celebration and for local business Virginia Furniture Market, it is also a time for giving back.

The company, founded in 1997, believes in creating opportunities for its employees to get involved through giving back and Owner Joel Shepherd is grateful that his company’s success, “allows him to support dozens of organizations in Central & Southwestern Virginia through cash and in-kind donations throughout the year.” And this year VFM will also extend its giving beyond our borders by supporting “Hope On A Thousand Hills,” a ministry of the Anglican Church which serves the urban & rural communities in Gasabo Rwanda.

Shepherd visited Rwanda earlier this year and participated in building a school in memory of local teen, Kendall Bane, who succumbed to cancer in October 2015. He said he was “blessed to participate in the efforts to bring a school to an underserved area,” and that he experience served to fuel VFM’s continued commitment to both the local community and those abroad. Shepherd recently joined the non-profit’s governing board.

Hope On A Thousand Hills carries out their mission by empowering church leaders to proclaim the Gospel, strengthening communities by providing education and nutrition essential for the development of preschool children and their families, and equipping people at the margins in sustainable development through agriculture and commerce.

This year’s Hope on a Thousand Hills Giving Program at Virginia Furniture Market will allow employees to direct funding to specific areas of the groups ministry using a total of over $10,000 in funds for Early Childhood Development Programs, Sustainable Agriculture, Slum Ministry, as well as Nutrition, Teacher and School Recreation Needs.

“After spending time with [HoaTH managing director] Brandon Walsh and his family in Rwanda earlier this year,” said Shepherd, “I became convinced that this organization is a powerful grassroots effort that positively affects hundreds of lives daily in a way that can have lasting impact.”

The employee response at Virginia Furniture Market has been overwhelming with staffers not only financially contributing, but several have expressed the desire to participate in future mission trips.

“Our VFM partnership with Hope On A Thousand Hills in Rwanda recognizes that giving and compassion can transcend national borders,” said Shepherd.

For questions about Virginia Furniture Market’s involvement in this year’s program, contact Joel Shepherd at [email protected]
For more information on Hope on a Thousand Hills, visit http://www.hopeonathousandhills.org/home

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