The Branch Group, Branch Civil, Branch Builds, and GJ Hopkins had a great time working with the Rescue Mission to help prepare 1,000 students in the Roanoke Valley with donated school supplies and backpacks, and 500 pairs of new shoes. Along with employee donations, The Branch Group’s charitable giving committee Branch Gives, purchased an additional $500 worth of supplies.

This year’s event was held at Parkway Church with over 100 volunteers and over 1,000 children participating along with their parents, grandparents, and siblings. Branch Civil’s own Chris Caldwell provided a loader for the kids to play in while waiting to receive their supplies. The kids also enjoyed free ice cream, puppet shows, a balloon artist, and much more!

We’d like to thank the following individuals for their help and support:

• Lea Fealty and Leah Kinder for being the organizers and rallying support for this cause.
• Steve Zegarski, Tony Williams, Leah Kinder, and Lea Fealty shopped for supplies.
• Carmen Agra-Boitnott of Branch Builds passed out binders that wouldn’t fit in the backpacks.
• Angie Overstreet of Branch Builds and her 3 children passed out backpacks.
• Kenna Smith (and her two children), Manisha Hall, and Ashleigh Turner of The Branch Group worked the vendor table and handed out kid-sized hard hats and frisbees.

The Branch Group family of companies is dedicated to helping those in need in our communities. To learn more about Branch Gives, read about us here.