Rockbridge
Community Friends
Rockbridge Community Friends are people interested in helping their fellow Rockbridge area residents cope with life’s stresses.
Community Friends are not professional therapists. A Community Friend is simply what the name suggests – a person willing to spend time talking with you, listening to you, and offering companionship and emotional support.
50 Ways Rockbridge, a volunteer group dedicated to addressing important issues affecting our local community and beyond, launched the Community Friends program in May 2020, when the early stages of the Covid-19 pandemic made even casual interaction with others difficult.
Since then, prolonged social distancing requirements have vastly increased the number of people who report feeling lonely and anxious. Even as restrictions on gatherings ease up, normal everyday challenges continue to arise. Community Friends are here to help.
A Friend is just a phone call away.
801-609-4357.
Please open your pocketbooks to help Ukraine
50 Ways Rockbridge is partnering with Together Rising, a woman-led organization based in the United States to raise funds that will go directly to those assisting the most vulnerable people caught in the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
TOGETHER RISING "transforms collective heartbreak into effective action."
Our goal is to raise $4,500 in two weeks. For every $25 you donate to Together Rising’s Ukraine program, 50 Ways Rockbridge will round it up to $30.
50 Ways Rockbridge will round up the first 150 donations from our community. We will announce the results at a community meeting on April 12, 2022.
Here's how it works:
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You make a donation of any amount directly to Together Rising.
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Send a copy of your receipt by email to us at 50waysrockbridge.com.
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For every increment of $25 you donate, we’ll send an additional $5.
You’ve demonstrated your generosity here in Rockbridge time after time. Now, let's share our spirit and our resources with those in Ukraine who need us.
Please donate now!
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Together Rising's
Ukraine Relief Partners
Refugee Trauma Initiative
Led by an Afghan woman who was a refugee herself at age 11, this initiative is focused on mental health. They are providing trauma-informed mental healthcare for frontline aid workers, as well as long-term training for organizations serving Ukrainian people to ensure they can best meet the mental health needs of those children and families.
Afya Foundation
This organization is flying critical medical supplies, such as surgical kits, wound care, and biomedical equipment.
Estonian Refugee Council
The Council supplies a variety of assistance, including critical aid for hospitals in dire need. They are also providing direct cash assistance to those in the hardest hit areas who have lost their homes, lost loved ones, or been injured. Estonian Refugee Council is continuing to evacuate refugees, an initiative that was at risk of ceasing due to lack of funding.
ShelterBox
This group provides coats, blankets, and shelter kits to those trapped in Ukraine, including elderly and disabled people, as well as to refugees who have escaped.