Public encouraged to stop by and learn about college offerings at new Northwest Roanoke outreach location
ROANOKE – Virginia Western Community College invites the public to tour its new outreach location at the Roanoke EnVision Center at any of three open houses in January:
- Wednesday, Jan. 11 from 5 to 6:30 p.m.
- Wednesday, Jan. 18 from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.
- Wednesday, Jan. 25 from 5 to 6:30 p.m.
Virginia Western faculty and staff will be on hand to share information about short-term training for in-demand jobs, resources that help students outside of class (such as bus fares and a campus food pantry), applying for a Community College Access Program (CCAP) scholarship and other sources of financial aid.
The Roanoke EnVision Center is located at 2607 Salem Turnpike, N.W., in Roanoke.
“We look forward to hearing what the community would like to see us offer,” said Dr. Milan Hayward, Virginia Western’s vice president of career and corporate training. “The open houses will be casual events where we invite people to stop by, grab a bite to eat and learn about each other.”
Food and beverages will be provided at the open houses. Registration is required; see the attached flyer with a QR code to scan and register.
The Roanoke EnVision Center is operated by the Roanoke Redevelopment & Housing Authority with support from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). It is housed in a newly renovated building that was the longtime home of the Melrose Branch Library. It sits adjacent to Lansdowne Park, Roanoke’s largest public housing development.
EnVision Centers are supported across the United States, including six others in Virginia. However, the Roanoke location is the first college satellite to be located on public housing in the commonwealth. EnVision Centers aim to offer HUD-assisted families access to support services that can help them achieve self-sufficiency. They are built around four pillars: economic empowerment, educational advancement, health and wellness and character and leadership.
Other community partners based at the Roanoke EnVision Center include: Carilion Clinic, with community health workers on-site; The Harvest Collective and Virginia Cooperative Extension Service, which have helped plant a youth community garden facing Salem Avenue; Family Service of Roanoke Valley, which provides full-time mental health wellness; and the Roanoke Financial Empowerment Center, which offers professional, one-on-one financial counseling at no cost to Roanoke residents. The building houses a training room, a classroom, a telehealth suite and client meeting rooms.
Virginia Western’s main campus on Colonial Avenue currently serves more than 4,000 students. The college also offers classes and job training at the Claude Moore Education Complex in Gainsboro, the Franklin Center for Advanced Learning and Enterprise in Rocky Mount and the Greenfield Training and Education Center in Daleville. It was a founding partner in the RAMP business accelerator in downtown Roanoke.
The Roanoke EnVision Center is open to the public weekdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information, call (540) 983-9210.
To learn more about Virginia Western at the Roanoke EnVision Center, the college says to contact Dr. Hayward at (540) 857-6680 or email mhayward@virginiawestern.edu.
-The New Castle Record
