It’s not difficult to find people at Smith Mountain Lake who are dedicated to making a difference in our community. Often those who provide services and help for others are doing so outside the normal realm of business which revolves around buying and selling. Those types of businesses are called non-profit organizations and exist simply to provide a blessing in one form or another to the citizens of their town or county. Here are a few of the non-profit organizations in our area.
The Smith Mountian Lake Sail and Power Squadron is a unit of District 5, of United States Power Squadrons®, a worldwide non-profit organization dedicated to the promotion of safe boating through education. We live in Southwestern Virginia, primarily in Roanoke, Franklin, and Bedford counties, the latter, bordering beautiful Smith Mountain Lake. Smith Mountain Lake, Virginia’s largest lake with over 500 miles of shoreline, is a haven for sailors and power boaters alike.
The Smith Mountain Arts Council (SMAC) is a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting all forms of the arts throughout the region encompassing Smith Mountain Lake. With additional support from the Virginia Commission for the Arts, SMAC sponsors photo shows, art shows, play readings, and vocal and musical groups of interest to varied tastes throughout the year. Membership is $15 per year for an individual or, $25 per family and entitles members to a monthly newsletter offering advance notice of upcoming events as well as a discount on many of the activities. For info contact SMAC at P.O. Box 745, Moneta, VA 24121 or call 540-721-2904.
The W.E. Skelton 4-H Educational Conference Center is a non-profit organization dedicated to the youth of our region. Youth development for our region of the Commonwealth has never been needed more than now. The Board of Directors at the W. E. Skelton 4-H Educational Conference Center at Smith Mountain Lake embraces the following philosophy: “It is easier to build a child than repair an adult.”
There is nothing more exciting or empowering to the youth of our region than to learn and grow from experiences that they create on their own. This positive learning experience is what our summer camps, specialty camps, and classes provide due to the support from private sources. The Board of Directors, Staff, and private sponsors have been providing the framework for such building, and contributing to the empowerment of the region’s youth for the last 40 years.