Roanoke Valley MDA Poker Run revs up on Saturday

Roanoke Valley Harley-Davidson and the Harley Owners Group are riding Saturday to raise money for the Muscular Dystrophy Association, which is trying to conquer 43 neuromuscular diseases that affect more than a million Americans.

Registration for the annual Poker Run fundraiser starts at 8 a.m. at the bike dealership, 1925 Peters Creek Road. The first bike leaves at 9 a.m., and the run concludes at Wasena Park, where festivities will include a bike show, games and entertainment.

The cost is $10 per poker hand and $5 per person for lunch. Cash prizes will be offered for best and worst poker hands.

Harley Davidson became a national MDA sponsor in 1980.

All funds remain in the local area in which they were raised and are used for flu shots, clinic services, support groups, research, help with the repair of durable medical equipment and a weeklong session of summer camp for children ages 6 to 17.

For more information about MDA or its programs, call 772-3237 or visit www.mda.org.

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The second annual Mark Donihe Memorial Golfish Tournament, presented by Trane, will be held Sept. 27 at Roanoke Country Club.

The tournament supports Big Brothers Big Sisters of Southwest Virginia and is held in memory of Donihe, a Trane employee who met his future wife, Lynn, when they both were "Bigs" to youngsters.

Donihe loved to golf and fish, hence the "Golfish" tournament title. He also had "Golfish" on his license plate.

The first Golfish tournament raised more than $15,000 for Big Brothers Big Sisters, which matches children facing adversity with adult mentors.

Registration for the tournament and lunch begins at 11:30 a.m., a shotgun start is at 12:30 p.m. and a cocktail hour and awards presentation will be at 5:30 p.m.

Golfers may register individually for $125 or as a team of four for $500.

For more information, visit www.bigslittles.org. Or contact Scott Wise at 563-2828 or scott.wise@trane.com or Jessica Scaggs at 345-9604, ext. 19, or jscaggs@bigslittles.org.

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Trust House, a shelter for homeless veterans, families and individuals in Roanoke's Old Southwest neighborhood, has received a face-lift.

The shelter's two attached 95-year-old homes recently had nearly all of their original windows replaced.

Trust House, which assists up to 27 people each evening, received $15,000 from Wells Fargo & Co. to replace the windows.

With additional support from SunTrust, the Newbern Foundation and Cook Siding, Trust House replaced 44 windows in the 7,000-square-foot facility.

Trust House provides therapeutic case management, skills development for self-sufficiency, credit remediation, budgeting and savings assistance and support for residents when they return to independent living.

"The generosity of Wells Fargo and others will allow the Trust House to ensure a comfortable environment for residents, staff and volunteers and decrease our energy costs in the years to come," said Ali Hamed-Moore, Trust House's executive director.

As part of the project, Wells Fargo employees also volunteered nearly 80 hours over the course of a month to helping Trust House with the windows and other maintenance projects, including painting, landscaping and cleaning.

Wells Fargo partners with other organizations across the country to promote the long-term economic prosperity and quality of life for everyone in communities it serves, said Tommye Arnold, community relations officer for Western Virginia at Wells Fargo.

Team members, through grants and volunteerism, supported 28,000 nonprofit agencies in 2012, Arnold said.

Last year across the nation, Wells Fargo team members gave $60.4 million in campaign pledges and a combined total of $78.9 million in donations, according to Arnold.

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