Introducing Our New Executive Director & More Updates from Wellspring!

Please help us in welcoming Amanda!!

Amanda comes to us with a background in recovery and addiction prevention, most recently in her role at Seneca Health Services. Amanda holds a master’s degree in communications from West Virginia University. She has experience working in sober living, detox/crisis stabilization, and treatment for individuals experiencing homelessness. She believes in meeting people where they are, advocating for equitable access to care, and collaborating with partners to address both immediate needs and barriers. She has strong roots in Western Greenbrier County and is ready to hit the ground running to serve the community.

With the support of our stellar Board of Directors, Wellspring is embarking an exciting new chapter of our existence after our move from Rupert this summer. Since opening our doors at 223 Main St. in Rainelle in September, we have had over 3,000 visits from our neighbors whether for our food pantry, health fair, laundry or shower services.

Even more importantly, we have registered visits from 341 new households, comprising 959 new neighbors. Just as we had hoped, our new location in Rainelle has made us more accessible to more community members, and we are excited about expanding our ability to serve our neighbors in 2026!

We remain so grateful for our incredible volunteer community at Wellspring. Our new client-choice pantry requires 15-20 volunteers to run smoothly twice monthly, and again and again we see our core of volunteers showing up in all kinds of weather to provide food to those who need it.

Their dedication was especially necessary during the federal government shutdown, when our neighbors did not receive food stamps in the month of November. During this time we served 600 community members at each pantry instead of our normal numbers of 300-400. The picture above shows our tireless volunteers after our pantry on October 28th, enjoying some rest and our lunchtime together.

We also have exciting news about our capital improvement projects! As of January of 2026, we have signed contracts for a roof replacement, our solar power project and an energy-efficient mini-split system for heating and cooling our 11,000 square foot space.

These projects are a massive investment for a small nonprofit, and we are SO grateful to our donors and supporters who are helping to make these necessary improvements possible. Whether you or your congregation give $5 or $500, every donation counts and is important to our mission.

Many smaller projects at our new facility are also big wins like new shelving units (pictured above) for our pantry stockroom, and a newly-gravelled parking lot behind our building (pictured below).

Another exciting development at Wellspring for 2026 is further development of our health advocacy programming. Led by Faith Community Nurse, Diana Godbey, Wellspring will begin offering a range of health-related services in February of 2026.

Every Thursday, blood pressure checks, glucose readings and general health support will be offered from 10am-3pm during our Day Haven hours. We will also offer Chair Yoga, free and open to the community on Thursday afternoons, as well as monthly health-related workshops led by healthcare professionals donating their time.

Diana, shown below with volunteer Josh Miller, has been a tireless supporter of Wellspring for two decades and is such a perfect fit for heading up this evolving program - thank you, Diana!!

And finally, we want to announce that we have also hired a part-time Day Haven support staff member to join our team!!

Tyrell Blair joined our team in December, after having been a regular volunteer for our food pantry program over the past year. Tyrell was raised in the Meadow River Valley, attending Greenbrier West for high school and Concord University for his undergraduate degree. Tyrell will be supporting our Day Haven program on Wednesdays and Thursdays, and we could not be more thrilled to have him onboard with us - welcome Tyrell!!

Whether you are just joining Wellspring’s community or have been with us since 2004, we are glad to be serving the Meadow River Valley alongside you. Thank you for offering your thoughts and prayers as we move forward into 2026 - we hope to see you soon!!

We are also grateful to our funders, who continue to support us:

·    The Daywood Foundation

·    Hollowell Dawkins Foundation

·    James F.B. Peyton Family Fund

·    United Way of Greenbrier Valley

·    Darrell K. Cales Trust

·    Seneca Trail Charitable Foundation

·    The Jeanne G. Hamilton & Lawson W. Hamilton, Jr. Family Foundation

·    WVU Foundation

·    The Lewisburg Rotary Foundation & Rotary International Foundation

·    Meadow River Valley Rotary Club

·    Mary B. Nickell Foundation

·    & many more individual and community donors!