The Community Foundation of the NRV 25-26 Annual Report

HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE YEAR

Studying Relationships Across the NRV to Understand Shared Challenges

F or the past ten years, the CFNRV has worked with Dr. Robin LeMaire of Louisiana State University and Dr. Donna Sedgwick of Virginia Tech to guide the work of our collaborative initiatives, including First Steps focused on early childhood development, and Thrive focused on food assistance. Their deep knowledge of human service networks and collaboration have helped to grow each initiative’s impact and to demonstrate the value of investing in relationship-building to address shared challenges. Over the past year, Drs. LeMaire and Sedgwick have worked with community partners to conduct a new network analysis, a type of study that seeks to understand how organizations are working together to address community needs, and where additional collaboration could benefit the individuals served. Their study encompasses several collaborative networks that form Healthy Roots NRV (HRNRV), a regional initiative aimed at improving health and well-being. These networks – Aging in Community, First Steps, the NRV Recovery Ecosystem, the Partnership for Access to Healthcare (PATH), and Thrive – will each gain valuable insight into their impact within their specific issue area and how greater collaboration between networks could help to address common issues like access to transportation, or improved communication. As a part of this work, the CFNRV and other partners involved in Healthy Roots NRV held a regional event in February 2026 called “From Seed to Strength” with 120 people in attendance. Keynote speaker, Mark Cruise, shared about his work as the director of STRONG ACC, a similar collaboration to Healthy Roots based in far SWVA. Attendees also heard preliminary results from the network study and discussed priorities for HRNRV in 2026.

Dr. Robin LeMaire.

Listening to keynote speaker Mark Cruise.

Photos: moments from the ‘From Seed to Strength’ Healthy Roots event in February 2026. Council also brainstormed a plan to share the results of the network study, which will be shared in summer 2026. Based on feedback from that meeting, the HRNRV Council is setting up work groups to focus on collaboration training, governance and funding for HRNRV. The

Attendees engage in discussion.

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