Community

Mountain Valor receives $30,000 grant during third annual festival

This year's festival marked the first time Appalachian Power sponsored Mountain Valor Fest, and during Saturday's ceremony Appalachian Power Foundation announced its first grant to Mountain Valor Veteran Services: a $30,000 award.

Blue Star Mothers of America, one of the nonprofits at Mountain Valor Fest 2026, focuses on supporting families of deployed soldiers. Photo by Tanja Harmon

Mountain Valor Veteran Services held its third annual Mountain Valor Fest on Sept. 12 at Crooked Mountain, drawing veterans and their families from across the region for a day of sharing, shopping, and community.

The festival connected attendees with service providers offering benefits navigation, health care, and support services. More than 25 local organizations were on hand explaining how they support veterans and their families, as well as a team from U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and the Roanoke Vet Center.

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One community organization on-site was New River Valley Community Services, which works as one of the region's public providers of behavioral health services. Community Wellness and Outreach Director Mike Wade explained that “one of the populations that we try to focus on are local veterans, active duty members, and their families. Being here today is just about making sure that they have access to resources that can help them with their behavioral health issues.”

Wade says NRVCS is “really just trying to help them navigate resources in the community and keep them well.” Find more information at www.nrvcs.org.

Rochelle Jefcoat of F.R.A.M.E. (Family Readiness and Military Ease) out of Bent Mountain explained that they work as a contact resource for veterans in Southwest Virginia and people that tend to fall through the cracks in rural areas. Learn more at www.facebook.com/VAFrame or by calling (540) 424-5339,

Another booth featured Blue Star Mothers of America, a nonprofit organization of military mothers whose main mission is to support other military families by sending out care packages to deployed soldiers. Jessica Tate said at the festival that members’ goals are to help out military families “anyway we can.” Learn more and find local chapters at www.bluestarmothers.org.

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Food trucks, a kid zone, and live music made sure there was something for everyone in between rain showers.

"A lot of the veterans we work with don't know what they qualify for, or they've given up trying to find out," said Katt Whittenberger, founder and executive director of Mountain Valor Veteran Services and Navy veteran. "Mountain Valor Fest puts everything in one place, on one day, so no one has to navigate that alone."

"We are grateful Appalachian Power chose to invest in us, and it couldn't come at a better time," Whittenberger said in a release after the event. "Community connection, where we meet veterans where they are most comfortable, was how our organization started and is how we get veterans often considered unreachable connected with the federal, state and local services that can support them. This grant will directly impact our ability to continue that often one-on-one help."

Mountain Valor Veteran Services also announced during the 2026 festival that it will launch a new food assistance program Jan. 1, absorbing households currently served by a closing local organization. The new program will deliver groceries directly to veterans' homes, removing a transportation barrier for veterans who lack reliable transportation, and will serve as an entry point connecting veterans to the organization's other services.

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"Food insecurity is rarely the initial challenge a veteran faces. It shows up after a dozen other things a veteran is struggling with," Whittenberger said. "This program gets food on the table and gets us in the door to help them develop a plan to address everything else that's going on."

Additionally, organizers said the festival will be moving to a new location next year.

"We've outgrown where we started, and that's a good challenge to face," Whittenberger said. "A bigger venue means we can let families stay the whole weekend, add more for kids, and create more for veterans to do together to build those critical social connections that help prevent veteran suicide."

Mountain Valor Fest was also supported this year by presenting sponsor BAE Systems, now in its third year backing the event, along with Blue Cross Blue Shield Federal Employee Program, which sponsored the Kid Zone, and Carter Bank, which sponsored the event's Respite Area.

Mountain Valor Fest is the most visible program of Mountain Valor Veteran Services, a veteran-led nonprofit founded in 2024 and based in Floyd County. The nonprofit provides veterans and their families across seven counties in rural Southwest Virginia with community connection, digital veteran education and outreach, and targeted outreach to veterans and caregivers, along with transportation support to benefits appointments and healthcare enrollment.

Click to enlarge images in gallery. Photos by Tanja Harmon

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