Floyd's Mystical Witches gift funds to June Bug Center, Floyd Friends of Asylum Seekers
Through their annual calendar sales, yard sales, raffles, and donation drives, the witches have previously raised enough funds to purchase freezers for Plenty!, build a fenced outdoor area for dogs at the county’s animal control pound, help a local family facing childhood cancer, and more.
The Mystical Witches of Floyd is a costumed dance troupe that provides light-hearted entertainment and raises funds for local nonprofits and charitable causes. Last week, the group presented The Floyd Friends of Asylum Seekers and The June Bug Center for Arts and Education with $1,000 checks.
Founded in 2017, the Mystical Witches have performed flashmobs and dance routines at Citizens Telephone Coop’s Halloween events, The Chamber of Commerce’s Spooktacular, The Floyd Center for the Arts Mayfair, June Bug Center’s Halloween Haunted House, the Floyd Americana Festival, and Yoga Jam. They have also performed at Sinkland Farm’s Pumpkin Days and Blacksburg’s Summer Solstice Celebration.
Through their annual calendar sales, yard sales, raffles, and donation drives, the witches have previously raised enough funds to purchase freezers for Plenty! Farm and Food Bank, build a fenced outdoor area for dogs at the county’s animal control pound, help a local family facing childhood cancer, and contribute to efforts of supplying medical equipment for Ukrainians injured in Russia’s war in Ukraine.
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Sarah Fleetwood, one of the Mystical Witches and the acting secretary of the group, said there are currently 23 witches in the group. Fleetwood, who’s been involved for over four years, does the organizing, keeps the agenda, takes meeting minutes, and creates social media updates.
On Feb. 28, a contingency of Mystical Witches gathered at the Jessie Peterman Library Pavilion to present Tara Orlando, founder of the Friends of the Asylum Seekers, with a check for $1,000. Formed in 2018, “the Friends of the Asylum Seekers is a volunteer-based nonprofit that provides community supports to Floyd's legal resident asylum-seekers through donations that cover medical visits, dental visits, legal expense assisting, trauma healing programs, rent assistance, interpretation assistance, transportation assistance and other assistance as needed,” according to their webpage.
“Our intention is to give people a hand up,” Orlando said. She reported that the Asylum Seekers are a sizeable population of contributing members of the Floyd community. They have jobs, and graduate from Floyd County High School and college.
A few days later, Fleetwood and a few other witches presented the June Bug’s Executive Director Joanne Woodward with a $1,000 check. “It’s monumental that the witches have chosen us. The money will be going to support our programs and to pay our instructors” who Woodward referred to as top notch and coming from all over the NRV and Roanoke. “We’ve got 21 summer camps coming up and 13 or 14 programs right now,” she said.
The June Bug Center, also a nonprofit, provides music, performing arts, and STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, Mathematics) through ongoing afterschool programs, classes, and community theatre productions that are affordable to the community. The Center’s afterschool programing includes Floyd Jams, Computer Club, Creative Writing, Robotics, Beginners Ballet, Lego Club, Drama, Improv, and Storytelling.
Woodward spoke about the importance of exposing young people to the humanities. “A theater or arts class develops empathy, confidence and public speaking. It changes how the students think, how they see the world and interact with each other,” she said, noting that it also provides and alternative to sports activities, which some students are not drawn to.
“We see a lot of public-school kids and also have a big influx of homeschoolers and kids from Springhouse. We’re adding to their curriculum. What they learn here they will be taking with them for the rest of their lives,” Woodward said
"It’s a safe place,” Woodward continued. “In some cases, with our kids, it’s the best two hours of their day.” She expressed her appreciation for the support of Floyd’s teachers and the Floyd County Public School Board. “They provide transportation from all over Floyd to our facility for our after school programs.”
