HARRISONBURG, Va. (WHSV) – On Wednesday afternoon, more than 100 members of Valley Interfaith Action gathered outside a Rockingham County Board of Supervisors meeting to present a check for $200,000 and request support for a countywide door-to-door pilot project. public transport.

Valley Interfaith Action (VIA) It is a large organization comprised of multiple faith-based organizations that partner with community organizations throughout Rockingham County. Their goal Wednesday was to get a transportation service up and running, taking the burden off those without reliable transportation.

VIA has raised $200,000 in donations and plans to receive an additional $800,000 from the state for the one-year pilot project. VIA had previously requested a letter of support from the Auditors, but FireplaceSupervisors voted 4-1 not to allow the pilot project, with Mayor Dewey Ritchie casting the sole dissenting vote. Supervisors voting against the project cited logistical concerns, a lack of communication with Virginia Regional Transit and a transit study that said demand-response transit would not be the best transportation model for Rockingham County.

On Wednesday, members attended the Supervisory Board meeting and submitted a request to the board of directors to hear their proposals and give them a letter of recommendation by the next BOS meeting. VIA also presented BOS with a check for $200,000, but county officials said it could not accept the check.

“We continued to meet with them, answer their questions and organize the necessary funding of the 20 percent,” VIA member Ann Pettit said. “We asked for respect, and I think we were respectful and directed it in a way that honored the work of the supervisors, but we also asked them to honor our work.”

VIA expects the Supervisors to vote on whether to send a letter of support at their next meeting on December 11.

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