On today’s show, BUZZ creator Michael Hemphill is buzzing about Commonwealth Catholic Charities ... specifically its vital role welcoming to our communities some of the most incredible and inspiring people you’ll ever meet, though they're increasingly under attack by our very government: immigrants and refugees.

Michael chats with the nonprofit’s Khalefia Dungee, volunteer extraordinaire Beth Ruffing, and Samim Noorzad, whose amazing journey from his native Afghanistan to Roanoke, Virginia, is sure to uplift you. Learn more about an upcoming CCC event for which Michael is providing some ... buzz!

On today’s show BUZZ creator Michael Hemphill buzzes about about college … and the unaffordability of it for too many high school graduates who are getting ready to walk the stage this month and receive their diplomas. Thankfully some nonprofits have stepped up to work on this issue, and we speak with two that are headquartered in Roanoke, Virginia: Project Discovery and Friends of the Blue Ridge!

Conflict is natural, but can be painful, so on today show's show, BUZZ creator Michael Hemphill chats with Chelsea Cleary, program manager of The Bridge Institute, a nonprofit resource center that provides mediation and restorative justice for individuals, families, neighborhoods, and businesses in Roanoke Virginia.

In increasingly unsettling times, The Bridge Institute helps people resolve conflict and create healing. Listen to Chelsea's personal journey of family trauma, and her tips on how to bridge challenging relationships in a world that increasingly seeks to divide us.

On today's show, BUZZ creator Michael Hemphill is buzzing about food ... specifically a Roanoke, Virginia nonprofit dedicated to supporting farmers and fresh, local food for all: the Local Environmental Agriculture Project, aka LEAP.

LEAP is celebrating another milestone – a harvest if you will – on April 14 when it cuts the ribbon to a new $250,000 pavilion at its West End Farmers Market. Michael chats about that and all of LEAP’s incredible projects and program with executive director Maureen McNamara Best, a true buzz4good.

On today's show, BUZZ creator Michael Hemphill buzzes about ... beds! Specifically a nonprofit founded in Idaho that builds and provides free beds for low-income children: Sleep in Heavenly Peace. Luke Mickelson founded Sleep in Heavenly Peace in 2012 in his garage. Today, it's a $25 million operation with more than 400 chapters throughout the U.S. and world, including here in Roanoke, Virginia.

Michael was buzzing to connect with Luke because of his nonprofit’s mission ... and, unbeknownst to Luke, the impact that Sleep in Heavenly Peace had on creating Buzz4Good! Not only does Luke share his founder story, but also offers lessons for other nonprofit founders whose organizations outgrow themselves.

On today's show, BUZZ creator Michael Hemphill buzzes about Defending Democracy, founded in Blacksburg, Virginia, in response to what organizers say is the increasing authoritarianism of the second Trump administration. Michael chats with Virginia Tech professor emeritus Jim Bohland, and asks how Virginia Democrats' redistricting effort squares with Defending Democracy's mission. Regardless of your political affiliation, you'll want to listen.

This week BUZZ also began production on a new episode starring On Our Own of the Roanoke Valley, a drop-in center in Roanoke that is open 365 days a year for people struggling with addiction and mental health issues. Michael shares his conversation with executive director Robin Hubert about the nonprofit's work and her personal journey from addiction to recovery.

On today's show, BUZZ creator Michael Hemphill is buzzing about SML Gives Inc. SML stands for Smith Mountain Lake and the nonprofit SML Gives Inc. works to fight, poverty, hunger, and homelessness for the impoverished families and individuals living around the otherwise relatively wealthy lakefront property communities. Michael talks with founder, executive director and president Joey Donovant, who has an incredibly inspiring story to share about his own personal journey through addiction and pain that led him to found the nonprofit.

We also share our newest BUZZ episode highlighting the incredible work that has been done in Franklin County highlighting the 70 African-American men who bravely fought for the union and freedom in the Civil War in the United States Colored Troops. The Franklin County NAACP recently unveiled a new statue honoring this history, and we featured this ceremony in our newest BUZZ, which is now available on our YouTube channel.

On today's show, BUZZ creator Michael Hemphill buzzes about two very different nonprofit educational institutions that are sure to tug at your heart, hopefully your wallets, and that nearby box of tissues to wipe away a tear from your eye. Michael talks with two parents from the tiny Noah-Christian Academy in Salem, Virginia that works with PreK through 2nd grade children who have struggled in traditional schools.

And he visits with the nonprofit Masterpiece Alliance, which provides community for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Masterpiece Alliance has formed a new partnership Shepherds College, a first-of-its-kind college in Wisconsin that offers higher education and workforce training for the community that they serve.