The Raft Crisis Hotline: A program of New River Valley Community Services

last update: 01.28.2010

Raft celebrates 40th anniversary! Volunteers, alumni and members of the community gathered on December 3 to celebrate he 40^th Anniversary of the Raft Hotline! The event provided an opportunity to recognize Raft volunteers for the literally hundreds of thousands of hours they have given selflessly to a countless number of citizens in crisis. Click here to view a gallery of photos from the event. Raft seeking community volunteers The Raft Crisis Hotline, a free service offering suicide intervention, empathy and support to residents of the New River Valley, is currently seeking volunteers from the community to help with coverage of its phone lines. Raft is a program of New River Valley Community Services and has been serving the local community for over forty years. A majority of the hotline’s volunteers have traditionally been students at Virginia Tech, but Raft Hotline Manager Brittany Morrison explained that she is specifically seeking non-student volunteers that can offer a diverse mix of knowledge and experiences to help answer calls. The need for community volunteers becomes even greater during college breaks, Morrison added, when many student volunteers are not available. Volunteers are typically asked to provide coverage during evening hours and on weekends and in most cases shifts are limited to two hours. Perspective volunteers are also screened and must complete a thorough training before they can take calls. The training is provided at no cost to volunteers. Registration for Raft’s spring volunteer training runs through Friday, February 5. For more information, contact Brittany Morrison at 961-8405 or at bmorrison@nrvcs.org. Calling all Raft alumni! We are looking for any and all contacts with former Raft volunteers—“Raft Alumni”—to set up future Raft Reunions. If you ARE or KNOW OF any Raft Alumni, please pass on names, emails, phone numbers and addresses if you wish by contacting Brittany Morrison at bmorrison@nrvcs.org.
Morrison is new Raft manager Brittany Morrison, a native of Lexington, Virginia, and former Raft volunteer, has been hired as the new manager for the Crisis Hotline. Morrison, who began her duties as Raft manager in May, is a graduate of Virginia Tech with a bachelor's degree in Sociology, Crime and Deviance concentration, with a minor in Psychology. She has been employed by New River Valley Community Services (NRVCS) for the past year as a Clinical Phone Assessment Case Manager. With more than a year of experience as a Raft volunteer, Morrison also completed an internship with the hotline, working under former manager Sarah Eisenman. Morrison also has five years of experience in community and political fundraising, organizing, and event planning.	Morrison
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Freedom First Credit Union contributes to Raft! Officials with Freedom First Credit Union present a $5,000.00 check to the Raft Crisis Hotline in December 2008. Freedom First has been a long-time supporter of the Hotline. We are truly grateful for their generous gift!