Holly Roberts, whose non-profit organization, Love to NIC, provides meals and clothing — most notably, shoes — to homeless populations in Winchester and around the country, is the recipient of the 2023 Good Samaritan Award from the Virginia, Maryland & Delaware Association of Electric Cooperatives. Her home co-op, Shenandoah Valley Electric Cooperative, nominated her for the honor, which is described as recognizing someone’s contributions as being a “gold standard” example of philanthropic community service.
Co-op officials surprised Roberts with the award in July as she was handing out food, socks and shoes at WATTS, the Winchester Area Temporary Transitional Shelter.
“This is amazing,” she said among happy tears at the presentation. “This is absolutely perfect.”
Love to NIC stands for nurture, inspire and comfort, but also refers to Roberts’ son, Nic, who died in a car crash in 2015. Nic suffered from schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Roberts says the overwhelming number of homeless residents in Winchester with some form of mental illness led her to support this demographic through a non-profit organization. It’s always doubled as a way for her to heal from the loss of her son and carry on his spirit.
Love to NIC’s impact reaches beyond the Shenandoah Valley. Each year, Roberts and a small team of volunteers travel to a new major city to help homeless organizations, with food, new clothing and, of course, shoes in tow.
Roberts selects a city in conjunction with the Minnesota Vikings’ away schedule around the time of Nic’s birthday on Dec. 6. Nic was a diehard Vikings fan, a trait passed down from his mother. This year, Love to NIC will head to Las Vegas.
For more information on Love to NIC, visit www.lovetonic.org.