2025 SESSION

ENROLLED

HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 738

Commending Total Action for Progress.

Agreed to by the House of Delegates, February 18, 2025

WHEREAS, Total Action for Progress, a community action agency serving the Roanoke Valley and Allegheny Highlands, has helped tens of thousands of individuals and families achieve sustainable, equitable economic and personal independence for 60 years; and

WHEREAS, inspired by the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964, E. Cabell Brand worked with local government officials in the City of Roanoke and the Counties of Roanoke and Botetourt, to secure federal funding for Total Action for Progress (TAP), which was originally known as Total Action Against Poverty; and

WHEREAS, TAP was officially incorporated on April 28, 1965, as a private, nonprofit community action agency; and

WHEREAS, in October 1965, TAP established its first year-round Head Start classroom, which was the first school program in the Roanoke Valley to be integrated from its inception; and

WHEREAS, TAP quickly grew to become one of the most active and successful community action organizations, currently offering more than 40 programs which create opportunities and change lives through education, employment, affordable housing, and safe and healthy environments; and

WHEREAS, in 2024, TAP's dedicated staff of more than 300 individuals served more than 8,500 individuals from over 4,470 households in 11 localities; and

WHEREAS, by embracing a whole family approach, TAP's programs work in concert to meet the needs of each member of a household simultaneously; the agency has succeeded in its mission, thanks in part to generous donations and the hard work of countless volunteers and partners; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, That Total Action for Progress hereby be commended for its contributions to the Roanoke Valley and Allegheny Highlands and all the citizens of the Commonwealth on the occasion of its 60th anniversary; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to Angela Penn, president and chief executive officer of Total Action for Progress, as an expression of the House of Delegates' admiration for the agency's legacy of service to the Commonwealth.