Two Neighbors, One Mission

How Ann and Doug Sprouse Turned a Neighborhood Walk Into a Year of Giving.

When Stefanie Fowler — a longtime friend and the leader of PORCH Roanoke — sat down with Ann Sprouse one afternoon, she wasn't there to make a big ask. She just wanted to share something she was passionate about: a simple, neighbor-driven way to help families in need right in their own community. Ann listened. And the more she heard, the harder it was to let go of the idea.

"It just sounds like a really wonderful way to do something good," Ann recalls. "And it sounds easy — it wasn't going to be super time consuming."

There was just one thing she needed to know before saying yes.

"I asked my lovely husband, Doug," she laughs. "I said, if we decide to do this, I just need to know if you're willing — because I will need your help. If we're going to be picking things up, I need some muscle."

Doug kindly agreed. A few weeks later, PORCH's ready-to-use starter materials arrived — introductory letters, postcards, yard signs, and more — and the Sprouses were off.

Start Small, Think Big

As neighborhood coordinators under PORCH Roanoke, Ann and Doug had a whole community right outside their front door. Their neighborhood — North Lakes — was their canvas. All they had to do was introduce themselves.

Their first move was simple: they printed 30 copies of an introductory letter and set off on their usual neighborhood walk, tucking copies into newspaper boxes and leaving them at front doors. When they ran into neighbors along the way, they stopped and chatted. The response was encouraging, if not immediately overwhelming.

"We only had about three responses from the letter, which was a little disappointing at first," Ann admits. "But then I thought, well, our neighborhood has a Facebook page."

She posted the same information online — not super techy, she'll tell you — and the messages started coming in. About 10 more households signed on. Then she added in her two grown children, who also live in the neighborhood. Suddenly they were up to 13 or 14 participants, and the thing had a pulse.

Doug, ever the optimist, had a phrase ready for Ann's moments of doubt: "if you build it they will come."

"He said it, and I thought — okay," Ann laughs. "So, I kept at it."

Building the Route, Building the Habit

With a growing list of participants, Doug took on logistics. He mapped out the most efficient pickup route — one that turned out to be surprisingly intuitive given how the participating homes were distributed. Ann reached out to everyone by email, let them know collections would happen on the third Sunday of every month, and the first pickup went smoothly.

She kept the momentum going with regular updates on the neighborhood Facebook page and introduced PORCH at a neighborhood watch meeting, handing out letters and answering questions.

Slowly, steadily, the list grew.

Today, North Lakes has 25 participating households — and two more just joined last month as Ann and Doug approach their one-year anniversary this August.

"I frankly can’t believe it’s been a year," Ann says. "It doesn’t seem like it at all."

The Moments That Make It Matter

If you ask Ann what’s surprised her most, she doesn’t hesitate.

"The generosity of our neighbors," she says. "I figured we’d pick up a bag with some food in it. But we have one woman who puts out four or five bags every month. Another has a huge box of canned goods waiting when we arrive. One woman actually budgets $50 a month just for us."

Then there’s the neighbor who uses a walker and has difficulty getting around. When she first joined, she asked Ann if she could leave her bag close to her door. Of course, they said yes. By the second or third collection, she’d spotted Doug picking up bags and told him: "I’d really like to meet your wife."

"She’s one of our most consistent participants," Ann says warmly. "She hasn’t missed a month."

Their largest single collection came in November — over 500 pounds of food from fewer than 25 households. Thanksgiving on people’s minds, neighbors opening their hearts.

"It brought me to tears," Ann says. "To think about these people being so generous. And then to take it to the pantry and see the difference it makes — their shelves go from looking pretty empty to starting to fill up. That feeling is just indescribable."

Their pantry partner is the Salem/Roanoke County Food Pantry, located right on the line between two communities. At a recent event where local news was covering PORCH Roanoke, Ann listened as the pantry manager described their reach: over 900 individuals a month, approximately 600 of them families.

"I was absolutely in shock," she says. "I know there’s a great need. But to hear those numbers — just from this one pantry, in this one area — it really hit me."

Doug’s Perspective: Giving What He Once Needed

For Doug, this isn’t just a good cause — it’s personal. Early in his life, after an accident left him unable to work, he had to rely on food assistance himself.

"I understand what a person has to go through," he says quietly. “" understand the struggle of paying bills when no money’s coming in, but being able to go and have food."

When he was back on his feet, he wanted to give something back. He gathered what he had — about $28 — carefully shopped for rice and pantry staples, and filled six brown bags to drop off at a local pantry.

"I said, ‘God, please let people pick these up.’ And they did," he recalls. "I believe the more you give, the more you receive back. Not always in money or goods — but in the feelings. In knowing you’re helping somebody who’s been through what you’ve been through."

It’s that understanding — quiet, personal, profound — that Doug carries with him every time they load the car and head to the pantry.

What They’d Tell Someone on the Fence

When a friend recently mentioned that her church pantry was struggling, Ann didn’t hesitate.

"I said, ‘It’s very easy. It really is. And it doesn’t have to be huge.’ Even with just a few homes, you can make a consistent difference for a pantry."

That’s the message Ann would offer to anyone considering starting a PORCH neighborhood: It’s not hard. It’s not a burden. And it fits into your life.

Even next month, when Ann and Doug will be out of town for a couple of weeks, they’ve simply adjusted their pickup date. One day, maybe an hour of their time, 25 households worth of food flowing to families who need it.

"If I can do it, anybody can," Ann says. "There are lots of ways to do it, and PORCH really does make it simple. From the materials to the support from Stefanie and the whole organization — everything you need is there."

Your Neighborhood Could Be Next

PORCH Communities gives neighborhood coordinators like Ann and Doug everything they need to get started and stay successful — ready-to-use materials, step-by-step guidance, training, peer forums, and ongoing support from their chapter leader and the PORCH team. They’re not doing this alone. They’re part of a growing national network of neighbors helping neighbors, one porch at a time.

There are now more than 70 chapters across 15+ states, and every single one started with someone who said yes — to a friend, to a feeling, to the simple idea that they could make a real difference right where they live. Could that someone be you?

Interested in starting a PORCH in your neighborhood?