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Never was there a more perfect storm for nonprofits than in the past two years. When the pandemic gripped our world, needs skyrocketed at a rate that no one could have predicted, pushing these steadfast organizations to their limits.

There’s No Place Like Home
As more aging seniors and their families opt for home care, local agencies answer some of your top questions

Even before the pandemic, the home health industry was seeing a slow but steady increase in demand. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, home health aide and personal care aide jobs are projected to grow 36 percent from 2018 to 2028, much faster than the average for all occupations.

The benefits of home care are fueling these numbers, from increased independence for an aging senior to relief for family caregivers. It’s also becoming a transitional option for seniors who don’t quite need full-time care, but would be safer and have a better quality of life if someone helped them a few times a week.

If you are considering this option for yourself or a loved one, read on to hear the most frequently asked questions three local businesses receive.

Not sure where to start with that holiday shopping list? You’ve come to the right place! Our annual Holiday Gift Guide is an overview of unique gift ideas, all found in local stores.

Earning a Best Of Lynchburg award should be celebrated. Earning this recognition year after year should be too!

To place in our Best Of Lynchburg Hall of Fame, a business, person or place needs to have won a gold level in a category the majority of years since VistaGraphics started conducting the contest in 2014.

Flip through to see who is the best of the best in the region!

Nominations/Voting for the 2022 Best Of Lynchburg Awards begins July 27, 2021.
Look for those winners in the January/February 2022 issue of Lynchburg Living!

When looking ahead to each issue of Lynchburg Living, we are always planning our content with a big question in mind—what will the cover be? With a feature about farmers markets underway, Editor Shelley Basinger and Art Director Chris Meligonis were drawn to the idea of a bright, farmers market scene for the 2021 Summer Issue.

Chris envisioned having some kids be a part of the action and even suggested Shelley’s 4-year-old daughter, Camille, as being a good fit. Shelley decided to ask Camille’s best preschool friend, Lennox, to join.

On a sunny Saturday in May, Shelley and the kids met up with photographer Ashlee Glen at the Lynchburg Community Market. Brick Goldman, owner of Goldman Farm in Cullen, was such a good sport when asked to be a part of an “action shot.”

Best of all? Brick gave Camille and Lennox that carton of strawberries to enjoy.

Read the full story about local farmers markets starting on page 103!

Since last summer, we have watched the site of the 2021 Lynchburg Living Idea House be transformed from an empty piece of land to a classic Colonial-style home with the latest technology and amenities.

The ongoing pandemic caused product delays, and mother nature played her tricks from time to time. But we pushed through and, by February, we were finally able to put (most of) the finishing touches on the interior and exterior.

Photographer Ashlee Glen took on the task of taking more than 10 portrait shoots for our Idea House Preferred Partners in only a few days before our print deadline. Working alongside her was photographer Woody Watts, who was available at a moment’s notice to take the final interior shots and then returned to the house once ice had melted to take photos of the exterior.

We are proud to unveil this year’s home—flip to page 42 to read the full feature!

While I can’t remember everything I learned in my college journalism program, there is one foundational lesson that I carry with me: Always plan for
Murphy’s Law.

Murphy’s Law is loosely defined as: “If anything can go wrong, it will.”

So—let’s chat about this issue of the magazine.

If anything could go wrong, get delayed, be quarantined, be running late, be canceled, be snowed/sleeted/rained on in the past month, it did.

I hesitated even writing this editor’s letter—because isn’t that what we do nowadays? Sob uncontrollably behind our phones (an exaggeration… maybe) but then post all of the perfect stuff for everyone to see?

But I thought, maybe it’s okay to admit there were plenty of challenges in making the 2021 Lynchburg Living Idea House a reality, because anyone who has built a new home or attempted any type of major home/garden project—especially during a pandemic—is familiar with the concept of Murphy’s Law. When there are so many balls in the air, something WILL go wrong. It’s how you handle the issues that determines the final outcome.

That being said, after all of the ups and downs, I believe our final outcome is a showstopper—from the classic Colonial-style exterior to the elegant gold fixtures to the high-tech amenities. We are thrilled to take you room by room through this year’s Idea House in our main feature, starting on page 42, and sincerely hope it gives you “ideas” for your next project. Also in our Home & Garden Issue, learn more about the latest in smart home technology, colorful cabinetry, starting plants indoors, Virginia Garden Week, and much more.

Finally, to everyone involved in making this publication a reality—from our numerous Preferred Partners (found on pages 52-67) to the Custom Structures team to the incredible group of freelance writers and photographers I consider myself lucky to work alongside—I thank you for working hard, pushing through to the end, but most importantly, showing a lot of grace. You all are proof that in a world where lots can go wrong, there is plenty going right.

All My Best,
Shelley Basinger, Managing Editor
Shelley@lynchburgmag.com