Rachel Hopkins shares her deep, generational connection to the Beckley Area Foundation and her ongoing commitment to fostering a culture of philanthropy in southern West Virginia. As a fourth-generation member of the Lewis family involved with BAF, a former board member, and a current SLYP (Susan Landis Youth Philanthropy) mentor, Rachel speaks with both personal and community-wide perspectives.
Raised in a home where giving was a way of life, Rachel learned the values of community service and generosity before she even had the words for them. When her grandfather helped establish BAF, she began to understand how community foundations could amplify the impact of individual giving by pooling resources to create lasting change.
Over the years, Rachel has served two terms on BAF’s board of directors and has worked closely with the Community Grant Committee. She and her family also support the Foundation through two Lewis family funds, as well as personal donations that she and her husband continue to make. Now, she’s passing that legacy forward—not only to her daughter Ella, a fourth-generation BAF participant, but to an entire generation of youth through her mentorship in the SLYP program.
Rachel offers powerful advice to families: involve your children in community service and philanthropy from an early age. Let them see how it works, participate in it, and live it, because today’s young volunteers can grow into tomorrow’s community leaders. Her story is a compelling example of how long-term impact is built one generation at a time, and how BAF continues to be a vital vehicle for that growth in the Beckley area.