Elly Jones has been active in the local nonprofit community for years! She currently serves as Director of Honoring Choices Virginia, an organization that works to change the culture about advance care planning and medical decision-making. Elly facilitates conversations between families, individuals, volunteers, faith leaders, physicians, and medical professionals. She believes it’s important to discuss the type of medical care that patients would – or would not – want to receive in the future.
“Too often in our health care system, individuals do not receive the care they wish for during a medical crisis,” she explains. “Starting a conversation about future medical care can be difficult for all of us. It is, however, imperative to have these conversations and ensure that individuals’ choices are honored by those who care for them.”
SOAR365 shares Elly’s passion for personal choice and individualized care. But the connection goes even deeper than that. For years, Elly’s youngest sisters, twins Ann and Rebecca, have attended SOAR365’s Adult Day Support program. Supporting them – and SOAR365 – has been a commitment shared by her entire family. 
“As a board member, I’ve had the opportunity to volunteer on various committees for years,” she said. “My husband, Chris, is a member and former chair of the Next Generation Council. Our children attend all PARK365 events, and my mother volunteers with Adult Day Support throughout the year.”
Elly also serves as a co-chair of SOAR365’s Community Engagement Committee, which guides and supports donor-centered fundraising and volunteer engagement initiatives. She is enthusiastic about her experience volunteering at SOAR365.
“I love the people and the interaction!” she says. “Working with program participants, staff, fellow board and committee members, as well as so many other committed volunteers toward the same goals is incredibly fulfilling. We are a huge team of folks from many walks of life and backgrounds that come together for a single purpose – creating life-fulfilling opportunities for individuals with disabilities. It’s beautiful!”
Elly recalls that she has been inspired by the words and example expressed by her parents and Mahatma Gandhi, who once said says her volunteer work has been inspired by both Mahatma Gandhi and her parents. A quote often attributed to Gandhi states that “the best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.” Or as Elly’s parents once said: “Eleanor, you aren’t the center of the universe. Get up and look around and do something worthwhile.”
Through her years of volunteer work, Elly has taken both quotes to heart and put them into action. “Volunteering your time, talent, and ability helps to lift up your head and see the world and yourself through a different lens,” she says. “It helps us see our interconnectedness and humanity. Volunteering lets us live a life beyond ourselves. I find that incredibly rewarding and humbling. We love supporting SOAR365 and many other local nonprofits!”
In addition to her ongoing volunteer activities at SOAR365, Elly serves as a Girl Scout troop leader at Quioccasin Baptist Church. Thank you, Elly, for all you do at SOAR365 and for our community!