November 13, 2025
As more students and their families face hardship this holiday season, Laurel Ridge is stepping up to help make a difference. The college is offering several ways fellow students, employees and community members can offer meaningful assistance.
A donation to the Laurel Ridge Educational Foundation Food Drive Fund is a smart choice because the college is able to buy items for its food pantries at wholesale prices. Want to sponsor a family holiday meal? A $40 donation will allow you to do that.
The college’s food pantries are also accepting donations. Items most needed include peanut butter, canned chicken and tuna, and other protein-rich items; feminine hygiene products; toothbrushes and toothpaste; shampoo; soap and laundry detergent.
Both the Middletown and Fauquier campuses are also helping to make the holidays joyful for students in need and their families through Amazon wish lists. On the Fauquier Campus, the campaign is called Operation Present Drop, and on the Middletown Campus, it’s the TRiO Holiday Drive.
Additionally, Dean of Students Amber Foltz is baking a chocolate Texas sheet cake to be raffled off Nov. 19 with all proceeds benefiting Operation Present Drop.
“While many of us look forward to the joy and abundance of the holiday season, for some families it can be a time of stress and uncertainty,” Dr. Foltz noted. “This year, the federal shutdown has left some of our students furloughed and others without access to benefits that help them feed their families. Our college community has always had a generous spirit, and this year contributions to our holiday drives will mean more than ever, bringing hope and relief to the 19 families we serve through these drives and to countless others supported by our campus food pantries.”
To make a donation and to learn more, including deadlines for certain fund drives, please visit laurelridge.edu/holiday.
Founded in 1970, Laurel Ridge Community College is a multi-campus public institution of higher education. With three locations — Middletown, Warrenton, and Luray-Page County — the College serves eight localities in the Shenandoah Valley and northern Piedmont regions. The localities are the counties of Clarke, Fauquier, Frederick, Page, Rappahannock, Shenandoah and Warren and the city of Winchester. Laurel Ridge offers more than 75 associate degree and certificate programs in a wide variety of disciplines. Laurel Ridge also serves the business community by offering workforce preparation programs for employees and employers. Laurel Ridge serves more than 9,000 unduplicated credit students and more than 11,000 individuals in professional development and business and industry courses annually.
Laurel Ridge Community College is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) to award associate degrees. Laurel Ridge Community College also may offer credentials such as certificates and diplomas at approved degree levels. Questions about the accreditation of Laurel Ridge Community College may be directed in writing to the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges at 1866 Southern Lane, Decatur, GA 30033-4097, by calling (404) 679-4500, or by using information available on SACSCOC’s website (www.sacscoc.org).
Laurel Ridge Community College is an equal opportunity institution providing educational and employment opportunities, programs, services, and activities. Laurel Ridge shall promote and maintain equal employment and educational opportunities without regard to race, color, religion, disability, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, ethnicity, marital status, pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions including lactation, age (except when age is a bona fide occupational qualification), status as a veteran, national origin, or other non-merit factors. Laurel Ridge also prohibits sexual misconduct including sexual violence or harassment. Inquiries may be directed to the Associate Vice President, Human Resources, [email protected], 173 Skirmisher Lane, Middletown, VA 22645, 540-868-7226.
Laurel Ridge Community College was known as Lord Fairfax Community College until June 2022. For consistency purposes, the college will be referenced as Laurel Ridge going forward.