Roderfield Little General Store honored for community fundraising efforts

The Roderfield Little General Store was honored with a plaque for charity work that turned a convenience stop into a local fundraising hub. The effort included raffling off prizes and hosting bake sales, a modest but visible example of how small businesses in McDowell County are filling gaps that larger institutions often leave open.

Store manager Betty Lockley said the recognition belonged to the people who came out to support the effort. In a place where the store is already part of the daily routine for gas, snacks and conversation, the fundraising gave residents a practical way to help neighbors while giving the business a public role beyond retail.

The setting helps explain why the plaque carried weight. McDowell County, the southernmost county in West Virginia, was formed in 1858 and named for James McDowell. Census Reporter lists the county’s population at 17,943, and Roderfield’s population was 62 in the 2020 census. Roderfield sits about 7 miles west-northwest of Welch, a reminder that a small gathering point can matter a great deal in a county built around close-knit communities and limited local infrastructure.

Little General Stores has also made community support part of its broader identity. The company says its scholarship program has donated over $200,000 to students since it began more than two decades ago. Earlier company materials say the program awards 20 scholarships a year, each a one-time $1,000 grant for West Virginia students. In Roderfield, the plaque reflected the same pattern on a smaller scale: a local store leveraging its place in town to help mobilize residents around a cause they could see and support directly.