Connect

This is the latest installment in our Connect article series “Hope at Work” — showcasing inspiring stories about how our team members contribute to UVA Health’s 10-year strategic plan: “One Future Together Health and Hope for All.” No matter where you work, you have an opportunity to inspire hope in others. These stories show how:

‘Silent Angel on Earth’

It wasn’t until after the sudden loss of their daughter at the age of only 18 — in a traffic accident on Aug. 25, 2011, the night before she was to join Radford University — that Pam and Chris Buck discovered how much Allison had been doing to help her community. Allison was a member of Crossroads Community Church; two other members told her parents that Allison had been helping them by delivering their groceries, walking their dogs, sweeping their porch, and more — because it was difficult for them to do these things themselves.

“Alli would scurry off from school, take care of these sweet ladies, and scurry back to school in time for soccer practice, or off to work. The amazing thing is, she did this all without anyone knowing — not even her family or her friends," describes Pam, who has worked for UVA School of Medicine’s Department of Neurology for almost three decades, now supervising the Administrative Support Staff. "It was a quiet act of kindness Alli felt deep in her soul to do — and what’s become the root of our LovA11i mission. Alli was a silent angel on earth.”

The Bucks were so inspired by Alli’s quiet benevolence, they’ve been honoring her legacy of love in the 14 years since her tragic passing.

Cultivating Healthy Communities

From 2012 to 2016, “Alli Fun Day” had a wide ranging impact — supporting everything from academics and athletics, to people and animals in need:

• More than $25,000 in scholarships for seniors at Fluvanna High School, Alli’s alma mater, and players in the Fluvanna Youth Soccer Association, where Alli played and coached.
• Almost 100 bags of grocery donations for Monticello Area Community Action Agency (MACAA) in Fluvanna.
• Pet food and supplies for the Fluvanna Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, and — “furever” homes for stray animals from the Puppy Booth at FSPCA events.

In 2019 — continuing their mission of kindness and giving in memory of Alli — Pam and Chris launched LovA11i Holiday Meals.“LovA11i” is derived from "Love, Alli" — incorporating their daughter’s soccer jersey number 11, and pronounced “Lovely.”

Funds raised through a Facebook events page and GoFundMe help provide holiday meals and gifts to local families each November and December, packed with a note signed, “Love, Alli.” The pandemic put the couple’s efforts on hold 2020-22, but didn’t break their determination.  

LovA11i

Since 2019, LovA11i has provided 113 large sacks of food and gifts to families during Thanksgiving and Christmas/Hanukkah and more than 60 bags and 80 cans of dog and cat food and supplies to the Fluvanna SPCA after New Year’s Day. In 2023, LovA11i donated a dozen bags full of healthcare and cleaning supplies to the Fluvanna County Public Schools’ mission for the needy.

That first year, Pam and Chris funded efforts to serve three families. They eventually hoped to grow that number to at least 11 to honor Alli and in memory of her jersey number. Not only did they reach that goal — in 2024, they surpassed it. For days, Pam and Chris shopped, sorted, and bagged their purchases for Thanksgiving.

On Nov. 21, with the help of two volunteers, they filled vehicles and drove 60 bags of food — five per family — to the Fluvanna County School Board, which in turn, distributed the food to 12 families for Thanksgiving.

The Bucks then repeated their good deeds, increasing the number of families they help to 13, and on Dec. 16 — with the help of their older daughter Julie Young, Education and Outreach Manager, Virginia Literacy Partnerships, UVA School of Education and Human Development; Alli’s friend; and two more volunteers, Joe and Karen — delivered to the school board a total of 95 bags: 63 full of food and 32 full of gifts. The school board then distributed the items to the 13 families for the holidays.

‘Beautiful Spirit’

The Bucks don’t know the families' identities, and can only imagine their smiles as they enjoy the food and unwrap the gifts. But the couple humbly hopes Alli’s legacy of love lives on through their selfless acts.

Recalls Pam recalls lovingly: “Alli had a beautiful spirit — one that touched so many in her too short time with us — and still continues to move people today.”