Roof Top Cops is a special Ashe County event that was started by Sheriff Howell in September 2021 for Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. September also happens to be Blood Cancer Awareness Month bringing awareness to cancers of the blood, including the most common type, Leukemia. Donations from the 2021 event were able to ease some financial burden for two local families whose child was undergoing cancer treatments.

We are delighted that we do not currently have a child with cancer in Ashe County, but we also want to be prepared to help any family in our community who may, in the future, battle cancer. Half of all donations received from this year’s event will be held and given to the next Ashe County family who finds their child has been diagnosed with cancer. Our goal will be to have those donations ready to deliver to any family in our county who finds themselves in this challenging situation. The other half of the contributions from this event will go to our own Lt. Francis, who has been battling Leukemia for the past couple of months.

Lieutenant Joe Francis has been part of the Ashe County Sheriff’s Office family since 2006. In June of 2022, routine blood work led to specialist doctors in Winston Salem who diagnosed Joe with a rare type of blood cancer called Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML). Joe began his journey at Wake Forrest Baptist Health in the Cancer Center. Initially, “Big Joe” was given 24/7 chemotherapy for 7 days straight around the clock. A week later, he went through chemotherapy again. His journey to fight this horrible disease is not over; the process will be long and contain more rounds of chemotherapy, eventually leading to a bone marrow transplant. Joe and his wife Amy were in the Baptist Cancer Center during July & August before returning home. Joe & Amy have been strong and courageous through this whole experience, becoming a great inspiration to all that know his situation and who are following his journey.

This year’s Rooftop Cops is an excellent opportunity to support both causes. All monies collected on the day of the event will be split 50/50 for each cause. If you would like to donate to just one specific cause, you are more than welcome to drop off checks made payable to “Amy Francis” or “Joe Francis” or to “Badges of Ashe” at the Ashe County Sheriff’s Office. If writing a check to Badges of Ashe, please make sure to include in the memo field of the check where you would like the funds to go.