 River City Givers is pleased to announce Art for the Journey is the April recipient of funds. The 68-member group will generously gift $6,800 to this group.
Art for the Journey overcomes barriers and transform lives through creative expression, with a special focus on people who do not normally have access to such experiences. Their eight staff and cohort of 250+ artists and community volunteers travel in teams to provide instruction and art-making experiences to women in prison, low income elderly, at-risk children, children with Juvenile Diabetes, older adults with dementia and Alzhiemer's, veterans suffering PTSD and combat related disabilities, VCU medical students, VCU Occupational Therapy Doctoral students, and community groups. Congratulations!
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 Pay It Forward Outreach is January's recipient! The goal of Pay It Forward Outreach is "to help the people in need in our city through the donations of clothes, furniture and food that we collect from our community. From the homeless on the street to the struggling family trying to keep a roof over their head, we want to help make a difference in their lives." Learn more by visiting https://www.payitforwardoutreach.org/
Congratulations to Assisting Families of Inmates our October recipients! RCG will gift $6,700 to their Milk and Cookies (MAC) program, a unique school-based program addressing the needs of children impacted by parental incarceration. Learn more at www.afoi.org.   We are pleased to announce our 3rd quarter recipient Thrifty Sisters! Established in December 2012, Thrifty Sisters is an upscale resale and thrift shop dedicated to the spirit and hospitality of The Little Sisters of the Poor and their mission in the care of elderly poor in the Richmond metropolitan area. Their shop is located at 8911 Patterson Avenue and given their success, they are able to expand into the space next door. Funds from River City Givers will enable them to expand and renovate the space, allowing them to further their mission of providing end of life care to the poor and elderly in our community through Little Sisters of The Poor. Visit www.thriftysistersrva.org to learn more.
 The mission of Rising Creek Family Connections is to work through local domestic violence agencies to provide housewares to recently transitioned families leaving abusive situations to help set up their new home so they can better focus on employment, education and housing stability. The funds will enable them to provide families with even greater support by enhancing the housewares they provide and helping to offset the cost of obtaining critical furniture from the CARITAS furniture bank. Visit www.rcfconline.org to learn more.
We are excited to announce the recipient of funds from our January meeting - Henrico County Education Foundation - for their Leader In Me program. This program is based on Steven Covey's Seven Habits of Highly Effective People and woven throughout the curriculum and culture of under-performing schools in the county. Five challenged elementary schools already have seen positive changes from using this program. For every $1,000 contributed, this program is able to impact an additional 78 students. Our funds will enable them to reach nearly 500 additional students! Way to go ladies!   Deborah Eves (holding check above) successfully pitched Shalom Farms and won the majority vote at the Richmond City Giver's October meeting. River City Givers is excited to gift $6,300 to this organization. Shalom Farms works with communities to ensure access to healthy food and to support healthy living. With our funds, Shalom Farms is able to hire another farmer-in-residence which enables them to expand their growing operations by an additional acre, and greatly increase the food and educational impact to our communities.
"We believe everyone should have good food-- food that is good for our bodies, good for the environment, and good for our communities. However, thousands in Richmond lack access to healthy food. Many people also lack the tools and resources to cook it, eat it, and share it. Through sustainable agriculture and hands-on experiences, Shalom Farms works with communities to ensure access to healthy food, and the support to lead healthy lives." Visit their website at shalomfarms.org We are thrilled to announce the Network of Enterprising Women (N.E.W.) Scholarship Fund is the recipient of funds from our July meeting. They will receive $6,300 for their work in our community ($100 from each of 60 members plus $300 additional from a member passionate about the cause!).
The Network of Enterprising Women (N.E.W.) was started in 1988 by Shirley Wagner and Debbie Johnston, two professional businesswomen seeking to build a women’s networking group meeting on a monthly basis. These two women, joined by several others, met in a small local restaurant. Eventually, the group expanded and the meeting location moved to a larger restaurant. Along the way, N.E.W. became a nonprofit organization, with a board of directors, which hosts many events outside the monthly networking luncheon. The main goal of N.E.W. is to assist and encourage women who desire to become established in business, and to promote and foster the exchange of knowledge and understanding of methods for success in establishing and maintaining a business. Funds from River City Givers will support the N.E.W Scholarship Fund which provides multiple $1,000 scholarships to area high school senior girls to help offset costs. Learn more about N.E.W. by visiting their website: www.networkofenterprisingwomen.org  6/8/17 (Richmond, VA) – Earlier this week, River City Givers, Richmond’s newest women’s philanthropy group, presented their second local donation, a check for $5,300 to Sheriff C.T. Woody, Jr. for the non-profit REAL Life.
The donation will help bolster rehabilitation, recovery, and re-entry efforts post release and build upon skills learned in the Recovering from Everyday Addictive Lifestyles (REAL) Program. “REAL Life is there to help those residents who participated in the REAL Program once they leave the Richmond Justice Center,” said Sheriff Woody. “These men and women face many obstacles once they are released; just because they are out of jail does not mean their lives will automatically get better. While they have been given a great foundation through their work in the REAL Program, many of these residents have no choice but to return to the same environment they were in before they became incarcerated. There is a financial component necessary for things like transportation, housing scholarships, and job training. We are extremely grateful for this generous donation from River City Givers; it will be put to good use, and will benefit the Richmond community in the long run.” With 53 current members and the goal of reaching 100, River City Givers donates $100 per person each quarter to a charity voted on by members. “River City Givers is thrilled to support the amazing work of the REAL Life Program,” said Angie Strickland, co-founder of River City Givers. “After a powerful presentation by one of our members, Nikki Nicholau, our membership voted to support this organization and we are excited to help further their mission.” A representative from the REAL program will be in attendance at the next River City Givers meeting on July 18, 2017 to further explain how the funds are being used. We had another great River City Givers meeting last night! We now have 53 members, and 31 of our members were present last night! We had four ladies submit names into our charity nomination fish bowl, so we were able to draw three charities for consideration: the REAL Life Program, NEW Scholarship Fund, Center for Healthy Hearts.
We are thrilled to announce that the REAL Life Program of the Richmond City Justice Center (RCJC) is the recipient of funds from our April meeting! With 100% participation, they will receive $5,300 for their work in our community. Below is a bit more about what they do to work toward addressing the problems of addiction, with the goal of reducing recidivism among incarcerated men. Their facebook page gives a really in-depth look at some of the amazing work they do! Recovering from Everyday Addictive Lifestyle (R.E.A.L.), a program name created by the male residents, is the RCJC’s premiere program. R.E.A.L. has a purpose of reducing recidivism through ensuring the individual is prepared for re-entry into society. This is done by assisting residents of the RCJC to positively and comprehensively address their addictions and behaviors, while appropriately modifying their thinking. http://www.richmondgov.com/Sheriff/DivisionInternalProgram.aspx#.WPeHAvnyu70 https://www.facebook.com/The-REAL-Program-1732448220322510/ The other two charities that were not chosen last night, but are also doing amazing work are the Center for Healthy Hearts and the NEW Scholarship Fund. Below you will find links to both of their websites- please check them out and learn more about the work they are doing in our community. http://www.centerforhealthyhearts.org/ http://www.networkofenterprisingwomen.org/ We also received an update from the Maggie L. Walker Community Land Trust and they have made significant steps forward in their work in Church Hill. They have hired a part-time advocate, Nikki, who now has an office in Church Hill and they are hoping to house their first family by the end of this year! They expressed such gratitude for our gift to them - and what a difference it has made for them - and we were all eager to hear from them! |
