Suggested 'Justice and Civil Society' Sites for 2008
The "Justice and Civil Society" course combines
classroom instruction on theories of social justice with
experiential education in the community to enable
students to fully explore ethical servant leadership.
Students must complete a minimum of 30 hours of
experiential education, of which a few hours will be
spent in assignments requiring social observation and
the remaining hours will be spent performing community
service at a site where students can interact directly with
a marginalized population. Students enrolled in "Justice
and Civil Society" may choose their service site from
among the options listed below.
Quick links:
The quick links below will take you directly to the
different site descriptions. Alternatively, scroll
through the page to read about all of the opportunities
offered.
Bensley Elementary School
Boaz and Ruth
Born to Be Great II
Build It 2006-07 Service Sites
Charity Family Life
CHAT (Church Hill Activities and Tutoring)
Crestview Elementary School
Cross Over Health Center
Friends Association for Children
HomeAgain
International Hospital for Children
Marywood Independent Living Apartments
Overby-Sheppard Elementary School
Sacred Heart Center
Second Baptist ESL Program
Summer Hill Elementary School
VCU Children’s Medical Center, Child Life Program, VCU Center
Virginia Home
Virginia Juvenile Correctional Center
Virginia Rehabilitation Center for the Blind and Vision Impaired
William Byrd Community House
Contact: Dawn Henderson, Parent/School Liaison Director; Mrs. Bessie Cooper, Principal
Address: 6600 Strathmore Rd., Chesterfield, VA 23237
Phone: (804) 743-3610, Dawn Henderson
Email: Dawn_Henderson@ccpsnet.net; Bessie_Cooper@ccpsnet.net
Web site:
http://www.chesterfield.k12.va.us/Schools/Bensley_ES/home.html
Activities: Work with Hispanic children, ages 4 and 5, in the Head Start program under the supervision of the teacher during school hours (8:30-12:30). There will also be opportunities for volunteers to work with Hispanic children in grades K-5 during school hours (8:30-2:30). Knowledge of Spanish preferred but not required for these two programs. Volunteers who have a good working knowledge of Spanish are also encouraged to consider working as drill instructors for the Spanish-speaking parents of Bensley students during the ESL program offered for 90 minutes every Monday and Wednesday evening. Other opportunities for volunteering include reading Spanish-language books to the children in the after-school YMCA program, assisting students and parents at library nights from 6:00-8:00 p.m. on the second and fourth Thursdays of every month, and participating in the lunch buddy mentoring program. Approximately 77% of Bensley students come from low-income families and approximately 30% of Bensley students are Hispanic, although that percentage is rapidly growing. The school has the highest rate of free and reduced lunches in Chesterfield County.
Site visit 09/15/2006
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Contact: Mia DeJohnette
Address: 127 W. Brookland Park Blvd., Richmond, VA 23222 (location may be changing)
Phone: (804) 321-0440
Fax: (804) 321-4800
Email:
borntobegreat@comcast.net
Web site: not available yet
Activities: Founded in October 2004, Born to Be Great II offers children and teens living in and around
North Richmond’s Highland Park neighborhood a safe
refuge from street crime. Born to Be Great II
focuses on training that is both fun and practical
and provides area children with skills that will
help them find meaningful employment later in life.
The center provides tutoring, mentoring, and
recreation in its after-school program, but it also
boasts some interesting, creative classes for
children and teens. For example, participants can
learn how to sew, play musical instruments and make
recordings, repair computers, and create and read
architectural blueprints. Volunteer opportunities
are plentiful and include activities such as
shooting hoops with kids at the nearby Hotchkiss
Recreation Center; tutoring children in academic
subjects such as Spanish and math; and teaching
children how to use sewing machines, take apart
computers, use the Internet, and play an instrument.
Site visit August 2005
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The Center for Civic Engagement (CCE) at the University of Richmond is spearheading the Build It 2006-07 initiative which aims to revitalize the Highland Park neighborhood in North Richmond. The Jepson School has approved four Build It sites for students enrolled in “Justice and Civil Society”: Boaz and Ruth, Chandler Middle School, John Marshall High School, and Overby-Sheppard Elementary School. If you decide to volunteer at one of these sites, please inform Betsy Kelly in the CCE at 484-1600. Because other UR students are going to these sites, there is a better-than-average chance of arranging carpools or getting a ride to your site on the CCE shuttle bus.
Contact: Megan Rollins
(volunteer coordinator) or Martha Rollins
(founder and CEO)
Address: 3030 Meadowbridge Rd., Richmond, VA 23222
Phone: (804) 334-6608
Email:
megan@boazandruth.com; martha@boazandruth.com
Web site:
http://www.boazandruth.com/content.cfm
Activities: Boaz & Ruth was founded in 2002 as a social-entrepreneurial experiment based around a used-furniture store and designed to provide both social and financial bottom lines. The organization provides on-the-job and beyond-the-job training as well as caring and coaching relationships for ex-offenders. The organization’s social missions are to provide job training for individuals needing a second chance (primarily reentry support for ex-offenders); to foster commercial revitalization for Highland Park (a high-crime neighborhood in North Richmond); and to bridge culturally and economically disparate communities within the metropolitan area. Volunteers can serve in a one-on-one capacity as coaches to trainees in computer skills (email, Web search, Word, and Excel), writing skills, and elementary math. Trainees committed nonviolent crimes, often involving substance abuse or burglary; they did not commit violent crimes such as rape or murder. The majority of trainees are men, and for this reason, it may not always be possible to pair student volunteers with trainees of the same gender. Boaz & Ruth was selected as the Jepson Student Community Project for 2004-2005, and in 2006, Martha Rollins, the organization’s founder, became one of 15 recipients of the first-ever Purpose Prize, awarded to individuals over the age of 60 who are leaders in social innovation.
Site visit August 2005
Contact: Susan S. Stokes, principal
Address: 2300 First Ave., Richmond, VA 23222
Phone: 329-2515
Fax: 321-7827
Email:
sstokes2@richmond.k12.va.us
Web site:
http://richmond.k12.va.us/schools/overbysheppard/
Activities: Overby-Sheppard is located in the North Richmond neighborhood of Highland Park and is fully accredited. The majority of students, grades K through 5, are African Americans. More than 80 percent of students at Overby-Sheppard qualify for free or reduced-price school lunches, according to 2004-05 data from the Virginia Department of Education. Volunteers are needed to assist with the Voyager reading program (K - 2), in science and history classrooms (3 - 5), and as tutors and extended-day enrichment activity leaders.
Site visit 11/29/2006
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Contact: Sarah Farmer, program coordinator
Address: 1820 Creighton Rd., Richmond, VA 23223
Phone: (804) 225-0402
Fax:: (804) 225-8246
Email:
sfarmer@charityfamilylife.org
Web site:
http://www.charityfamilylife.org
Activities: Charity Family Life is located in Creighton Court, a housing project in Richmond’s East End. It provides after-school programs for elementary, middle, and high school students. Volunteers tutor children and teens in math and reading skills and provide homework assistance; they also teach life skills (such as manners, nutrition, and health) and Bible lessons/Christian values on certain days of the week. Volunteers may also lead/direct physical recreation activities and arts-and-crafts activities on certain days. Volunteers are encouraged to work with the same child or teen in order to build a personal relationship. Hours of operation: 3 - 6 p.m.
M-F.
Site visit 12/01/2005
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Contact: Percy and Angie Strickland
Address: 706 Chimborazo Blvd, Richmond, VA 23223
Phone: (804) 222-3487
Email: percy@chatrichmond.org
Web site: www.chatrichmond.org
Activities: Provide tutoring in reading,
writing, and math to at-risk elementary school
children from the Church Hill neighborhood. Tutoring
sessions are held in the home of Percy and Angie
Strickland from 5:30-7:00 p.m. (volunteers should
arrive no later than 5:15 p.m.) on Monday and
Tuesday evenings during the school year. Life skills
programs (music, art, cooking) will be held on
Wednesday evenings from 6:00-7:15 p.m. (volunteers
should arrive no later than 5:45 p.m.). A children’s
exercise program is offered on Thursdays from
4:00-5:30 p.m. Percy, an ordained minister, and
Angie, a medical doctor, founded CHAT to address
some of the needs they saw in their Church Hill
neighborhood.
Site visit 03/21/2006
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Contact: Gail Bonanno (school principal) at
gabonann@henrico.k12.va.us or 673-3775; Rhunell Pierce (ESL program coordinator) at
rbpierce@henrico.k12.va.us;
Sabrina Stouffs (teacher for the deaf and hearing-impaired) at
srstouffs@henrico.k12.va.us or 673-2181.
Address: 1901 Charles St., Richmond, VA 23226
Web site:
http://www.henrico.k12.va.us/ES/Crestview/
Activities: Crestview Elementary School, located
in Henrico County, currently offers three programs that are suitable volunteer opportunities for Justice and Civil Society students: (1) ESL students comprise approximately 42 percent of the student population at Crestview and hail from 22 countries. Many of these students are bused to Crestview from seven other Henrico school districts. Please contact Rhunell Pierce if you are interested in volunteering in the intense English-immersion program held every school day from 7:20 – 11:30 a.m. or if you would like to volunteer during after-school resource time with the ESL students.
(2) Crestview will be offering ESL classes to the
parents of its students from 6:30-8:30 p.m. on
Tuesdays and Thursdays beginning the week of January
29 and running through the week of April 2.
Volunteers are needed during that time to offer
tutoring and homework assistance to the children of
the parents attending the ESL classes. Contact
Rhunell Pierce if you would like to volunteer in
this capacity. (3) Crestview offers a program for hearing-impaired children, both the hard-of-hearing and the profoundly deaf. Volunteers work with children during school hours on developing their vocabulary, speaking skills, and social skills. Contact
Sabrina Stouffs for volunteer opportunities in this program. Please be aware that even though other volunteer programs exist at Crestview, these are the only
three programs currently approved for Justice and Civil Society students. This site is very close to campus (approximately 2.3 miles from Boatwright Drive).
Site visit 04/19/2006
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Contact: Concella Greene
Address: clinics at 108 Cowardin Ave., Richmond, VA 23224 and in the Sherbourne United Methodist Church, 2619 Sherbourne Rd., Chesterfield, VA
Phone: (804) 233-5016x107 (Cowardin Clinic) and (804) 249-4004 (Sherbourne Clinic)
Fax:: (804) 231-5723 (Cowardin Clinic) and (804) 249-4006 (Sherbourne Clinic)
Email:
cgreene@crossoverministry.org
Web site:
www.crossoverministry.org
Activities: providing patient check-in, registration, and scheduling. The Cowardin clinic is open all day Monday-Friday and the Sherbourne clinic is open all day on Tuesdays only, effective May 2006. Check the Web site for the exact schedules. Both clinics need volunteers who can serve as translators for Spanish-speaking patients; volunteers should be at least third-year Spanish students. The volunteer coordinator can place you in the clinic where the need is greatest at the time. Due to patient-doctor privacy constraints, volunteers do not normally shadow the doctors in the examining rooms; exceptions can be made in cases where the patient requests a translator. The Cross-Over Health Center provides free medical care for the working poor and the homeless.
Site visit fall 2004
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Contact: Qasarah Bey
Address: 1004 St. John St., Richmond, VA 23220
Phone: (804) 644-2357
Email:
qbey@friendsassn.org
Fax: (804) 644-0509
Web site: www.friendsassn.org
Activities: The Friends Association for Children offers four beautiful, state-of-the-art centers to serve low-income families in high-crime neighborhoods. The centers take a four-pronged approach by providing the following services: childcare (for infants, children, and teens), family support services (classes on parenting, financial management, home ownership, etc.), youth enrichment programs (after-school, art-based and other cultural activities for underprivileged youth), and leadership and career advancement (GED classes for adults). Student volunteers are needed to work with children in the preschool and after-school programs, providing tutoring and recreational assistance. (Volunteering with the infants does not meet the criteria for this class.) Volunteers may also work with the youth enrichment programs. Share your special talent, such as storytelling, puppetry, or music, with the children. The four centers are as follows:
Friends Family Center located in the Gilpin
Court Housing Project at 1004 St. John St.
(804) 644-2357,
Fax: (804) 644-0509
Site visit fall 2004 Robert L. Taylor Childcare Center located on
Church Hill at 929 N. 26th St.
(804) 565-5880,
Fax: (804) 565-5884
Site visit fall 2004 Fairfield Daycare Center located in the Fairfield Court Housing Project on Church Hill at 2124 N. 29th St.
(804) 648-0046,
Fax: (804) 643-5741
Site visit fall 2004
Mary Tyler McClenahan Center located south of the James River off Jefferson Davis Highway at 2700 Bensley
Commons Boulevard
(804) 271-0590,
Fax: (804) 271-4724
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Contact: JaJuan Mack
Phone: 358-7747 ext. 113
Email:
jmack@homeagainrichmond.org
Web site:
http://www.homeagainrichmond.org/
Activities: HomeAgain is a nonprofit agency that provides a variety of shelters and programming for homeless men, women, and children from the greater Richmond area. Volunteers may choose to work with the family shelter program, one of the women’s shelter programs, or one of the men’s shelter programs. In the past, Justice and Civil Society volunteers have assisted adults with typing skills, resume writing, and GED preparation; they have also worked with children in a variety of ways, such as reading to them, playing games with them, and leading them in arts-and-crafts activities. The individual shelters and their contact information are as follows:
Family Shelter
2 E. Main St., Richmond, VA 23219
Men's Shelter
11 W. Grace St., Richmond, VA 23219
Single Women's Transitional Program
2404 Semmes Ave., Richmond, VA 23225
Veterans
1201 Broad Rock Blvd., 507E, Richmond, VA 23224
Women and Children's Transitional Program
Chamberlayne & Old Brook Road (area apartments), Richmond, VA 23227
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Contact: Lauren Faig
Address: 1900 Byrd Ave., Ste. 204, Richmond, VA 23230
Phone: 282-8830
Email: LFaig@healachild.org
Fax: 282-8831
Web site: www.healachild.org
Activities: The International Hospital for Children provides much-needed surgery free of charge to critically ill children from six developing nations, three of which are Spanish-speaking (Honduras, Guatemala, and the Dominican Republic) and three of which are primarily English-speaking (Belize, Guyana, and St. Vincent). In some cases, medical teams from Richmond travel to these countries to perform surgeries; in other cases, patients and their parents are flown to Richmond for the surgical procedures. Volunteers develop a close working relationship with children (and their parents) who come to Richmond for their surgery: they pick up patients and their parents at the airport upon their arrival; help them settle into temporary housing at either the Ronald McDonald House (2330 Monument Ave., 355-6517) or the Hospital Hospitality House (612 E. Marshall St., 828-6901); take them to doctors’ appointments; take them shopping (grocery store, thrift store, pharmacy, etc.); and in cases where the patients and parents are from Spanish-speaking countries, assist with translating. This site requires both a criminal background check and a driving record check, which can take several weeks to clear. Student volunteers should also have access to a car. Volunteers who have a good command of Spanish should ask to be paired with Spanish-speaking patients.
Site visit 09/07/2006
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Contact: Sally Booth
Address: 1261 Marywood Ln., Richmond, VA 23229
Phone: (804) 740-5567
Email:
servicecoordinator2@verizon.net
Activities: Located in the West End near Gayton and Gaskins, the Marywood Apartments facility is a HUD section 8 independent-living facility for people who are either over the age of 62 or who suffer from physical-mobility disabilities. Volunteer opportunities would include leading activities for the residents, such as exercise classes, Bible studies, current events clubs, music classes, or an arts-and-crafts program. If you are a creative or motivated person who would like to share your talent or passion with others, just call Adrienne and let her know what type of program you would like to sponsor for the residents. Visiting with residents is always appreciated, too.
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Contact: Rosemary Jones
Address: 1400 Perry St., Richmond, VA 23224
Phone: (804) 230-4399x310
Email: rosemary_jones@shcrichmond.org
Fax: (804) 231-7247
Web site: http://www.shcrichmond.org/
Activities: Sacred Heart Center is a nonprofit community center in a low-income, high-crime area of Richmond south of the James River. Its mission is to be a source of hope and strength for children and families in need. SHC offers a comprehensive continuum of educational and social services to the whole family, such as early childhood education (preschool and K-2), school-age childcare, adult education classes, parent support groups, and a teen program. Volunteer opportunities include tutoring adults in a GED
class, sharing your talents as an arts-and-crafts
instructor during the center’s after-school program,
serving as a preschool/Head Start classroom assistant,
and tutoring/mentoring and leading recreational
activities for elementary school children and teens in
the after-school program.
Site visit 04/18/2006
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Contact: Martha Turner
Address: 9614 River Rd., Richmond, VA 23229
Phone: (804) 784-6794
Email: mpt551@aol.com
Web site:
http://www.secondbaptistrichmond.org/
Activities: If you’ve ever had a desire to teach and/or work with people of different nationalities, this might be an ideal placement for you. From time to time, Second Baptist needs instructors to teach small ESL (English as a second language) classes in the evenings. Instruction would include teaching the reading, writing, and pronunciation of English. As part of the preparation for teaching this class, the volunteer instructor should plan on attending one of the church’s existing ESL classes to see how the class is taught. Other volunteer opportunities include translating (Spanish, Portuguese, Vietnamese, Chinese, Korean, Bulgarian, Russian, Japanese, Persian, etc.) for immigrants, serving as a conversation partner for someone who wants to practice and refine their English, and working with immigrant children on Monday and Wednesday nights while their parents attend the ESL classes.
Although volunteers at this site typically devote some
extra volunteer time to lesson planning, they save time
on their commute to and from their site, as Second
Baptist is very close to campus (approximately 3.9 miles
from Boatwright Drive).
Site visit fall 2005
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Contact: Andrew Terry, volunteer coordinator, or Jean Davis, Title 1 reading instructor
Address: 2717 Alexander Avenue, Richmond, VA, 23234
Phone: 783-7903 (Andrew Terry) or 780-5041 (Jean Davis)
Email:
andrew.b.terry@gmail.com (this is the best way to contact Andrew);
jdavis3@richmond.k12.va.us (Jean Davis)
Web site:
http://www.richmond.k12.va.us/schools/summerhill/
Activities: Summer Hill Elementary School is
located in one of the poorest, most blighted areas of
the city in the Jefferson Davis corridor south of the
James River. The student population is primarily
African-American and Hispanic. The school needs
volunteers to mentor and tutor third-grade students
one-on-one during the late morning and early afternoon.
Volunteers may also serve as classroom aides. School administrators hope to be able to
offer an after-school program and a regular Saturday Academy from 9:00 a.m. -12:00 p.m. and would need volunteer tutors and mentors to work with students attending these programs.
Site visit 12/12/2006
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Contact: Heather Kinney
Address: VCU Medical Center, Child Life Program, 12th & Marshall Streets,
7th Floor, Main Hospital Building, Richmond VA 23298
Phone: (804) 828-3415
Email: hkinney@mcvh-vcu.edu
Web site: http://www.vcuhealth.org/
Activities: This site can generally accommodate only one or two University of Richmond student volunteer(s) per semester. The volunteer(s) work under the direction of the Child Life specialists to help pediatric patients and their families cope with their hospital stay. The VCU Medical Center is a level-one trauma and referral center for much of Virginia. Patients range in age from birth to 18 years and have illnesses and conditions such as asthma, seizures, cancer, cystic fibrosis, etc., or injuries resulting from car accidents, shootings, etc. Most children spend only a couple of days in the hospital, but some stay longer. Child Life volunteers will have the opportunity to play games and do crafts with individual patients or small groups of patients. In addition, volunteers may hold and play with babies and toddlers. This site can be emotionally challenging at times due to the nature and severity of the children’s illnesses. Volunteer(s) should be caring and nurturing but able to hold their emotions in check in the event of a relapse or death. Volunteers must go through the hospital’s volunteer department for screening and overall hospital orientation. Following orientation, volunteers must commit to working three hours a week for two semesters (due to the amount of training involved). Volunteers are required to have a TB test (this can be done at the UR clinic — just ask for proper documentation) and a background check (this takes approximately 3-4 weeks). The Child Life staff will provide ongoing support and training to volunteers.
Site visit 01/26/2006
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Contact: Sherry Williams, Director of Volunteer Services
Address: 1101 Hampton St., Richmond, VA 23220
Phone: (804) 359-4093
Fax: (804) 358-4075
Email: sherry.williams@thevirginiahome.org
Web article:
http://www.richmond.com/health/output.aspx?id=1567768
Activities: Virginia Home is a private, nonprofit residential facility for adults with disabilities, including MS, cerebral palsy, brain injuries, and spinal cord injuries. Volunteers will assist residents with a wide variety of activities, such as letter writing, swimming in the facility’s pool, taking walks to nearby Byrd Park and Maymont Park, putting away laundry, reading aloud, going on outings, etc.
Plenty of opportunities exist for one-on-one interaction between the volunteers and the residents. Because this is a residential facility, there are opportunities to volunteer days, evenings, and weekends.
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Web site:
http://www.djj.state.va.us/about_us/volunteerism/volunteers.php
Activities: The activities may vary slightly from one juvenile correctional center to the next but include such things as organizing and leading group activities, conducting game nights, leading recreational activities such as volleyball or basketball, conducting art or music programs/classes, tutoring, mentoring, and visiting. Volunteers interested in counseling, criminology, corrections, and psychology might find this volunteer opportunity particularly rewarding. Any individual over the age of 17 who wants to volunteer in a Virginia juvenile correctional center must undergo a criminal-history background check, which normally takes three to four weeks and can be set up through the contact person listed for each site. The following six juvenile correctional centers are located in the metro Richmond area:
Bon Air: This medium-security facility houses all the girls as well as some boys in the state’s juvenile detention system. Some boys are sex offenders.
Contact: Mr. Jaime Lloyd
Address: 1900 Chatsworth Ave., Bon Air, VA 23235
Phone: (804) 323-2488
Site visit spring 2005
Hanover: Medium-security facility for boys ages 11-20½ , some of whom are sex offenders.
Contact: Jerry Hamilton
Address: 7093 Broad Neck Rd., Hanover, VA 23069
Phone: (804) 537-5316
Email:
hamiltmj@djj.state.va.us
Oak Ridge: Facility for mentally handicapped boys with both emotional and learning disabilities.
Contact: Ann Thomas
Address: 1801 Old Bon Air Rd., Bon Air, VA 23235
Phone: (804) 323-2161
Email:
thomasma@djj.state.va.us
Site visit spring 2005
Reception and Diagnostic Center: processing center for any child in the state who has been found guilty in juvenile court; processing normally takes about a month.
Contact: Beverly Tackett
Address: 1601 Old Bon Air Rd., Bon Air, VA 23235
Phone: (804) 323-2649
Email:
Beverly.Tackett@djj.virginia.gov
Site visit spring 2005
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Contact: Melody Lindseyr
Address: 401 Azalea Ave., Richmond, VA 23227
Phone: (804) 371-3338
Email:
melody.lindsey@dbvi.virginia.gov
Web site: http://www.vrcbvi.org/
Activities: Providing skills training and assistance to visually impaired adolescents and adults in a rehabilitation center setting. Duties might include teaching keyboarding and computer skills; assisting with crafts, bowling, swimming, shopping, or other recreational activities; photographing and/or videotaping special events, classes, or training programs; serving as a teacher's aide in cooking, table skills, and home management classes. Daytime, evening, and even some weekend hours available for volunteering.
Site visit 11/14/2006
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Contact: Mia Horace
Address: 224 S. Cherry St., Richmond, VA 23220
Phone: (804) 643-2717 ext. 314
Email: mhorace@wbch.org
Web site: http://www.wbch.org/
Activities: The William Byrd Community House offers a wide array of activities, including the following: Head Start program for preschool children, an after-school program for elementary school children which provides tutoring and activities, a teen program, a Tuesday afternoon program for seniors, and a social-service program which provides emergency assistance (i.e., food, shelter, crisis intervention, etc.).
Site visit summer 2006 (by Thad Williamson)
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