Visit GoochlandCares.org for guidance on conducting a safe food drive in your neighborhood. _________________________________________________________________________________ As a single mom, Sheila Jamerson doesn’t worry about herself. She worries about taking care of her two children. That anxiety recently turned to fear when…

Many people imagine human trafficking as something out of a Liam Neeson movie. A predator snatches a woman in a parking lot. He ties her up. He gags her and throws her into a van. But that is rarely how…

Shhhhh! is a sound rarely heard at the Black History Museum and Cultural Center of Virginia. Oohs, aahs, and squeals of laughter are more like it at the museum that encourages guests of all ages to explore history through touch-screen…

by Tom O’Donnell Seven-year-old Jake sleeps on his aunt’s couch one week and on his grandfather’s floor flanked by two of his cousins the next. Jake and his mom are in between stable housing, although his mother is on several…

Use promo code RVAJBR to save $5 on your registration for the 19th Annual Richmond Jingle Bell Run.   The summer before she turned two, Reagan took her first steps. They were small and shuffled, and she resembled her grandmother…

At the Bellemeade Community Center in South Richmond, a fifth grade student had a message to share with the world. “That’s my birthday twin!” Niq-Niq called out across the room.  On the receiving end of the greeting was Julia Warren,…

Grace Hessberg, a junior at Glen Allen High School, is one of three recipients of the JA Future Laureate scholarship, awarded last year through JA of Central Virginia. Grace’s experience in the JA Finance Park program – sessions in savings,…

Marie whispers her story with tears in her eyes. “I was walking on eggshells all the time. I never knew what mood he would be in when he walked through the door. I was afraid of what he would do…

Side by Side in Richmond  hosts youth group meetings most days of the week. Here, young people ages eleven to twenty gather and discuss things like healthy relationships, role models, and body image. Some of the meetings – built around…

“When we come here, we start from zero.” For people coming from different experiences and refugee communities, zero can mean different things.  For a young refugee from the Democratic Republic of Congo or Bhutan who has spent his lifetime in…