ANNOUNCEMENT!!

AmeriCorps Program

Do you want to make an impact in RVA? Apply today to join the Richmond Healthy Futures Opioid Prevention and Environmental Stewardship Program [RHOPES] for a rewarding national service summer experience.

RHOPE is a dynamic coalition of city departments, nonprofit organizations and higher education that will engaging AmeriCorps Members who provide direct services in one of two focus areas: (1) Healthy Futures: providing peer recovery services pertaining to opioid and heroin abuse prevention and recovery or (2) Environmental stewardship: serving to improve acres of land, public parks, trails, and river banks.

This is a year-long service opportunity that runs from September 2022 through August 2023, providing members with benefits such as a monetary living allowance, education award, and more. 

So, if you are interested in possibly serving in one of these two meaningful ways to help improve the lives of others, click the following link to learn more about RHOPES and how you can join our team today! 

•            RHOPES Application

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Every year, AmeriCorps enrolls over 270,000 individuals to serve organizations making a difference in communities across America.

Since the program’s founding in 1994, more than 900,000 AmeriCorps members have contributed more than 1.2 billion hours in service across America while tackling pressing problems and mobilizing millions of volunteers for the organizations they serve.

AmeriCorps programs do more than move communities forward; they serve their members by creating jobs and providing pathways to opportunity for young people entering the workforce. AmeriCorps places thousands of young adults into intensive service positions where they learn valuable work skills, earn money for education, and develop an appreciation for citizenship.”

For more information about national service, click on the following link: https://www.nationalservice.gov/programs/americorps/what-americorps

AmeriCorps brings people together, connecting individuals and
organizations to help communities tackle their toughest challenges.

Other Volunteer Initiatives:

Friends of James River Park -- The roughly 500 acres of deciduous forest surrounding the falls of the James River -- with islands, bridges, and trails -- are Richmond’s wild central park.  To know the stories and geography of the James River Park is to know Richmond.  Find out more when you volunteer.  Click the link above to learn about year-round opportunities.

Invasive Species Task Force -- Help support the removal of invasive species from the James River Park System. Invasive species crowd out local flora and fauna and hold back the growth of native plants.

Community Gardens  -- Now more than ever, residents are interested in growing healthy fruits and vegetables in a local, family-friendly setting.  Richmond Grows Gardens supports over 14 community gardens around the city.  For more information or to volunteer, click this link.

Find out more about our Out of School Program. 

MLK Day of Service and Remembrance

About
Each year, thousands of American's gather to honor Dr. King's legacy and come together to serve their neighbors and community. Held annually on the third Monday of January, the MLK federal holiday is a national day of service and time to re-commit ourselves to aiding others. Dr. King devoted his life to advancing equality, social justice and economic opportunity for all. He challenged us to build a more perfect union and taught us that everyone has a role to play. Four decades after his assassination, we still work to realize his dream. The needs are great, many Americans are hurting, and government can't do it alone. We need citizens to help renew our nation and expand both equality and opportunity for all.

The City of Richmond is proud to celebrate this national day of remembrance and service, engaging in meaningful volunteerism, viewing this day as "A Day On, Not A Day Off". To learn more about this national holiday and day of service, please visit the MLK National Day of Service website.

N2N Participation & Service

• 2021

- January 18, 2021 at 9:00 a.m.

- Virtual Commemoration Ceremony
  (Watch the ceremony via the City of Richmond Facebook page) 

Please register for service projects by visiting:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/P777TV2

Apply
For more information please contact us at Neighbor To Neighbor, (804)646-6528.

About

Mayor Levar Stoney and city professionals have created a new initiative to help keep our city clean and improve public trash and leaf collection services. No longer will fallen leaves clutter city streets for months on end and contribute to clogging city sewer and drainage systems. Bagged leaves and bulk trash will be picked up consistently and reliably, collected every other week year-round on the same rotation with city recycling.

Due to the fact that many residents are physically unable to rake and/or bag their leaves, the city’s Office on Volunteerism, Neighbor-To-Neighbor (N2N) – in partnership with the Department of Public Works (DPW), community-based organizations, and residents – is asking volunteers to assist qualifying residents. This service will be offered to residents who have been approved as participants in DPW’s “Backdoor Service” program. These are residents who provide DPW with written letters from their physicians verifying that they have significant health and/or physical challenges that prevent them from putting supercans out for trash collection. Requests are approved on a case-by-case basis.

• Eligible residences currently are those selected by the city’s Department of Public Works (DPW) who also receive assistance with trash and recycling pickups due to their physicians’ verification of their physical limitations.

  If you are a resident who is NOT on the aforementioned DPW list but would like to be considered for leaf bagging by Leaf Brigade volunteers, you will have to (1) provide N2N with a letter from your physician verifying that your age, disability, and/or other health issue prevents you from bagging your leaves and (2) please complete the following N2N Leaf Brigade volunteer request form.

      www.surveymonkey.com/r/RRVKMXR

  If you do not have access to the internet, please call (804)646-LEAF. The Leaf Brigade service is not guaranteed to all applicants. Even if you qualify, you may be placed on a waiting list due to the numbers of applicants. [Note: as in previous years, residents are responsible for getting their leaves to front of their yards. The Leaf Brigade's focus in on bagging leaves, with minimal raking.]

• If you would like to volunteer to join the Leaf Brigade and help qualified residents bag their leaves, please go to this link:

      www.surveymonkey.com/r/RCXSDN5

   

  Note: The Leaf Brigade service is not guaranteed to all applicants. Even if you qualify, you may be placed on a waiting list due to the numbers of applicants.

Love Your Block: Mini-Grant Initiative

About

Love Your Block (LYB) is a tested, high-impact service strategy which brings mayors together with citizens to revitalize their neighborhoods, one block at a time. Since 2009, Cities of Service has helped dozens of cities implement Love Your Block, having engaged more than 9,000 community members in transforming neighborhoods.

Grants

Neighbor-To-Neighbor provides community-based entities with two opportunities to apply for LYB mini-grant funds:

Large Grant

On July 16, 2018, Cities of Service (CoS) announced that the City of Richmond was selected as one of ten cities to be awarded a $25,000 Love Your Block grant (LYB). This is a two-year grant with $12,500 allocated for distribution in both the springs 2019 and 2020 to be used for mini-grants and resources to support the efforts of citizen groups and local nonprofits to fight property blight through home repairs, lot transformations, and community cleanups.

In addition to the grant funds, the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) has provided Neighbor-To-Neighbor with two AmeriCorps VISTA members to help carry out and expand LYB projects that help alleviate blight. As an AmeriCorps VISTA supported program, this grant requires that the initiative target low-income communities, specifically neighborhoods that are lower than the Census Bureau’ s average median household income of the city. Click here for the press release.

• 2020 Grant Cycle [Range: $300 - $2,500] → Should your nonprofit agency, faith-based organization, civic association, or community group desire to pursue this impactful grant opportunity, please note the following:

• NOTE: In response to the COVID-19 pandemic the following dates are still being determined. 

      — Download the Application and the Hold-Harmless Waiver

      — Descargue la aplicación y el Exención de Responsabilidad de Retención

Small Grant (Amount: $250)

In January 2012, N2N was awarded a $10,000 grant from Service Nation, in partnership with the Home Depot Foundation, toward the implementation of a Love Your Block Program. With this initial grant, N2N funded eighteen different community-based organizations from January 2012 through April 2016, providing competitive mini-grants up to $500 to neighborhood groups for the purchase of supplies needed for their local projects.

Since the Fall of 2016, N2N has provided Small LYB mini-grants (up to $250) to local organizations that successfully qualify. This mini-grant initiative is open to civic associations, nonprofit organizations, faith groups, and other recognized groups that have missions to improve neighborhoods by way of service.

• 2020 Grant Cycle 2 → Deadline for applications:     September 20, 2019

      — Download the Application and the Hold-Harmless Waiver

N2N Participation & Service

Contact Us

For further information regarding grant guidelines, contact Ms. Rebecca Davis at either:

Rebecca.Davis@Richmondgov.com or (804)646-5619.

See the Neighbor-To-Neighbor (N2N) opportunities here.