[{"id":456,"date":"2023-03-10T21:03:21","date_gmt":"2023-03-10T21:03:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/cei\/?p=456"},"modified":"2023-03-10T21:03:24","modified_gmt":"2023-03-10T21:03:24","slug":"ivy-bell-connects-east-end-residents-to-the-very-resources-she-benefited-from-over-a-decade-ago","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/cei\/2023\/03\/10\/ivy-bell-connects-east-end-residents-to-the-very-resources-she-benefited-from-over-a-decade-ago\/","title":{"rendered":"Ivy Bell connects East End residents to the very resources she benefited from over a decade ago"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Empathy and kindness guide the community health worker\u2019s approach to work and life.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

When you walk through the front doors of the VCU Health Hub<\/a>, you\u2019ll probably be greeted by Ivy Bell\u2019s smiling face at the front desk. Bell is the hub\u2019s in-house certified community health worker and resource specialist, which means that she connects people in the East End to important housing, food, employment and health resources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her job isn\u2019t as simple as connecting residents to a singular resource, however. Oftentimes, people aren\u2019t aware of the resources that are available to them, or they come in for one issue to later find that they would benefit from many of the available resources. Thus, much of Bell\u2019s job involves listening closely to clients\u2019 stories, reading between lines of what they tell her and following up with them regularly to help them achieve their goals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her advice to those who may be reluctant to reach out for help: \u201cI always say, you never know if you don\u2019t try. If you don\u2019t try, then how do you know if you\u2019re gonna get the resource? Or how are you going to find the house, or get the food, or get the help that you need if you don\u2019t try or if you don\u2019t ask?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read the full article at VCU Health News Center.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Empathy and kindness guide the community health worker\u2019s approach to work and life.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1245,"featured_media":457,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[67,66,39,64,65],"class_list":["post-456","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-vcu-health-hub-at-25th","tag-chw","tag-ivy-bell","tag-rva","tag-vcu-health-hub","tag-vcu-health-hub-at-25th"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/cei\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/456","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/cei\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/cei\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/cei\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1245"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/cei\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=456"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/cei\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/456\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/cei\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/457"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/cei\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=456"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/cei\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=456"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/cei\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=456"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":452,"date":"2022-12-07T19:35:24","date_gmt":"2022-12-07T19:35:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/cei\/?p=452"},"modified":"2022-12-07T19:36:14","modified_gmt":"2022-12-07T19:36:14","slug":"food-for-thought","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/cei\/2022\/12\/07\/food-for-thought\/","title":{"rendered":"Food for Thought"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Faculty, staff and students from all corners of VCU and VCU Health are using their collective brainpower, unconventional ideas and deeply rooted passion to combat food insecurity on campus and in the greater community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this VCU News article, Rich Killingsworth, executive director of the VCU Health Hub at 25th, and Stephanie Flowers, community health worker and outreach coordinator at the hub, provide insights on food insecurity in the East End community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read the full article<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In this VCU News article, Rich Killingsworth, executive director of the VCU Health Hub at 25th, and Stephanie Flowers, community health worker and outreach coordinator at the hub, provide insights on food insecurity in the East End community.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1245,"featured_media":453,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[63,62,51,61],"class_list":["post-452","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-vcu-health-hub-at-25th","tag-college","tag-food-security","tag-health-hub","tag-hh"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/cei\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/452","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/cei\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/cei\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/cei\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1245"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/cei\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=452"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/cei\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/452\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/cei\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/453"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/cei\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=452"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/cei\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=452"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/cei\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=452"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":446,"date":"2022-09-01T16:15:46","date_gmt":"2022-09-01T16:15:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/cei\/?p=446"},"modified":"2022-09-01T16:18:22","modified_gmt":"2022-09-01T16:18:22","slug":"mary-and-frances-youth-center-receives-four-capacity-building-grants-from-the-united-states-tennis-association","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/cei\/2022\/09\/01\/mary-and-frances-youth-center-receives-four-capacity-building-grants-from-the-united-states-tennis-association\/","title":{"rendered":"Mary and Frances Youth Center receives four capacity-building grants from the United States Tennis Association"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The grants will support tennis and college discovery programs at the center through fall 2022.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The VCU Mary and Frances Youth Center received four grants from the United States Tennis Association amounting to $18,500 for use in 2021-22. These grants will help develop, support and expand Lobs & Lessons after school programming.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Tennis Creates Grant was used to fund staffing for an expanded tennis program that introduced the sport to 30 students from St. Andrew\u2019s School. MFYC has served students from St. Andrew\u2019s School for over five years. The program\u2019s expansion to include students from lower grades allowed MFYC to support the students\u2019 physical fitness, career and college exploration and Social and Emotional Learning skills at an earlier age. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Grow the Game Grant defrayed some of the costs of delivering quality entry-level programs for organizations actively engaging new and returning players into the sport of tennis in a safe and meaningful way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The USTA Foundation Cycle Grant provided support for MFYC\u2019s Richmond Public Schools extended day programming, which includes free academic support and enrichment for students. The purpose of the extended day program is to introduce tennis to RPS students and identify promising and interested youth through offsite afterschool programs. With the help of this grant, MFYC was able to provide 12 weeks of off-site programming to 6 schools through Peter Paul in spring 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The College Connection Grant will help bring Richmond youth onto VCU campus this fall through a new College & Career Explorers program. The program will engage students from two middle schools with panels, workshops, tours and activities hosted by various VCU departments, staff, faculty and current VCU students. The middle school students will also attend lessons from The College Place, which will include a curriculum for preparing for college. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c[The College & Career Explorers program] will be robust in the sense that students will be on campus, exploring places of study, looking at the bigger picture of finances and what they actually want to do when they graduate high school,\u201d said Rachel Rhoney, assistant director of the Mary and Frances Youth Center.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Program participants will be able to envision themselves in a college setting while exploring topics such as engineering, college athletics, financial literacy and more. The goal of the program is to create a sustainable, mutually beneficial and long-term partnership between RPS middle schools, VCU and Lobs & Lessons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Mary and Frances Youth Center and USTA Mid-Atlantic have had a reciprocal relationship since the program\u2019s inception in 2004.  “The Lobs & Lessons program is a shining example of what a youth tennis enrichment program can deliver at the highest levels and exemplifies how tennis creates community, character, and well-being for all,\u201d said Alex Chan, associate director of community engagement at the United States Tennis Association Mid-Atlantic Section. \u201cUSTA Mid-Atlantic is proud to provide grant funding to support a program such as this so it can continue to increase access to tennis and make a life-long positive impact on all that participate.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The grants will support tennis and college discovery programs at the center through fall 2022. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1245,"featured_media":447,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[60,57,36,58,56,59],"class_list":["post-446","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mary-and-frances-youth-center","tag-college-discovery","tag-happy-camper","tag-lobs-and-lessons","tag-summer-camp","tag-tennis","tag-usta"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/cei\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/446","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/cei\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/cei\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/cei\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1245"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/cei\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=446"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/cei\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/446\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/cei\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/447"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/cei\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=446"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/cei\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=446"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/cei\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=446"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":432,"date":"2022-07-22T13:38:57","date_gmt":"2022-07-22T13:38:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/cei\/?p=432"},"modified":"2022-07-22T13:38:59","modified_gmt":"2022-07-22T13:38:59","slug":"east-end-health-and-wellness-center-welcomes-five-community-ambassadors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/cei\/2022\/07\/22\/east-end-health-and-wellness-center-welcomes-five-community-ambassadors\/","title":{"rendered":"East End health and wellness center welcomes five community ambassadors"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This spring, the VCU Health Hub at 25th introduced the Community Ambassador Program. The ambassador program convenes East End residents with diverse backgrounds, lived experiences and perspectives to serve as liaisons between the VCU Health Hub at 25th and the greater East End community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In order to meet the hub’s mission\u2014to provide equitable services, mutually-beneficial programming\u00a0and high-impact research to improve the health and wellbeing of the East End\u00a0community\u2014it is imperative to include\u00a0community\u00a0residents as valued members of the team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Community ambassadors serve as \u201cchampions” for the hub in their local community and circles of influence. Ambassadors provide valued insight towards identifying community needs and improving the ambassador model as we move forward. Most importantly, ambassadors provide the hub the opportunity to ensure active engagement of community residents on an ongoing basis. Additionally, the hub provides ambassadors with tools to influence their own learning and skills development through training sessions and leadership opportunities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first VCU Health Hub at 25th Community Ambassador Program cohort includes five Richmond East End community members, including Mr. Courts, Ms. Hester, Ms. Taylor, Janai and Sheora.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Mr. Courts was born and raised in Church Hill and returned to Richmond in 2017 after more than 30 years away. In college, he received an associate degree in community and social services. He enjoys helping others, especially the seniors in the community. He hopes to increase access to transportation for seniors in the East End and provide mentorship to youth in the community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI love the sense of togetherness [in the East End],\u201d Mr. Courts said. \u201cEveryone looks out for each other and it\u2019s always been like that since I was a child. Everybody knows everybody.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In his spare time, Mr. Courts is an avid fisherman and enjoys shooting pool and listening to jazz music.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Ms. Hester has been an East End resident for over 30 years. She loves talking to people in her community, asking them questions and giving suggestions. She\u2019s excited about being a VCU Health Hub at 25th community ambassador because of all that she can learn from VCU, not just for her, but for everybody she comes in contact with.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI guess I can say I just love people!\u201d Ms. Hester said. \u201c[I love] knowing that I can offer something to help somebody get ahead\u2026[There are] so many things people do not know that\u2019s available to them, and they do not know where to get that information.\u201d As a VCU Health Hub at 25th community ambassador, Ms. Hester will share information with residents who need it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In her spare time, Ms. Hester loves to talk with people, spend time with her grandchildren and entertain guests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Ms. Taylor has been an East End resident for 36 years. She\u2019s an active member of her church and regularly alerts people to resources at the VCU Health Hub at 25th that they don\u2019t know about but might qualify for. Ms. Taylor also worked in hospitals for 40 years, including at VCU. She\u2019s passionate about uplifting community members who are in need.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think I\u2019m the resource center for whatever anyone needs,\u201d Mrs. Taylor said. \u201cI always let [people] know what\u2019s going on, because a whole lot of people don\u2019t ask questions. I\u2019m not interested in your personal life. All I want to know is, is there something that you need?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In her spare time, Ms. Taylor likes to crochet and knit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Sheora has been an East End resident for three years. She organizes impactful sorority programming in the East End as well as non-profit programming with youth organizations. As a community ambassador, Sheora is excited about interacting with community members and learning about the East End’s history through storytelling of the longtime neighborhood residents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I love that I am able to (still) see love within the community,” Sheora said. “Each morning, I am positively impacted and inspired by residents who embrace one another while standing at the bus stop, the smiles I see on the faces of young men as they shake hands while standing in front of the corner stores, and the encouraging walk to school many area youth residents still enjoy each morning.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In her spare time, Sheora loves to travel, try new local restaurants, photography, short walks and long runs and anything that reminds her that life is about learning something new each day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Janai has been an East End resident for her entire life. She serves the Church Hill area with her church family through community outreach, youth activities and food and clothing drives. As a community ambassador, Janai is excited about the advancements happening in health resources that are available to community members.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 “I love the [East End] black community and how we are sticking together through the changes that are occurring,” Janai said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In her spare time, Janai enjoys cooking, working out and self care.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The ambassador program convenes East End residents with diverse backgrounds, lived experiences and perspectives to serve as liaisons between the VCU Health Hub at 25th and the greater East End community.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1245,"featured_media":442,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[54,55,51,39],"class_list":["post-432","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-vcu-health-hub-at-25th","tag-ce","tag-community","tag-health-hub","tag-rva"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/cei\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/432","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/cei\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/cei\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/cei\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1245"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/cei\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=432"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/cei\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/432\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/cei\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/442"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/cei\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=432"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/cei\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=432"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/cei\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=432"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":416,"date":"2022-06-15T16:01:56","date_gmt":"2022-06-15T16:01:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/cei\/?p=416"},"modified":"2022-07-18T16:32:54","modified_gmt":"2022-07-18T16:32:54","slug":"vcu-health-hub-at-25th-awards-health-equity-community-microgrants-to-12-richmond-east-end-organizations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/cei\/2022\/06\/15\/vcu-health-hub-at-25th-awards-health-equity-community-microgrants-to-12-richmond-east-end-organizations\/","title":{"rendered":"VCU Health Hub at 25th awards health equity community microgrants to 12 Richmond East End organizations"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The grants will increase equitable opportunities for developing community-led programs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Health Equity Community Microgrants Initiative was developed to provide capacity-building funding for grassroots, community-based organizations located in the East End to create new and\/or enhance existing programming to address community-identified needs and social determinants of health impacting residents of the East End. Maghboeba Mosavel, Ph.D, interim director of the VCU Health Hub at 25th, has successfully utilized microgrants in Petersburg and Nottoway County as a key community capacity building program to support the work of grassroots organizations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Similarly, in the East End, microgrants provide an opportunity for us to recognize the groundbreaking work that occurs at the grassroots level, each and every day. As a university and the VCU Health Hub at 25th, we work in partnerships with other community organizations and the microgrants provide an opportunity for us to demonstrate our support for the multilevel and layered work required to address social determinants of health. Priority was given to organizations and projects that clearly address social determinants of health identified by the East End community as a current priority; propose ongoing, sustainable programming that may continue beyond the grant cycle; and demonstrate a strong commitment to authentic community engagement.  In spring 2022, the hub announced the microgrants recipients.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The VCU Health Hub at 25th is very proud of the entire inaugural microgrants process, which included a grant writing 101 workshop. We congratulate each of the recipients for the work that they do every day in the East End to improve the quality of life of the community members. We would like to thank the grant review committee, which included VCU Health Hub at 25th staff and East End community members. We were all so impressed to learn more about each organization and their commitment to improving the health and wellbeing of East residents. The VCU Health Hub at 25th is looking forward to partnering with each of our microgrant recipients and most especially to work collaboratively to enhance the impact of our collective work in the community. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The following organizations were awarded the 2022 Health Equity Community Microgrants:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Program Name: Creating Life Changes That Stick<\/strong>
<\/strong>Organization Name: AdaPt 2 HeaLing LLC<\/strong>
<\/strong>Amount Awarded: $1,000<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

This project will provide a resource, information and tools to individuals and parents in the East End that they may not have access to. From my personal experience raising my children in the East End for over 18 years these types of resources and information would have been helpful in supporting myself and family. I see people struggle every day in need of solutions, tools and a buildup of Hope. This stems from a lack of quality resources, quality information, motivation and quality solutions to their everyday concerns. This project will provide an opportunity for participants to find their voice, address issues, and strengthen their wellness and Hope! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The following workshop will provide an opportunity for participants to receive needed support in implementing their goals and needs using the provided tools for the changes they aim to achieve. This coaching workshop would provide information, resources, and tools that would get them contemplating the changes and needs they have and how to pursue them. Tools, information and opportunity after the workshops will provide participants time to work on their solutions in a safe space and decompress. This workshop will be followed by a 1\u20132-hour follow-up to support the participants. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

All workshops are created to serve 2-10 participants per each workshop. It is preferred that the workshops are treated as a closed series but not required as participants\u2019 schedules permit. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This project is created by AdaPt 2 HeaLing LLC<\/a> and presented by a Certified Peer Recovery Specialist that uses lived and learned experiences that focus on daily mental health needs. This project will provide an opportunity for participants to find their voice, address issues, and strengthen wellness and Hope. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Program Name: Chat n\u2019 Chew<\/strong>
Organization Name: A Few Good Roots Inc.<\/strong>
Amount Awarded: $1,000<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Chat n\u2019 Chew is a program designed to effectively assist those located in the East End of Richmond. Our target consumers are specifically the elderly and disabled. The Fairmont house was chosen as a pilot location for the Chat n\u2019 Chew primarily due to its high volume of stated population and the expressed need for this type of support by the Housing Administration. The purpose of Chat n\u2019 Chew is to aid those affected by disabilities and older age, with access to substance abuse programs, mental health stability, independent living and case management needs. Over the next 12 months, we plan to host 2 hour sessions each month where Chat n\u2019 Chew will address the social determinants of mental health and addiction, housing security, health access quality and equity, food security, employment and financial security. Interactive discussions will be held and workshops will be presented on topics such as budgeting, self-care, access and connection to community resources, coping skills, substance abuse, and provide a healthy outlet where questions can be answered. The needs of the community at the Fairmount house will be evaluated on a quarterly basis by a survey of the residents and administrative staff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Program Name: Armstrong Leadership Program<\/strong>
Organization Name: Armstrong Leadership Program<\/strong>
Amount Awarded: $2,000<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

ALP seeks to nurture and support a core group of 35-50 student leaders selected annually from grades 9-12 at Armstrong High School. Students are supported by a program director, an assistant director and an Intern. Over 75 volunteers provide personal mentoring, tutoring, job-shadowing opportunities and cultural exposure. The social determinants of health\/health equity focus areas addressed by ALP are positive youth development and intervention. The project will assist a cohort of 45 to 50 Armstrong High School students in grades 9-12. The community-identified need impacted by ALP is personal development, leadership training, one-on-one mentoring, post graduate preparation, cultural exposure, service learning and trauma informed care practices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Program Name: Healthy Girls Matter<\/strong>
Organization Name: The Beauty Within Girls<\/strong>
Amount Awarded: $2,000<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

The Beauty Within Girls<\/em> organization will offer two free workshops through their Healthy Girls Matter<\/strong> campaign. This campaign will host 30 girls ages 9 -13 for the purpose of promoting healthy eating, thought, and life-skills habits. Our first workshop will focus on affordable nutritious snacks and using art as therapy. The second workshop will focus on mindfulness activities. We hope our workshop attendees will leave with information and resources they can share with their families, inspiring mind, body, and spirit health throughout the East End community. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Program Name: Birth in Color Breastfeeding Initiative<\/strong>
Organization Name: Birth in Color RVA Foundation<\/strong>
Amount Awarded: $2,000<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Birth in Color aims to create the human lactation program. Funding will be used to establish a community-based outpatient lactation clinic as well as breastfeeding education at no cost to community members.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Program Name: Lay Health Promoter Program<\/strong>
Organization Name: Capital Area Health Education Center<\/strong>
Amount Awarded: $4,000<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Lay Health Promoters (LHPs) are community residents who are committed to health promotion & dissemination, learning the signs\/symptoms of chronic diseases, and encouraging healthy lifestyle options. LHPs complete 36-40 hours of classroom\/virtual training in topics such as: Obesity, Diabetes, Nutrition, Oral Health, Heart Disease and Cancer. LHPs also receive Blood Pressure training and will obtain a Blood Pressure Cuff, Stethoscope and Thermometer upon graduation. LHPs are active in their communities and churches with health education, promotion and supporting others in making healthy choices. This innovative, grassroots level program yields individual and community health and the well-being of neighborhoods.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Program Name: Chimborazo Elementary School Garden Project<\/strong>
Organization Name: Chimborazo Elementary School PTA<\/strong>
Amount Awarded: $1,000<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

In Church Hill, an influx of unaffordable housing limits nature\u2019s green space and prevents families from leaving small, lower-income homes with smaller yards, specifically in the Chimborazo Elementary School zone. Paired with isolation of the COVID-19 pandemic, mental health of Chimborazo Elementary students has suffered. In response, the Chimborazo Elementary PTA will improve school grounds to include an accessible garden program for grades PreK-5. It will become an outdoor classroom to be managed and maintained by students with assistance from caregivers. Granting students agency to manage their own garden and educating them on growing sustainable food will improve mental health of East End youth. With increased time outdoors in a familiar, safe environment, confidence will grow around science-based learning about nutrition and relationships with neighbors will strengthen through partnering events (cooking classes hosted by restaurant chefs, markets selling harvest with proceeds benefiting the school).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Community Engagement Programs at Oakwood Arts<\/strong>
Organization Name: Community Engagement Programs at Oakwood Arts<\/strong>
Amount Awarded: $4,000<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Oakwood Arts (OA) requests capacity building funding in support of a variety of community engagement programs at our organization\u2019s East End home. These programs include: 1) workshops and professional development opportunities for East End creatives and students; 2) film screenings as part of the East End Film Society; and 3) maintenance of the Oakwood Arts Learning Park.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our project focuses specifically on the health equity areas of education and employment\/financial security for local youth and adults, as well as directly addressing racial equity and opportunities in creative industries in our region. Like all of OA\u2019s programs, these are free and open to the public, specifically the East End community. OA\u2019s work addresses the community-identified need for training, education, and networking opportunities in creative fields such as film and television production, photography, graphic design, and visual art.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Program Name: Real Talk 4 Returning Citizens Reentry Program<\/strong>
Organization Name: Free Dome Unlimited, Inc.<\/strong>
Amount Awarded: $2,000<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

The purpose of the program is to utilize an evidence-based curriculum and additional information for our REAL TALK 4 RETURNING CITIZENS (RT4RC) programming, and also partnering with Community Partners to facilitate classes and workshops that are implemented by certified, qualified and lived-experienced facilitators, to address the social determinants of health that affect high-risk communities and individuals primarily in the City of Richmond, to decrease recidivism rates, and increase support services to address homelessness, substance abuse, and other issues for Community Members and Participants, under the guidance of Program Director Anita L. Johnson and our facilitators who are recognized and commended for their years of service in the community. The Returning Citizens of the communities we serve are identified as returning from incarceration, opioid abuse, chronic homelessness, and traumatic experiences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Program Name: East End Career Opportunities Workshop<\/strong>
Organization Name: Justice and Peace Committee Holy Rosary Catholic Church<\/strong>
Amount Awarded: $1,000<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

While the job market is robust and starting pay is increasing across the city and state, it is still very competitive for those without college degrees to find long term positions with the potential for growth that in turn provide health insurance and stability to defeat health inequity. There is significant opportunity for permanent stable employment immediately surrounding the East End. These career areas include hospitality such as restaurants and tourist venues, as well as warehouse and supply chain management and public works. Some of the best opportunities for transitioning from unskilled to skilled labor and careers are on the next hill at VCU Hospitals. The East End Career Opportunities Workshop (EECOW) is designed to help East End residents sixteen and older increase their employment dynamism by offering professional advice and instruction on the value and practice of writing a good resume, and direct feedback in practice interviews.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Program Name: Richmond Doula Project<\/strong>
<\/strong>Organization Name: Richmond Doula Project<\/strong>
<\/strong>Amount Awarded: $1,000<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

The Richmond Doula Project (RDP) is a grassroots, nonprofit organization of full-spectrum doulas with the goal of providing affordable support and education to all people in any life transition. RDP Doulas support Full Spectrum Birth Support, Postpartum Support, Abortion Support, Grief Support, Trans-formation\/Transition Support and End of Life Support are all the ways doulas in our collective serve in the Richmond community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Program Name: Stork\u2019s Nest Initiative of Alpha Phi Zeta Chapter<\/strong>
Organization Name: Zeta Phi Beta Sorority Inc., Alpha Phi Zeta Chapter<\/strong>
Amount Awarded: $1,000 <\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

The purpose of the Stork\u2019s Nest is to encourage economically disadvantaged women to seek prenatal care within the first trimester of their pregnancy. This program has two components: incentives and education. Stork\u2019s Nest clients \u201cearn\u201d points toward incentives such as maternity or baby care items through a variety of positive, health-promoting activities: attending prenatal visits, participating in prenatal education classes, stopping at-risk behaviors such as smoking cigarettes and consuming alcoholic beverages, reducing stress, etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The grant will be used for outreach and promotion (advertisement, social media, flyers, etc.) and for funding incentives for the summer cohort participants (purchase gift cards, baby items, mom items, grocery cards).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Health Equity Community Microgrants Initiative was developed to provide capacity-building funding for grassroots, community-based organizations located in the East End to create new and\/or enhance existing programming to address community-identified needs and social determinants of health impacting residents of the East End.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1245,"featured_media":417,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[54,32,51,53,52,39],"class_list":["post-416","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-vcu-health-hub-at-25th","tag-ce","tag-community-engagement","tag-health-hub","tag-initiative","tag-micro-grants","tag-rva"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/cei\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/416","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/cei\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/cei\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/cei\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1245"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/cei\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=416"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/cei\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/416\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/cei\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/417"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/cei\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=416"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/cei\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=416"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/cei\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=416"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":408,"date":"2022-06-15T13:34:51","date_gmt":"2022-06-15T13:34:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/cei\/?p=408"},"modified":"2022-06-30T17:46:04","modified_gmt":"2022-06-30T17:46:04","slug":"the-toolbox-receives-a-multi-year-funding-commitment-from-virginia-credit-union-to-expand-youth-development-training-opportunities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/cei\/2022\/06\/15\/the-toolbox-receives-a-multi-year-funding-commitment-from-virginia-credit-union-to-expand-youth-development-training-opportunities\/","title":{"rendered":"The Toolbox receives a multi-year funding commitment from Virginia Credit Union to expand youth development training opportunities"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Richmond youth development professionals celebrate the end of the year Youth Program Quality Intervention at Virginia Credit Union in June 2018.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Funds will be used to provide two series of youth development training workshops.<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

The Toolbox at MFYC: A Youth Development Training Community, developed by the VCU Mary and Frances Youth Center<\/a> (MFYC), is a comprehensive approach to professional development for youth-serving organizations and responds to a growing need for high quality, unique and diverse youth development workshops. The $60,000 sponsorship will allow MFYC to expand development opportunities for youth programs and further emphasize important conversations surrounding youth development. Specifically, funding will support a series of Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) workshops and build on the strengths of the youth development community through quarterly Toolbox Community Conversations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSponsorship from the Virginia Credit Union will be instrumental in ensuring these [youth development] organizations have the opportunity to attract and retain qualified, caring people to support families in the region with meaningful afterschool experiences,\u201d said Charles Johnson, training and compliance manager of the Mary and Frances Youth Center.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Toolbox will host a series of 10 SEL workshops with the aid of VACU\u2019s support. These workshops will help staff develop important soft skills that they can model and teach to the youth in their programs. The funds will also sponsor Community Conversations, a quarterly series where youth development professionals can connect, discuss relevant topics and find support with one another.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even before the pandemic, the MFYC found that Out-of-School Time (OST) providers sought professional development opportunities and financial and logistical support. These needs were only exacerbated by the challenges of the pandemic. The pandemic \u201cdramatically affected how The Toolbox at MFYC operated and launched,\u201d Johnson said. To address community challenges, The Toolbox subsidized the cost of workshops, sought workshops that could be offered for free and added training topics to meet the ongoing social, emotional and mental health needs of both staff and youth. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Two
The Toolbox at MFYC: A Youth Development Training Community participants engage in a training about Supervising Young Adults Using a Mentoring Mindset on April 13, 2022.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Despite many challenges, the program successfully connected with and provided support for dozens of youth development professionals. Since its launch in late 2020, 99 OST organizations have attended professional development workshops offered by The Toolbox. The workshops cover topics such as Youth Mental Health First Aid, Secondary Trauma, How to Talk About Race and Equity, Conflict Management\/Coping Skills and more.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOur Community Conversations came out of a direct need for staff at local OST organizations to talk with other staff about how they were overcoming pandemic challenges,\u201d Johnson said.  It has expanded to include collaboration ideas, programmatic needs and networking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Workshops are now available fully in-person. Community Conversations are hosted in local spaces, adding a new layer of community engagement by allowing staff to visit sites that have the resources to support their needs. As the needs of the youth development community shift once again, The Toolbox continues to seek regular input and partner with experts in the field to adjust its approach as needed. Support from VACU is an essential part of allowing The Toolbox to continue offering logistical and financial support to Richmond\u2019s youth development community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe love the concept of The Toolbox at MFYC,\u201d said Cherry Dale, vice president for financial education at Virginia Credit Union. \u201cBringing local nonprofits together to share ideas and resources strengthens our area\u2019s youth-focused programs and makes the whole community stronger. As a member-owned cooperative eager to help young people learn to manage money and make sound financial decisions, Virginia Credit Union is happy to partner with the MFYC in their vital work.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Richmond youth development professionals celebrate the end of the year Youth Program Quality Intervention at Virginia Credit Union in June 2018. Funds will be used to provide two series of youth development training workshops. The Toolbox at MFYC: A Youth Development Training Community, developed by the VCU Mary and Frances Youth Center (MFYC), is a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1245,"featured_media":409,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[48,50,46,44,49,45,47],"class_list":["post-408","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mary-and-frances-youth-center","tag-sponsor","tag-sponsorship","tag-toolbox","tag-vacu","tag-vcu","tag-virginia-credit-union","tag-youth-development"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/cei\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/408","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/cei\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/cei\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/cei\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1245"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/cei\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=408"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/cei\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/408\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/cei\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/409"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/cei\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=408"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/cei\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=408"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/cei\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=408"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":397,"date":"2022-05-31T15:26:05","date_gmt":"2022-05-31T15:26:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/cei\/?p=397"},"modified":"2022-05-31T15:26:08","modified_gmt":"2022-05-31T15:26:08","slug":"health-hub-student-interns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/cei\/2022\/05\/31\/health-hub-student-interns\/","title":{"rendered":"Student interns get hands-on experience at the VCU Health Hub at 25th"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Gabrielle Levy and Victoria Chege engage with Richmond\u2019s East End residents and bring fresh perspectives to the hub.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The VCU Health Hub at 25th has welcomed student interns since the facility opened in 2019. One of the hub\u2019s goals is to be an experiential learning hub for undergraduate and graduate students, providing them with real-world experience in a community-based setting. Interns at the hub can expect to learn cross-disciplinary and interprofessional skills that will help set them up for future success in their careers.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In spring 2022, Victoria Chege and Gabrielle Levy, both seniors majoring in health, physical education and exercise science, interned at the VCU Health Hub at 25th. Chege and Levy were encouraged to apply for the internship by Maghboeba Mosavel, Ph.D., interim director and internship supervisor for the VCU Health Hub at 25th.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A
Gabrielle Levy<\/code><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Levy found Mosavel listed as affiliate faculty while researching the Center for Cultural Experiences in Prevention<\/a>. When she reached out about an internship, Mosavel recommended the VCU Health Hub at 25th, and Levy interviewed a few days later. As an intern, she was responsible for a wide range of tasks, from watching the front desk, answering phone calls, greeting visitors and connecting them to resources, filing paperwork, passing out flyers, taking minutes for meetings and creating slide decks for presentations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chege initially reached out to Mosavel regarding a research assistant position. Mosavel, who already had a graduate research assistant that semester, also suggested for Chege to intern at the hub. The next semester, Chege applied for and accepted the position. She split her internship hours between research and facilities support on an as-needed basis. As a research assistant, Chege examined oral health disparities data and assisted with identifying themes based on narratives from interviews with community members.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Victoria
Victoria Chege<\/code><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Levy and Chege dived into their roles on day one. Their first project involved collecting recipes from East End community members in hopes of eventually sharing the recipes on the hub\u2019s community recipe wall. To collect these recipes, Levy and Chege spoke with visitors in the VCU Health Hub at 25th reception area and customers at The Market@25th next door. Community members were happy to share their recipes and the familial stories that accompanied them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With guidance from their on-site supervisor, the interns also pursued other projects, from creating an informational oral health stand detailing the recent Medicaid expansion to planning and sourcing new hygiene kits to distribute to East End residents. Some of these projects were fully executed, while others required extended time in the exploratory and community engagement phases. Based on their ground experiences and engagement with community members, the interns were able to develop recommendations which they shared at their final presentation to the VCU Health Hub at 25th team, including community ambassadors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt is wonderful having interns at the VCU Health Hub at 25th. They often come in with expectations but then they learn that sometimes with this work, you just have to observe, listen, and immerse yourself in the environment,\u201d Mosavel said. \u201cStudents begin to understand that there is so much to learn, even if they came in thinking they already knew a lot. Well, the truth is they do learn a lot in the classroom, but at the VCU Health Hub at 25th they have an opportunity to experience community. Both the community as in the hardworking, caring team at the hub, the different community providers, and of course, most especially the community residents. So for me, it is very exciting to see that transformative process of learning and application coming together.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

VCU Health Hub at 25th interns are highly encouraged, with supervision, to engage with the community while pursuing their individual interests. Learning in a hands-on environment was important to Chege, who previously interned at a research lab.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI knew I wanted something that was more community-focused,\u201d said Chege, who was also a research assistant, resident assistant and member of three committees while attending VCU. Chege, who will attend graduate school in the fall and has aspirations of becoming a health policy analyst, said the VCU Health Hub at 25th internship prepared her for a lot of things that graduate school covers, including social determinants of health and decision-making policies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The hub\u2019s prominent community focus means that active listening is critically important and highly informative. It is a key component to collaborating with community members and partners to create truly community-informed programming. Sometimes, community input means that certain projects must be reworked before they are ready to be announced. Rather than viewing delays as failures, the internship helps students view them as opportunities for learning and growth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A
Victoria Chege and Gabrielle Levy table outside of the VCU Health Hub at 25th.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019ve learned how tricky it can be to complete a project you\u2019ve envisioned in a professional setting. It\u2019s very different from projects I\u2019ve done for my classes and requires much more patience and revision, especially when there are other partnerships involved,\u201d Levy said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA lesson I’ll take with me is that despite the outcomes you’re learning more than you realize. I absorb so much just by being in this environment.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The VCU Health Hub at 25th offers spring, summer and fall internships. To apply for a student internship, contact the VCU Health Hub at 25th at (804) 628-6401 or vcuhealthhub@vcu.edu<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Gabrielle Levy and Victoria Chege engage with Richmond\u2019s East End residents and bring fresh perspectives to the hub. The VCU Health Hub at 25th has welcomed student interns since the facility opened in 2019. One of the hub\u2019s goals is to be an experiential learning hub for undergraduate and graduate students, providing them with real-world […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1245,"featured_media":400,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[42,40,43,41],"class_list":["post-397","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-vcu-health-hub-at-25th","tag-interenship","tag-interns","tag-student-engagement","tag-student-learning"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/cei\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/397","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/cei\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/cei\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/cei\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1245"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/cei\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=397"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/cei\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/397\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/cei\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/400"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/cei\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=397"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/cei\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=397"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/cei\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=397"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":390,"date":"2022-05-03T20:10:00","date_gmt":"2022-05-03T20:10:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/cei\/?p=390"},"modified":"2022-05-13T20:16:44","modified_gmt":"2022-05-13T20:16:44","slug":"service-learning-student-touts-connections-made-in-best-class-ever","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/cei\/2022\/05\/03\/service-learning-student-touts-connections-made-in-best-class-ever\/","title":{"rendered":"Service-learning student touts connections made in “best class ever”"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

VCU News round-up features Anna Mitchell and her experience at Live Art<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A ground-breaking program offered by local arts non-profit, the School of the Performing Arts in the Richmond Community, celebrated its 10th anniversary this year. Over the past several years, LIVE ART<\/a> has invited VCU students to work as interns for the program through a service-learning class offered by Christine Hoffman as part of the Music Education curriculum. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

VCU student Anna Mitchell enthused about this class in a recent VCU News round-up<\/a> where students were asked to identify their “best class ever.” LIVE ART is unique in inviting children in the community with and without disabilities to participate together to create performances pieces in collaboration with professional artists with national acclaim. Mitchell, who is neurodivergent, found inspiration in a place that was “so accessible for all types of students.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not only did Mitchell take the service-learning class, she went on to serve as a Service-Learning Teaching Assistant (SLTA) for two semesters of the class and has helped ensure the class will be available to students who aren’t majoring in Music Education.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read Mitchell’s complete testimonial, along with other student stories, in this story<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

VCU News round-up features Anna Mitchell and her experience at Live Art A ground-breaking program offered by local arts non-profit, the School of the Performing Arts in the Richmond Community, celebrated its 10th anniversary this year. Over the past several years, LIVE ART has invited VCU students to work as interns for the program through […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1361,"featured_media":391,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-390","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-service-learning"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/cei\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/390","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/cei\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/cei\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/cei\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1361"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/cei\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=390"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/cei\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/390\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/cei\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/391"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/cei\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=390"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/cei\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=390"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/cei\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=390"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":374,"date":"2022-04-25T21:04:00","date_gmt":"2022-04-25T21:04:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/cei\/?p=374"},"modified":"2022-05-06T13:58:06","modified_gmt":"2022-05-06T13:58:06","slug":"taking-science-out-of-the-classroom","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/cei\/2022\/04\/25\/taking-science-out-of-the-classroom\/","title":{"rendered":"Taking Science Out of the Classroom"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Dr. Marcia Winter and the VCU-CMoR Partnership <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If there’s one thing Dr. Marcia Winter knows, it’s that there is a lot we can learn from children. Winter, assistant professor of developmental psychology<\/a>, is passionate about studying child development and “taking the science out of the classroom” so that families can apply it to their own settings. Winter makes this possible through a longstanding VCU Service-Learning<\/a> partnership with the Children’s Museum of Richmond<\/a> (CMoR). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

On any given weekday afternoon, stop by the Living Lab<\/a> at CMoR<\/a> and you’ll probably see a child playing the “Whisper Task” with a VCU service-learning student scientist. In this activity, the scientist shows the child images on a deck of cards and gives the child simple instructions to whisper the name of each image aloud. The catch? Some of the deck are notable characters from popular kids tv show Paw Patrol — and seeing their favorite characters often excites kids so much that they can’t control their whisper and shout the name aloud.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Director of Education at CMoR<\/a> Krista Dawson says that engaging scientific demonstrations like the \u201cWhisper Task” is a way for children to \u201celevate the museum as a place of learning through play\u201d and for parents to learn \u201chow to temper their expectations of their child\u2019s abilities, what is typical behavior for children that age, and open their minds about what more they can learn about their child\u2019s development.\u201d In the case of the \u201cWhisper Task,\u201d for instance, if a child screams when they see something exciting, it\u2019s because they are still developing their impulse control — and is completely normal behavior for a young kiddo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Children and parents aren\u2019t the only ones learning in the museum: the VCU service-learning students are too. To design successful activities for the Living Lab<\/a>, students have to take the scientific studies they learn about in the classroom and break them down in ways that are fun and make sense for both the parents and children. This practical application of theoretical knowledge, Dawson and Winter emphasize, teaches the students important research dissemination skills. Through this work, VCU students help CMoR make science approachable for the community and, at the same time, get hands-on practice themselves.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The partnership also makes science more approachable by exposing children to the many faces in science. Winter\u2019s student scientists are \u201cdiverse in race, ethnicity, sex, gender identities, and ages,\u201d she says, and \u201cthis diversity is represented [by the students] in the museum to children.\u201d In this way, children from diverse backgrounds are able to see themselves represented as a person in science. Since research suggests that the presence of relatable role models can impact whether underrepresented minorities participate in STEM fields, this element of Dawson and Winter’s work is especially critical to developing pathways into STEM for children of all backgrounds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The service-learning partnership between Dawson and Winter offers a compelling example of the potential impact university-community partnerships can have on both community members and VCU students. This partnership, established seven years ago and supported in part by grants from the Office of Service-Learning<\/a>, has touched the lives of hundreds of VCU students and countless families — and shows no signs of stopping. Dawson highlights her commitment to the partnership, saying that their work is \u201cworth doing and as long as the students are interested, the opportunity will be available.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dawson also encourages faculty from other departments to collaborate with the Children\u2019s Museum of Richmond to see how many other ways VCU can make science accessible within our local Richmond community: \u201cIf other departments wanted to do service-learning through the museum, it would be welcomed to have someone come in with a different lens to inform our practices.\u201d  
For more information, please visit VCU Service-Learning<\/a> and the Children\u2019s Museum of Richmond<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dr. Marcia Winter and the VCU-CMoR Partnership  If there’s one thing Dr. Marcia Winter knows, it’s that there is a lot we can learn from children. Winter, assistant professor of developmental psychology, is passionate about studying child development and “taking the science out of the classroom” so that families can apply it to their own […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1570,"featured_media":375,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-374","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cei-news","category-service-learning"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/cei\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/374","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/cei\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/cei\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/cei\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1570"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/cei\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=374"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/cei\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/374\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/cei\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/375"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/cei\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=374"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/cei\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=374"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/cei\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=374"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":368,"date":"2022-04-19T18:41:11","date_gmt":"2022-04-19T18:41:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/cei\/?p=368"},"modified":"2022-04-19T18:41:14","modified_gmt":"2022-04-19T18:41:14","slug":"service-learning-on-steroids-createathon-returns-to-in-person-collaboration","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/cei\/2022\/04\/19\/service-learning-on-steroids-createathon-returns-to-in-person-collaboration\/","title":{"rendered":"Service-learning on steroids! CreateAthon returns to in-person collaboration"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

(CreateAthon students present a proposal to the leadership of Slyderz Baseball, a local youth-development nonprofit)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The somewhat generic-sounding course title \u201cNonprofit Project Development\u201d hides the true nature of one of VCU\u2019s more popular service-learning courses. More commonly known as CreateAthon@VCU, this Mass Communication class culminates in a 24-hour frenzy of unbridled creativity and focused service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The priceless \u201cdeliverable\u201d that results from this effort: pro bono marketing and communications services to nonprofits that otherwise would not be able to afford them<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Though CreateAthon@VCU was established 15 years ago by the Interim Director of the Richard T. Robertson School of Media and Culture, Peyton Rowe, this year\u2019s event marks a couple important milestones: 1) it was the first in-person CreateAthon held since 2019, and 2) it was overseen by a new professor leading the course, Jess Collins, who took over from Rowe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Collins talked about how service-learning classes like the CreateAthon are integral to student success. \u201c\u201cMy goal as a professor is to always give [my students] assignments that will set them apart when they\u2019re getting job interviews,\u201d Collins said. \u201cWhen they\u2019re talking to people, I want them to feel like they\u2019re proud of their work and that it can give them a bit of an edge.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The CreateAthon provides a unique opportunity for students across disciplines to work together and to complete a hand-on project with people outside VCU. This year\u2019s volunteers ranged from alums and mentors, including a communications team from the Institute for Contemporary Art at VCU, to students who plan to seek careers in fields from journalism to business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read a full account of the 2022 CreateAthon in this VCU News story<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(CreateAthon students present a proposal to the leadership of Slyderz Baseball, a local youth-development nonprofit) The somewhat generic-sounding course title \u201cNonprofit Project Development\u201d hides the true nature of one of VCU\u2019s more popular service-learning courses. More commonly known as CreateAthon@VCU, this Mass Communication class culminates in a 24-hour frenzy of unbridled creativity and focused service. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1361,"featured_media":369,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-368","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cei-news","category-service-learning"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/cei\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/368","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/cei\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/cei\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/cei\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1361"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/cei\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=368"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/cei\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/368\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/cei\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/369"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/cei\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=368"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/cei\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=368"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/cei\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=368"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}]