Where Is The Monroe Park Conservancy’s Report?

City Council Organizational Development standing committee met yesterday in part to hear an update on Monroe Park Conservancy’s efforts to raise 3 million dollars to initiate the historically sensitive renovation of Monroe Park. This report was requested by Council in January and was already delayed by MPC at this committee’s last meeting. MPC president Alice Massie was a no show. City administration representative Chris Beschler is familiar with the Conservancy but declined to make any comments.

For more background on Monroe Park, please click here, here, here, here, and here.

“the ‘Real World,’ only with a twist,”

The Times Dispatch has a story on the Grace-on-the-Hill program at St. Andrew’s Church, entitled “College graduates join to enrich outreach in Episcopal mission effort”.

Excerpt:

The “Grace” in Grace-on-the-Hill is part tribute to Arents. But it’s also part tribute to “grace,” as in the work of God.
While the church is now more a destination than a neighborhood hub — most Sundays, the pews are filled with people who had to drive in — Bailey said St. Andrew’s still has an obligation to lift up its community, both immediate in Oregon Hill and spread across Richmond.
It also has an obligation to lift up the people who come to help.
That’s where Fado and the five others come in. For 10 months, stretching across a traditional school year, they call Oregon Hill home but spread out in the day to help the community.
Fado and James Post work at Anna Julia Cooper, an Episcopal school across the street from public housing in the East End.
Patrick Keyser walks a few doors down the street and works in the St. Andrew’s office.
Kate McPherson works at St. Andrew’s School, next to the church and still loosely affiliated with it.
Melissa Eadie works in the mission office at the diocesan office on West Franklin Street.
And Stephanie McCullough works at the Blue Sky Fund, which provides outdoor programs to children from the city.
The six also work in the church, perform community service in Oregon Hill and, one day a week, operate a laundry ministry for the homeless.
“It’s been a good experience so far,” said Keyser, a 22-year-old from the town of Burgess, on the Northern Neck. “It hasn’t been perfect, but what is?”
“I’d say it’s been real meaningful, being able to really dig in and make an impact,” McCullough said. “That none of us is from here, and that we may all go somewhere else later in our lives, I don’t think that matters. In this moment, this is right.”

To learn more on the Grace-on-the-Hill program, click here.

WRIC Story On St. Andrew’s Farm to School Program

WRIC recently featured a story on St. Andrew’s School’s Farm To School program.

Excerpt:

What will happen if students eat only fresh, local foods in school? Will their grades improve? Will absences go down? It is a study going on at Richmond’s St. Andrew’s School, and the kids are eating it up!

There is excitement in the lunch line. Today’s menu is another great one: burgers made with beef and beet, plus plenty of produce.

“I like how at the salad bar we can have eggs and cucumbers and sometimes tomatoes,” says fifth grade student Joshua Bush.

This program is built on a partnership with a purpose. Chefs from Edible Education cook and serve up fresh food brought in by Field of Dreams Farm. About 90% is grown nearby. At the beginning of the year, nurses checked each student’s weight, height and general health. Now they are following them to see how this fresh food is fuel for the classroom.

“When you’re eating healthy, you’re able to pay attention, stay focused,” says Cyndy Weldon-Lassiter, the St. Andrew’s Head of School.

Neighbor Creates ‘Sanctuary’ to Help Formerly Incarcerated Citizens

Congratulations to Pine Street neighbor Liz Canfield!

She is featured on this WTVR report: VCU professor creates ‘Sanctuary’ to help formerly incarcerated residents ease back into society

Excerpts:

Virginia Commonwealth University and the Richmond City Sheriff’s Office have teamed up to provide formerly incarcerated Richmond-area residents and their families a place to learn, create, and transition back into society. Sanctuary, which opened March 30 at 101 W. Broad Street, will provide GED tutoring, job preparation and resources, resume building, and creative expression through art for members re-entering the community.

Sanctuary co-founder Dr. Liz Canfield is an assistant professor at VCU in the College of Humanities and Sciences’ Department of Gender, Sexuality and Women’s Studies.

“We wanted to build a safe place on the outside where people can go when they got out,” she explained.

Sanctuary is an extension of Open-Minds, a program Canfield co-directs with VCU English professor Dr. David Coogan. Open-Minds provides dual enrollment classes for VCU students and incarcerated people at the Richmond City Jail.

Illegally Demolished Historic Wall To Be Rebuilt HIGHER

After the historic Tredegar wall was illegally demolished several years ago, and much controversy resulted, several promises were made to rebuild the wall.

Recently, a neighbor who works in historic preservation has been helping preparations to finally start work on rebuilding the wall.

However, this website has recently learned that there are new plans to rebuild the wall at least twenty feet higher than its previous height. No one could comment on this development at press time.

While it remains a mystery as to the exact reasons being given for this raise, there is some speculation on the need to use ‘extra’ historic bricks that will be made available from the planned updating of old City Hall. Some Oregon Hill residents believe the higher wall will be used to host community movie screenings, while others believe that the City is preparing the wall for river level rise due to climate change.

Please stay tuned as this story develops.

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