Six months. That’s how long it took Dayquon to put his plan into action. In September of 2021, Dayquon returned home after serving in the Army for five years. Having spent so much time away from family and friends, Dayquon was ready to reconnect and share the valuable life lessons he’d learned. He had traveled abroad, discovered different cultures, jumped…
“Come on in, sweetie!” Bessie Tyler called out from the back room. Blanketed arm chairs circled around the coffee table in the center of the living room. The home exuded an ambiance of warmth and comfort, a feeling cultivated by more than 40 years of homemaking and Bessie’s all-around kind, welcoming demeanor. It soon became obvious that dozens of guests,…
Meet Chaella Dent, a graphic design student at John Tyler Community College. This spring, Chaella completed an internship at United Way of Greater Richmond & Petersburg to support Workforce Partnership Team activities.
The job market has gone through big changes in the last decade, and it can be difficult to secure a steady job with a sustainable income. We want to help equip young people in our communities with the skills needed to land such a job and lay a foundation for financial stability later in life.
Melicka tearfully remembers her daughter Justice’s first five months: She couldn’t keep milk down, had trouble eating and was constantly vomiting. “We rushed to the hospital more times than I can remember,” said Melicka. “In fact, one time, on the way to the hospital, Justice stopped breathing, so I had to perform CPR in the car.” The doctors were finally…
COVID-19 left many people in our region without access to basic needs. As more households lost one or more of their primary sources of income, the needs continued to increase and agencies throughout Hanover began expending all their resources to support the community. We partnered with Hanover County to provide CARES Act funding to organizations, such as Beaverdam Food Pantry, that are supporting residents with food assistance and other basic needs.
Securing a steady, sustainable job with a livable wage is a critical element of many of United Way’s Steps to Success. Unfortunately, many Richmond residents face barriers that prevent them from finding and keeping a steady job. And many employers report difficulty in locating candidates to fill open positions. We are working to bridge that gap by working with local nonprofits and service providers to remove barriers to employment.
The Steps to Success look different when we deepen our understanding and realize we all know someone working their way up the Steps. For Terressa Campbell-Oten, it was her previous students. Terressa is currently Strategic Initiative Coordinator at the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond. Before beginning her career at the Federal Reserve, Terressa spent three years in a Richmond Public…
Prior to her 13 –year tenure at Virginia Department of Health (VDH), Dr. Triggs worked with non-profits in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. From 2004 to 2017, Dr. Triggs served in multiple capacities at VDH, including Public Health Nurse, Health Equity Specialist and Rural Health Program Specialist. Dr. Triggs retired from VDH in 2017. Dr. Triggs has presented to groups throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia and nationally….
For many of us, the thought of doing one’s income taxes has all the allure of attending a root canal (your own). In my mind, those who volunteer to do other people’s taxes would appear to have a leg up on sainthood. Cara Cardotti and her family have made that sort of good work a family affair.