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Black people and COVID-19, by Dr. Oliver Brooks
It is oft stated in the black community that “When the country gets a cold, we get pneumonia.”
VSU and NSU ready to roll at annual Labor Day Classic
On the NCAA football pecking order, Norfolk State University is Division I and Virginia State University is Division II.
Stroman’s and Settle’s path to pros entwined
Few NFL players are more closely entwined than Greg Stroman and Tim Settle. Improbable as it may seem, they’ve been together now on three consecutive levels of gridiron action.
Petersburg schools superintendent retiring June 30
Dr. Marcus J. Newsome is retiring as superintendent of Petersburg Public Schools at the end June with his school improvement plan only half completed.
REAL LIFE Community Center extends jail program into the city
Amid his preparations to leave office, Richmond Sheriff C.T. Woody Jr. opened a new nonprofit center in Downtown this week aimed at helping people address addiction, anger and other challenges to enable them to stay out of jail.
What to look for this session
Even with Republicans still in control of both chambers, November’s election results are expected to dramatically reshape the General Assembly’s culture.
Actress Tichina Arnold fires up local campaign volunteers
The Clinton-Kaine campaign is bringing out the stars.
Most Americans pray for healing
The vast majority of Americans have prayed for the healing of others, and more than one in four have practiced the laying on of hands, a Baylor University expert reports.
O’Berry named interim chief of VCU Police
Howard “Mike” O’Berry has been named interim police chief at Virginia Commonwealth University.
‘Pocahontas’ comes to Va.
More than 400 years after Pocahontas’ burial at St. George’s Church in Gravesend, England, near the mouth of the River Thames, the Pocahontas Project will honor and tell her real life story.
Homeward, volunteers take census of city’s homeless
As part of a statewide assessment, a nonprofit group is taking its annual census of Richmond’s homeless, aided by a coalition of outreach programs.
Exceptional? Data tell the story, by Lee H. Hamilton
Like most Americans, I have always considered the United States an exceptional country.
Minority-owned companies waited months for federal COVID-19 relief loans
Thousands of minority-owned small businesses were at the end of the line in the government’s coronavirus relief program as many struggled to find banks that would accept their applications or were disadvantaged by the terms of the program.
Personality: Margie R. Booker
Spotlight on chair of Top Lady Clubbers’ 20th Anniversary Banquet
Golf is considered a metaphor for life. It challenges you to be the best you can be as you work daily on your personal skills. This is how Margie Booker, a member and parliamentarian for the Top Lady Clubbers, approaches the game and her life.
After three other schools, J.J. Matthews Jr. picks NSU as his fourth – and hopefully final – stop
J.J. Matthews Jr. might be described as a basketball “globetrotter,” but minus any of the comical theater.
Vegas puts Venezuela, golfers of color on the map with Olympic bid
Venezuela is renowned for producing baseball players and beauty queens. On the other hand, the South American nation is an unlikely location for producing a world-class golfer. From a land with little in the way of courses, instruction or golfing tradition, Jhonattan Vegas stands tall — literally at a burly 6-foot-3 — as the shining exception.
Annie Giles, community activist, dies at 81
As a minister’s daughter, Annie Marie Turner Giles felt driven to help others overcome problems and challenges in the Whitcomb Court public housing community in the city’s East End.
Virginia lawmakers spar on reported Trump visit to Jamestown
Virginia lawmakers are sparring after an as yet unconfirmed report that President Trump will attend the 400th anniversary celebration on Tuesday, July 30, of the first meeting of the state’s legislative body in Jamestown.
No longer spinning their wheels
Richmond nonprofit uses circles to break cycles of poverty
For millions of Americans, living at or near the federal poverty line means barely getting by is a constant struggle. Census Bureau estimates show more than 20 percent of Richmond’s residents are living in poverty — a figure nearly 50 percent higher than the national average. Many of these residents work, and many feel as though they’ll never get ahead. Such was the case for Sherrell Thompson, 43, a resident of Churc Hill and Richmond native. Two years ago, the single mother and grandmother worked as a certified community health Wworker for Richmond Redevelopment and Housing Authority. Everyday she helped others in her job, but she also knew she needed help herself. “I really felt stuck where I was financially and I just didn’t know what steps to take next,” Ms. Thompson said by phone recently. One day, she took a deeper look at Circles RVA — a lo- cal organization she’d referred clients looking to better their financial circumstances to before. Ms. Thompson decided to put in her own application and was accepted to the program in August 2020. In that same cohort was Barbara Yates, 67, a mother, grand- mother and great-grandmother, who was born in Baltimore but moved to Richmond as a child. Both were drawn by Circles RVA’s vision “that everyone has enough money, meaning and friends to thrive.” In a recent phone interview, Circles RVA co-president Valena Dixon and coach Debbie Williams highlighted how the organiza- tion works alongside program participants — known as leaders — to help them realize that vision of financial stability, purpose and support in their lives. “Allies and volunteers create a circle of support around lead- ers and intentionally create relationships,” Ms. Dixon explained. “These relationships expand their networks and introduce them to resources that can reduce the barriers that hinder their rising out of poverty.” “You’re building communities by building intentional rela- tionships,” Ms. Williams added. “These relationships make all the difference and give leaders the support they need to move from surviving to thriving.” Circles RVA began with volunteers who were looking for ways to address Richmond’s poverty issue at the community level. It became a registered nonprofit in June 2017, modeled after Circles USA which sees circles, or the personal and professional networks each person has, as resources that can be shared. With Circles RVA, leaders undertake a 12-week educational program during which they are matched with allies and work to create SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, time-bound) goals for themselves. Over the next 18 months, leaders and allies meet weekly to ensure that leaders continue to progress toward their goals. As Ms. Dixon puts is, “Plan the work, work the plan.” And plans are working. Circles RVA graduated its fourth cohort in June, and its latest newsletter highlights the achievements of its 15 leaders who so far have completed the program. Many show average increases of about $1,200 in monthly income and $2,000 in total assets. Ms. Thompson and Mrs. Yates graduated in the June 2022 cohort and have seen the benefits. With her allies’ help, Miss Thompson revamped her résumé and secured a new, higher paying job with her employer as a resident services coordinator. She has used the extra income to reduce her debt and boost her credit score by more than 100 points. “I never thought I’d be able to do that,” Ms. Thompson said. “Circles RVA helped me so much. I was so happy I just cried through my whole graduation.” Learning to better manage her budget also helped Mrs. Yates. “Before I was an Amazon addict, but not anymore,” Mrs. Yates said, noting that she frequently made purchases from the online retailer. “Writing (down) where all of (my) money was going made it easy to see where you could bring your expenses down.” Mrs. Yates has started saving some of what she used to spend. She has a “rainy day fund” and is continuing to save toward another goal — travel. “I really enjoyed the program. You are constantly learning something every week,” Mrs. Yates said. “My allies were very supportive and encouraging. Whenever I was struggling, they helped me think like that little train, ‘I think I can. I think I can.’” Mrs. Yates and Ms. Thompson plan to stay connected with the friends they made through Circles RVA. Ms. Thompson even wants to apply to rejoin the program — this time as an ally. “I have benefitted so much that I need to pass that on.” To learn more about Circles RVA and its next cohort of lead- ers, visit https://circlesrva.org/
Personality: Camilla Tramuel
Spotlight on chair of 50th anniversary commemoration of historic New Kent school case
In the shadows of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., a little known Virginia school desegregation case was instrumental in changing the lives and education of schoolchildren across the commonwealth as well as the country.
