Issued February 27, 2014
Community Programs Spotlight Written by Deirdre Cox
Despite the snow, bitter cold and freezing rain, the JLR Community Council has been busy serving our city! Take a look at what these ladies have been up to: Kids in the Kitchen: This committee kicked off its inaugur al year at Anna Julia Cooper Episcopal School, a new JLR community partner. To date they've had three programs. The students and our ladies are having a blast discussing healthy eating habits and choices. Mentoring: The students at Mar tin Luther King, J r . Middle School moved into their new facility after winter break on January 6. Each mentor meets with their mentee once per week on average and in some cases, mentors are at the school more frequently to support their mentees in their after school activities (cheerleading, basketball, volleyball, etc.) DIAD: Hospital Hospitality House remains a hit with new members and actives. The committee has been instrumental in providing volunteers with Richmond Promise Neighborhood's monthly Info Feasts that are held at Peter Paul Development Center. In the fall, we are excited to partner with Bon Secour's by adding their Reinhart Guest House to the DIAD rotation. Good Sports: Recently, Richar d Bland men’s basketball team came out to play with the kids. The kids were super excited! And even more excited when the team gave them all team t-shirts and two tickets to one of their games. The team also autographed the backs of their shirts. Each program the committee focuses one of the six pillars of character, Trustworthiness, Respect, Responsibility, Fairness, Caring, and Citizenship. The pillar they focused on in January was Citizenship. Families First Early Childhood: This committee continues to engage the pre-school children and their parents with an interactive range of programs. Each year the committee serves a holiday dinner and Santa makes a guest appearance. As with previous years, the December program was a home run and the children enjoyed seeing Santa. For the January program the committee decided to switch up a bit in lieu of the regularly scheduled routine, the committee provided two hours of child care to allow parents to run errands or do something else at their leisure