Virginia Service

Alternatives, Inc. - PASS (Peninsula AmeriCorps Serve and Support)
Alternatives, Inc. supports strategies identified in Hampton’s Community Plan with programs designed to enhance life skills; health and wellness; workplace readiness skills and career preparation; participation in the arts through visual art, music, videography, dance and theatre; and expand service learning and civic engagement opportunities that build a commitment to service and altruism.

Director: Kathryn Johnson
2021B Cunningham Drive, Suite 5
Hampton, VA 23666 [map]
Phone: 757-838-2330
Email: kjohnson@altinc.org.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
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Arlington County Board - AmeriCorps Four Mile Run Restoration
AmeriCorps members work with volunteers from Arlington County’s community-based Remove Invasive Plants program to participate in the eradication of non-native invasive plant species in riparian zones and in upland areas along Four-Mile Run in preparation for the reintroduction or natural reestablishment of the plant infrastructure native to the eastern hardwood forest.

Director: Miguel Ortega
2700 South Taylor Street
Arlington, VA 22206 [map]
Phone: 703-228-7625
Email: mortega@arlingtonva.us.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
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Boaz and Ruth, Inc. - BRACE (Boaz & Ruth AmeriCorps Endeavor)
Boaz & Ruth (B&R) is a faith-based nonprofit located within the heart of the blighted North District business corridor in the Highland Park community of Richmond. The program addresses a community revitalization challenge by engaging the members in service learning projects-restoring a blighted house, turning an abandoned fire station into a restaurant/entrepreneurial incubator, and developing and operating three "social entrepreneurial" ventures-all aimed at revitalizing the community. Furthermore, B&R addresses the prisoner reentry challenge by recruiting ex-offenders as AmeriCorps members and providing them training in life skills, civic responsibility, job skills, and leadership. The reentry community service program is aimed at assisting ex offenders in achieving emotional stability, life and job skills, and in assuming family, community, and civic responsibility while at the same time giving back to the community.

Director: Megan Rollins
3030 Meadowbridge Road
Richmond, VA 23222 [map]
Phone: 804-329-4900 ext:203
Fax: 804-329-0190
Email: megan@boazandruth.com.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Web: http://www.boazandruth.com
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Carroll County Public Schools - Reading for Life
Reading for Life is a tutoring AmeriCorps program sponsored by the Carroll County Public School Board. In 2009/2010 forty tutors of reading and math will be placed in 9 different schools serving the K -9th grade student population. Also, one AmeriCorps member will serve as coordinator of the in-school mentoring program--recruiting community volunteers and placing them as mentors for students who need additional adult support.

Community involvement is also a goal of the Reading for Life members. In the past community involvement has included food, toy, school supply drives, assistance for the Free Clinic of the Twin Counties and the Family Resource Center for domestic violence victims, Head Start school beautification projects, a Hispanic Family Literacy Night, landscape projects for the schools and a local state park. Whenever possible, the Reading for Life AmeriCorps members create opportunities to involve the students in community and school projects to instill the value of volunteerism.

Director: Ms. Tonyia Gibson
605-9 Pine Street
Hillsville, VA 24343 [map]
Phone: 276-728-3191
Fax: 276-728-3195
Email: tcgibson@ccpsd.k12.va.us.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
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Charlottesville Abundant Life Ministries - CALM AmeriCorps
CALM AmeriCorps members participates in activities related to the following programs and initiatives; K-12 tutoring, Senior Solutions, Parish Nursing Initiative, Individual Development Account program, and Hispanic Outreach. Members will also assist with volunteer recruitment and fundraising.

Director: Lindsay Finnegan
P.O. Box 3482
Charlottesville, VA 22903 [map]
Phone: 434-970-2077
Email: lindsay@charlottesvilleabundantlife.org.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
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City of Richmond, Department of Economic Development - A.C.E.S. (Action for Community Enhancement Services)
The AmeriCorps A.C.E.S. (Action for Community Enhancement Services) program provides the coordination of volunteer and referral services for City of Richmond government through the establishment of a Volunteer Office. Through the utilization of a Volunteer Office, the AmeriCorps A.C.E.S program will increase citizens' access to City volunteer opportunities; build community capacity by enhancing the delivery of City services; generate a centralized volunteer data base; and via a website, market volunteer opportunities to support the ongoing efforts of an efficient and effective volunteer program.

Director: Jennifer Swinson
701 N. 25th St., 2nd Floor
Richmond, VA 23223 [map]
Phone: 804-646-6612
Fax: 804-646-5145
Email: Jennifer.Swinson@RichmondGov.Com.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Web: http://www.richmondgov.com/departments/humanservices/vcc/index.as
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Community Housing Partners - RISE (Respect, Involvement, Skills & Education)
Through Project RISE! (Respect, Involvement, Skills and Education), Community Housing Partners (CHP) is able to provide skills development to its youth residents in the topic areas of literacy, conflict resolution and mediation, and service-learning. AmeriCorps members are responsible for providing tutoring and skills-building in the topic areas on-site at CHP housing community centers, at local public and private schools, and at partner organization sites. Members provide services to at-risk youth residing in Virginia Beach, Portsmouth, Yorktown, Richmond, Charlottesville, Christiansburg and Pulaski.

Director: Jasmin Cotman
100 West Franklin Street, Suite 300
Richmond, VA 23220 [map]
Phone: 804-343-7201 ext:27
Fax: 804-343-7208
Email: jcotman@chpc2.org.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Web: http://www.communityhousingpartners.org/development/resident_yout
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EMBRACE Richmond - Community Works
EMBRACE Richmond is a faith-based charitable organization helping Richmond area families and individuals who are experiencing a housing crisis achieve and sustain self-sufficiency. Services include home starter packages for individuals and families exiting local shelters, employment services including job placement and training, educational and volunteer opportunities towards community development, and access to a community-based support network for those who are transitioning out of homelessness.

Director: Allison Mullins
1125 E. Commerce Road
Richmond, VA 23224 [map]
Phone: 804-343-5008 ext:603
Fax: 804-343-727
Email: embrace@embracerichmond.org.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Web: http://www.embracerichmond.org/
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Escuela Bolivia, Inc. - Empowering Latino Families
Escuela Bolivia, Inc., a non-profit charitable organization, was established to meet the needs of a growing immigrant Latino population and to address the achievement gap between Latino and other students. This mission is achieved through the provision of educational and cultural services that provide and strengthen linguistic and cultural values and improve the academic achievement of children, youth and adults so that they may gain better opportunities to improve their lives and their community.

Director: Vanessa Guerrero
2801 Clarendon Boulevard, Suite 216
Arlington, VA 22201 [map]
Phone: 703-228-2560
Email: vguerrero@escuelabolivia.org.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Web: http://www.escuelabolivia.org/
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Greenbrier Learning Center - Learning Links
Learning Links AmeriCorps Members ensure continuity of services for children and families in South Arlington by serving as a primary link across different aspects of children’s lives: the school day, after school, and community. Learning Links builds on partnerships with four Arlington Public Elementary Schools and the Arlington Partnership for Affordable Housing.

Director: Lauren Cranman
5401 7th Road South
Arlington, VA 22204 [map]
Phone: 703-379-6488 ext:101
Email: laurenc@gblc.org.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Web: http://gblc.org
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Harmony Place - Community Volunteer Program
Harmony Place believes that all people have the right to live without violence or the fear of violence. To protect that right, Harmony Place strives to prevent violence from occurring by educating the community on the effects of violence and how community members can assist in ending violence. To assist victims of violence, Harmony Place provides services to men, women, and children that will help them to heal and that will assist them in living independent and healthy lives.

The Harmony Place AmeriCorps member serves as a Volunteer Coordinator to assist in recruiting, training, and scheduling volunteers who work alongside Harmony Place staff to answer the hotline, co-facilitate support groups, teach life skills, provide clerical support, and assist with childcare.

Director: Rita Biggs
PO Box 1831
Front Royal, VA 22630 [map]
Phone: 540-635-9194 ext:22
Fax: 540-631-0518
Email: executivedirector@harmonyplace.org.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Web: http://harmonyplace.org
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Literacy Council of Northern Virginia - ESOL Learning Programs
AmeriCorps Members serve as lead classroom instructors for adult beginning learners of English, empowering students to become more active citizens. The small-group classes are offered by the Literacy Council of Northern Virginia through ESOL Learning Centers and the Family Learning Program, and by the neighboring partner Loudoun Literacy Council. Members are trained to teach at least three classes at different sites throughout northern Virginia and are responsible for supervising volunteers and collaborating with partners at the sites. The two literacy councils also train volunteer teachers for these classes and for ESOL and basic literacy tutoring, among other innovative programs to meet heavy demand for ESOL instruction in fast-growing communities.

Director: Ruth Hansen
2855 Annandale Road
Falls Church, VA 22042 [map]
Phone: 703-237-0866
Fax: 703-237-2863
Email: ruthhansen2004@hotmail.com.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Web: http://www.lcnv.org
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Mountain Empire Community College - MECC AmeriCorps
Mountain Empire Community College (MECC) AmeriCorps Program focuses on the literacy tutoring of children in grades K through three. Members serve as tutors in public schools in the counties of Wise, Lee, Scott, Dickenson, and the City of Norton. The number of children who benefit from the efforts of members increases each year. A recent analysis of data found that 89 percent of children tutored by MECC AmeriCorps members improved their scores on reading assessment tests. Each year MECC members conduct various community service projects and collaborate on joint projects with local volunteer agencies. Examples of service projects include: the American Red Cross's Masters of Disaster program for school-age children, the Imagination Library Project of the Dollywood Foundation, which provides books for very young children, environmental projects with the local State Park rangers, and food and book drives.

Director: Sue Graham
3441 Mountain Empire Road
Big Stone Gap, VA 24219 [map]
Phone: 276-523-2400 ext:365
Fax: 276-523-8297
Email: sgraham@me.vccs.edu.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Web: http://www.mecc.edu/clubs/americorps/
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Ms. Wheelchair Virginia - Serving Virginians with Disabilities
Ms. Wheelchair Virginia, in partnership with the Woodrow Wilson Rehabilitation Center Foundation, has developed a program to educate and advocate for individuals with physical and cognitive disabilities throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia to influence attitudinal, architectural, and social change toward people with disabilities.

Director: Ben Helmandollar, Ph. D.
Woodrow Wilson Rehabilitation Center
Box W-2, P. O. Box 1500
Fishersville, VA 22939 [map]
Phone: 540-580-6336
Fax: 540-332-7132
Email: chelmandollar@rcs.k12.va.us.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Web: http://www.mswheelchairva.com/
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New River Community Action - NRCA AmeriCorps
The NRCA AmeriCorps program engages members in three program service areas; Head Start, Self-Help and Exchange Resource (SHARE), and the Homeless Intervention Program. Five members serve with Head Start program staff in classrooms providing literacy focused services and activities to families and children. One member serves with the Homeless Intervention Program to develop a renter’s education curriculum. Two members serve with the SHARE volunteer and food distribution program focusing on volunteer recruitment and publicity activities.

Director: Kathy Rayne
644 West Main Street
Radford, VA 24141 [map]
Phone: 540-633-5133 ext:432
Email: krayne@nrcaa.org.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
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Occupational Enterprises, Inc. - AmeriCorps Community Corps
AmeriCorps Community Care program provides substance abuse and prisoner re-entry services to fourteen jurisdictions in addition to assistance with foster care and independent living programs with local departments of social services in far Southwest Virginia.

Director: Nancy McGhee
PO Box 729
Lebanon, VA 24266 [map]
Phone: 276-889-0290 ext:104
Email: nmcghee@oe-inc.org.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
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Pathways-Va, Inc. - Pathways AmeriCorps
Pathways’ mission is to advance community restoration, spiritual health and economic growth in Petersburg, Virginia, through partnerships. Our program addresses the local 80% school drop-out rate by providing a year-round training program for 40-45 youth per year that includes GED instruction, life-skills, leadership development, support services, health education, job readiness, civic engagement, job training in construction, and various opportunities to obtain job related certifications that are recognized locally, statewide, and nationally. Our program strives to develop a service learning ethic among our members that will counteract the lack of community attachment, provide decent affordable housing to first time home buyers, address the compelling need within the target community of career development of low-income young adults who did not finish high school, increase ability of participants to resolve conflicts without violence, provide appropriate personal interaction, and exhibit good daily living skills.

Director: Juanita Epps
1200 W. Washington Street
Petersburg, VA 23803 [map]
Phone: 804-862-1104
Email: jepps@pathways-va.org.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Web: http://www.pathways-va.org/
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SynerGeo, Inc. - SynerGeo
SynerGeo is a faith-based non-profit organization that provides volunteer opportunities for students and adults. AmeriCorps members provide afterschool art and music programs, elder adult visitation, and intentional community living/serving (a one year commitment). SynerGeo partners with various community organizations to provide services in the Oregon Hill neighborhood of Richmond.

Director: Bonnie Hofmeyer
349 South Laurel Street
Richmond, VA 23220 [map]
Phone: 804-648-2287
Fax: 804-648-2287
Email: bonniehofmeyer@synergeo.org.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Web: http://www.synergeo.org
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The Rector and Visitors of the University of Virginia - College Guide Program
The College Guide Program at the University of Virginia places recent graduates in public high schools throughout the Commonwealth to assist students with college admission, financial aid, and scholarship applications. Given their idealism and fresh perspective on the college experience, recent University graduates serve as perfect advocates for higher education. During the year, Guides spend forty hours a week mentoring students and creating much-needed educational programming to the high school students and their families in underserved areas.

Director: Keith Roots
P.O. Box 400889
230 Rugby Road, Room B021
Charlottesville, VA 22904 [map]
Phone: 434-924-7612
Fax: 434-924-7560
Email: kroots@virginia.edu.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Web: http://www.virginia.edu/collegeguides
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Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) - AmeriCorps and America Reads
Established in 1995, the Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) AmeriCorps Program is the foundation of a comprehensive effort in the City of Richmond designed to ensure that every child in the region reads well and independently by the end of the third grade. Locally, this initiative is called America Reads in Richmond and Henrico (ARCH). It is a partnership between Virginia Commonwealth University and other local colleges and universities, community based organizations, and the local business sector, who have committed themselves to helping improve the literacy skills of local children and families in Richmond area communities characterized by high unemployment and low school achievement and graduation rates. The Program sponsors 57 AmeriCorps members who serve with local schools and community service agencies assisting children in a range of education and related parent development projects which serve nearly 1000 children in 15 elementary schools.

Director: Erin Burke
1103 West Marshall Street
Box 843034
Richmond, VA 23284 [map]
Phone: 804-828-8850 ext:827-1907
Fax: 804-827-1920
Email: burkeem@vcu.edu.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Web: http://www.vcu.edu/ocp/programs/americorps/
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