RVA Thrives
We believe in investing in our future by investing in our children. Together with our families, community, neighbors, and partners like RVA Thrives, we are working towards just and equitable opportunities for all Richmonders.
The goal of RVA Thrives is to work with neighbors along the Jefferson Davis Corridor so they take greater leadership over decisions affecting their community. The decisions take place in the space of jobs access, neighborhood beautification, housing affordability and neighborhood safety within the Jefferson Davis Corridor. And they’re all addressing the impact on the area’s youth.
Due to the neighborhood’s safety concerns and lack of out-of-school and extracurricular activities, RVA Thrives stepped in and collaborated with area youth to launch Art, Racial Reconciliation, and Civic Advocacy (ARCA) in February of last year.
ARCA, a weekly program hosted at the Sacred Heart Center in Manchester, welcomes children of color to discuss community history, trust-building, social justice and civic advocacy.
The children have also worked with local artists Hamilton Glass and Alfonso Perez-Acosta to create traffic calming street art — also known as “art bumps” — at four busy intersections along the corridor as an effort to make the community safer to live and play in.
RVA Thrives has built relationships with employers in the Jefferson Davis Corridor and have helped them address employment barriers, host community cleanups and panel discussions about property value and management, and much more.
We’re proud to partner with RVA Thrives and we support their work to empower Jefferson Davis Corridor residents to be the change they want to see in their community and beyond.
To learn more about RVA Thrives and ARCA, visit https://vacommunityvoice.org/rva-thrives.