Downtown
Five simple ways you can show love for Richmond Public Schools right now

This fall marks my tenth year teaching elementary art in Richmond Public Schools. The past decade has been a crazy ride with constant shifts in leadership and a pervasive feeling that we are barely keeping our heads above water. Regardless of this, I continue to believe that I am right where I belong and that my work allows me to truly live out my values. I know firsthand how hard the teachers in RPS work and how much they give despite the challenges we face. I also know how awesome our students are and how much many of them have to overcome on a daily basis.
This fall is also my second year as a parent of an RPS student and I am so thankful for the love my child experienced last year in Kindergarten and for his enthusiasm for learning and school. I know that the Richmond community wants to see things get better so that ALL of our children can experience this joy and support in our public school system.
If you feel like I feel, there are many ways to help, right now. Richmond native, Arthur Ashe said, “Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.” Join me and so many others as we shift the negative narrative about Richmond Public Schools and allow our values to speak through our choices and actions. Thanks for giving your love, Richmond!
1. #CleartheList
Many teachers have created Amazon wishlists and are using social media to share their needs for the school year. (I’m updating mine today!) The hashtag #clearthelist is trending this summer as many celebrities are endorsing this movement to provide teachers with classroom supplies. This whole thing was actually started by a Virginia teacher this July through a facebook page that went viral.
2. Donors Choose
You may have already heard about the website, Donors Choose, which allows teachers to create requests for funding of supplies, projects, professional development and even classroom trips or visitors. It’s super easy to use and you can search by city or zip code to find live projects. Often there are matching funds available through organizations.
3. RPS Shines
Local volunteer organization, Hands on Greater Richmond, has partnered with Richmond Public Schools to organize volunteers this summer for the second annual RPS Shines initiative. There are opportunities for community members to sign up and come out for a three hour shift to beautify schools before the students return in a few weeks. My son and I will be helping out at our school this Wednesday. Giving time is a great way to help if you can’t give money.
4. STAY RVA
Supporting Together Area Youth (STAY) RVA is a movement comprised of parents and neighbors who want to help Richmond’s local public schools thrive. We are a positive-minded, solution-oriented, action-based organization. We want you to be a part of STAY… STAY in the city, STAY committed, STAY open-minded. We want to build communities of support around every school and engage in honest conversations about why schools have not had the resources they need. We want to BECOME genuine community members who work to form relationships with all people.
5. The Ultimate Backpack
The goal of The Ultimate Backpack is to fill 15,000 backpacks before the school year starts. The Ultimate Backpack presented by CoStar Group school supply and backpack drive will take place on August 14, 2019 from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m..at Hardywood Park Craft Brewery on Ownby Lane in Richmond. Participants can drop off donated backpacks or any school supplies from the supply list below to Hardywood Brewery (Downtown). You can make a monetary donation and we will purchase the needed supplies. These donations will help us purchase school supplies at a discount and fill any gaps not covered by the community. Please contact Timmy Nguyen at VCU if you have any questions.
Needed school supplies include:
- Composition notebooks
- Crayons
- Erasers
- Folders
- Glue stick
- Highlighter
- Loose leaf paper
- Markers
- Pen & pencils
- Pencil pouch
- Scissors (blunt tip)
- Spiral notebooks

Downtown
Children’s Hospital of Richmond at VCU celebrates ribbon-cutting of new Children’s Tower
When combined with the adjacent outpatient Children’s Pavilion, the Children’s Tower completes a city block – nearly 1 million square feet – dedicated to caring for kids

Children’s Hospital of Richmond at VCU (CHoR) on Tuesday celebrated the ribbon-cutting for its Children’s Tower, Richmond’s new home for pediatric inpatient, emergency and trauma care. Nearly 300 families, elected officials, hospital team members, donors and community partners gathered to celebrate the completely kid-focused, $420 million facility which will officially open on April 30.
The Children’s Tower was designed for and with the help of families and providers in the community, based on extensive research into best practices in pediatric health care. When combined with the adjacent outpatient Children’s Pavilion, the Children’s Tower completes a city block – nearly 1 million square feet – dedicated to caring for kids. The 16-story building houses the region’s only Level 1 pediatric trauma center and emergency department with 24/7 access to any pediatric specialist a child may need, along with family amenities and 72 all-private acute and intensive care rooms that are among the most spacious in the country.
“This is a great day for Virginia and our capital city of Richmond. Not only do we have the best and brightest medical providers – many of whom have graduated from our outstanding Virginia medical schools – but patients can get care from them in state-of-the-art facilities while remaining close to home,” Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin said. “This Children’s Tower will help ensure that our youngest Virginians can grow into our future leaders, care providers and difference makers.”
CHoR broke ground on the Children’s Tower in June 2019 as part of a comprehensive plan to address the needs of the community and state.
“I had the pleasure of attending the groundbreaking for the Children’s Tower and what a difference a few years has made,” Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney said. “As I watched this building rise from City Hall next door, I thought about the kids and families from our city and beyond who will benefit from the beautiful space and dedicated teams inside. Children are our future, and the future of Richmond is bright.”
The Children’s Tower project was completed on time, despite obstacles presented by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The VCU Children’s Tower represents a commitment to our children and communities that we’re putting their needs first,” said VCU and VCU Health System President Michael Rao, Ph.D. “After many years of our team’s focus on addressing the needs of children in a comprehensive way, I’m so grateful that we’re able to bring together comprehensive children’s health services and research into the early, formative aspects of human development, including the causes and cures of disease and development. CHoR will serve children and families in Richmond and across the Mid-Atlantic and beyond, and I’m grateful to every team member and donor who helped make this a reality.”
Providers at CHoR care for both the most common and complex injuries and illnesses, last year serving more than 70,000 families from across the commonwealth, nearly all 50 states and outside the U.S. The Children’s Tower is expanding inpatient bed capacity and emergency room access by 40 percent on opening day. Access to imaging and services from the Level 1 Children’s Surgery Center will also increase. The building includes space for growth to meet future needs.
In addition to pediatric-specific operating rooms, imaging suites and trauma bays equipped with the latest advancements for optimal medical care, the Children’s Tower creates a kid-friendly patient experience with added convenience. It is located one turn off Interstate-95 and offers free onsite parking, including valet for families visiting the emergency room.
Playrooms, teen lounges, a family gym, interactive installations, performance space and family lounges are among the amenities that will be available on opening day to make the environment more comfortable for kids and families. The cafeteria offers kid-friendly dining options, including brick oven pizza, while the James River theme includes colors and animal mascots to differentiate each floor and help with navigating the building. Additional amenities will open later this summer, including a RMHC In-Hospital-House, multifaith chapel and indoor children’s garden.
Take a virtual tour of the Children’s Tower and meet the James River themed animal mascots at chrichmond.org/childrenstower.

The stuff dangling off the osprey’s talon is trash that some human left. The bird is getting around fine now and hopefully the string will break off before the bird becomes entangled. Don’t litter, pickup what you can and for god’s sake don’t release balloons.
This article is 5 years old and the situation hasn’t improved.
More Plastic in the World Means More Plastic in Osprey Nests – National Audubon Society
Human waste routinely finds its way into birds’ nests, and it is especially common with Ospreys. The birds use a huge variety of materials to build their nests, including sticks, bark, sod, grass, vines and algae. Plastic items mimic the appearance of many of these natural building supplies, and Osprey find plastic trash mixed in with their natural nesting materials in beach wrack lines, making it hard for them to distinguish what’s what, Wurst says. “While Osprey see plastic as a useful resource for them to build their nests from, they don’t see the potential danger.”
By 2012, Wurst realized the problem was worsening, so he began removing the trash and collecting it to raise awareness of the issue. Wurst’s Osprey nest-trash collection includes all kinds of plastic items, including unusual finds such as plastic shovels, flags, and polyester hats. But he believes the most dangerous and deadly items are the most common ones he finds in nests: plastic ribbon from balloons and monofilament fishing line. “Trash like monofilament, ribbon, and string can easily entangle a foot, leg, or wing of an adult or young Osprey,” he says. In addition, “single use plastic bags or other plastic sheeting can choke or smother them.”
Community
Library of Virginia Honors Deaf History Month With a Talk and Exhibition on the History of a Shenandoah County Deaf Village and Shared Signing Community
Between 1740 and 1970, Lantz Mills, Virginia, was home to many families with a mix of hearing and deaf parents and at least one or more deaf siblings.

In honor of April as Deaf History Month, the Library of Virginia will present a talk on April 22 and a traveling panel exhibition running April 1–30 on the history of the Lantz Mills deaf village and shared signing community in Shenandoah County, Virginia. Both are free.
Between 1740 and 1970, Lantz Mills, Virginia, was home to many families with a mix of hearing and deaf parents and at least one or more deaf siblings. When both the hearing and deaf members of a locality use a shared visual language to communicate, that is known as a shared signing community. Those familiar with deaf culture may know that Martha’s Vineyard, the island off Massachusetts, was home to a shared signing community where 25% of the population was deaf. But few know that Virginia had a deaf village and shared signing community in Shenandoah County.
The Lantz Mills Deaf Village panel exhibition has appeared at Shenandoah County Public Library and the Northern Virginia Resource Center for Deaf and Hard of Hearing People. It will visit the Eastern Shore Public Library in June. The exhibition is available for display at public libraries and other cultural facilities. For more information, contact Barbara Batson at [email protected] or 804.692.3721.
The talk and exhibition are made possible in part with federal funding provided through the Library Services and Technology Act administered by the Institute of Museum and Library Services. For more information about the commonwealth’s deaf culture, visit the Virginia Deaf Culture Digital Library at https://deaflibva.org.
DEAF HISTORY MONTH TALK | The Lantz Mills Shared Signing Community
Saturday, April 22, 2023 | 10:00–11:00 a.m. | Free
Place: Lecture Hall, Library of Virginia, 800 East Broad St., Richmond, VA 23219
Registration suggested: https://lva-virginia.libcal.com/event/10478065
In honor of Deaf History Month, the Library presents a talk exploring the history of the Lantz Mills deaf village in Shenandoah County, Virginia, by deaf historian and advocate Kathleen Brockway, who is also a Lantz Mills deaf village descendant.
DEAF HISTORY MONTH PANEL EXHIBITION | Lantz Mills Deaf Village
April 1–30, 2023 | Monday–Saturday, 9:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. | Free
Place: Lobby & Pre-function Hall, Library of Virginia, 800 East Broad St., Richmond, VA 23219
In honor of Deaf History Month, the Library presents a panel exhibition exploring the history of the Lantz Mills deaf village in Shenandoah County, Virginia. This six-panel traveling exhibition features the history of prominent deaf villagers such as the Hollar and Christian families, deaf members’ involvement in local businesses, and even a budding romance within the community. Each panel includes a QR code that links to ASL interpretation of the text featured. A booklet about the topic written by deaf historian and Lantz Mills deaf village descendant Kathleen Brockway will be available to exhibition visitors while supplies last.