When High Five RVA was new I was meeting so many incredible people who are making Richmond a better place to live. Those people would then tell me about other people, and so on and so on. It was an incredible way to get to know this city beyond all of the things that are so easy to see. Last week I got to meet the artist bringing Richmond Cycling Corps' building to life with a huge, beautiful mural. It's Hamilton Glass. His name came up so many times as a nominee for a High Five, but we never crossed paths. How lucky am I to be bringing back High Five RVA with HAMILTON GLASS! Ham's work can be seen all over Richmond. Here's the scoop on the man behind all that beauty (and a little known Hamilton fact).

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Burg was nominated for a High Five. It was long overdue.

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I copied this directly from Art 180's website because, well, because yes. To quote Rita Dove, former U.S. Poet Laureate, "If our children are unable to voice what they mean, no one will know how they feel. If they can't imagine a different world, they are stumbling through a darkness made all the more sinister by its lack of reference points. For a young person growing up in America's alienated neighborhoods, there can be no greater empowerment than to dare to speak from the heart-and then to discover that one is not alone in one's feelings."

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High Five RVA exists to recognize people making Richmond a better place to live for everyone. I can’t think of a better nomination than Kate Ayers at ReEstablish Richmond. ReEstablish is focused on bridging a gap in Richmond’s services for refugees and helping make Richmond home for people and families from war-torn countries.

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Sarah Milston from The Sparkmill was pretty straightforward when she nominated Rachel Douglas for a High Five stating, “Rachel has revolutionized Chrysalis Institute into an amazing local nonprofit that works on the development of self.” Rachel is going to tell us more about Chrysalis and how it is improving lives in Richmond.

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Damon Jiggetts, the Executive Director of Peter Paul Development Center, was nominated for a High Five by Risa Gomez, and she had this to say about him: “Damon is the main driver of all things at PPDC. He is the glue, the conductor, the voice, the moral compass. He is quick to jump in when the community is in need…(he’s) a generous leader who knows what needs to be done and knows that it can’t be done alone. That it takes a whole community.”

Who doesn’t want to meet THAT PERSON?  So honored to be High Fiving Damon Jiggetts and Peter Paul Development Center. Here’s the scoop on what’s happening there. Straight from Damon.

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Now that Richmond Cycling Corps’ Founder, Craig Dodson, has been named a Top 10 CNN Hero and Matt Crane, Director of Development, was featured as a Top 40 Under 40 in Style Weekly, it’s almost embarrassing to come at them with an oversized orange foam High Five, but we’re getting over that for a chance to find out more about RCC!

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In a world where things affecting our health and well-being are more complicated than ever, and with our healthcare system focused on maximizing profit and minimizing time spent with patients, it was awesome to read about one mental health Nurse Practitioner's business of listening to--and treating--the whole person. A grateful client nominated Ashley Mannell for a High Five!

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Grief is so intensely personal. Sarah Arthur turned hers into kindness and started giving it away. On a Butterfly's Wings began as a blog in memory of Sarah's daughter, Emma, who was born beautiful and perfect, but without a heartbeat. Sarah is still her mother, and is making the world a better place for other mothers facing the same grief. 

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It's hard enough to grieve our losses as adults, but when you're little it might seem impossible. Comfort Zone offers free camps that allow youth to find their way through the loss of a parent, sibling, or primary caregiver. Camp heals in so many ways. For one little girl it began by asking, "Will you teach me to dance?": Read about CZC here. And fall in love.

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Caroline Neal left her job as a child welfare social worker to take care of her own children, but she never stopped trying to make life better for kids in Virginia's foster care system. One piece of simple advice that a local therapist gives foster parents stuck with Caroline: "All day remind him he's worth it, because all day he's reminding himself he is not." And from that, Worthdays was born.

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Sarah Scarbrough, founder and director of Richmond City Justice Center's program called REAL (Recovering from Everyday Addictive Lifestyles), is dedicating her career to help the incarcerated learn skills to cope when they need those skills the most--upon release and reentry into the world.

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It’s relationships—not programs—that change children. Young people thrive when adults care about them and they have a sense of belonging to a caring community. Bill Milliken, Founder, Communities in Schools (CIS). CIS of Richmond is building relationships with area students every day. Find out about this incredible organization and you'll be really hopeful about our city's schools and what caring communities they can be.

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Where there's Ollie, there's H.O.P.E. I still don't know how Ollie Harvey does all that she does, but I try to tell her story here.

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Did you know there is a World Menstrual Hygiene Day? There is. It's May 28th each year and a local nonprofit wishes you knew about it. Sylvia's Sisters, an all volunteer organization, is providing sanitary supplies--and dignity--to girls and young women all over the world. And right here in Richmond. It's a big deal. And you can help.

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It’s fitting that Kelli Lemon and Matt Pochily met while changing the world by serving the Salvation Army Boys and Girls Club. Matt had experience with video production and Kelli had experience getting to the heart of the matter with interesting people. Coffee With Strangers was born and Richmond knows Richmond better because of this awesome collaboration. Get to know them!

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My friend Patti says "The shortest distance between two people is a story." She would love Colin King and Kathleen Brady of Secretly Y'all. Colin and Kathleen have created a storytelling firestorm that is bringing people in Richmond together. They cool. Here's what they had to say to High Five RVA.

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What's in a name? A LOT if you are part of something called Youth Philanthropy Project. Seriously. Youth. Philanthropy. Project. Here's a sneak peek into our future.

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The hook was a t-shirt that said I KEEP RVA COOL (because who doesn't want one of those), but those shirts and the initiative to provide air conditioning units to homeowners who cannot afford to cool their homes was just the tip of the iceberg when I asked, "What else do you guys do?" Amazing. Find out and you'll help keep RVA cool. 

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What do you do when you find out your favorite animal shelter doesn't have a program for youth volunteers? If you are a Sheehy, you bring the volunteer opportunities home! This incredible family has fostered almost TWO HUNDRED puppies for Richmond Animal League! Dude. That's a lot of puppies.

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