Greetings!
Each spring during the month of April, organizations across the country take a moment to recognize and celebrate their most precious resource - volunteers! Virginia Supportive Housing is proud to join this celebration with our own National Volunteer Week recognition event the first week of May! In addition to speakers and refreshments, VSH will also select one individual to receive the Bob Sledd Volunteer of the Year Award for outstanding service in support of VSH's proven permanent solutions to homelessness. Your invitation is coming next week! We hope you'll be a part of the celebration! |
Join The Campaign To End Homelessness!
|  1,000 Homes for 1,000 Virginians is a statewide initiative - led by the Virginia Coalition to End Homelessness - to house the 1,000 most vulnerable Virginians cycling between the streets, emergency shelters, hospital emergency rooms, jails, and prisons. As part of the national 100,000 Homes Campaign, the 1,000 Homes for 1,000 Virginians initiative aims to compile information about the most vulnerable people experiencing homelessness, in Richmond and in other communities across the state and then systematically house them before their homelessness causes them to die. Richmond, VA is the first city to join this statewide initiative. Locally, Homeward and Virginia Supportive Housing are leading the 1,000 Homes for a 1,000 Virginians campaign. To read our blog about this initiative, click here. To watch the 100K Homes video, click here. To find out more about how you can support this exciting initiative as a volunteer, RSVP to attend an upcoming information session: April 15 at 5:30 p.m. May 7 at 11 a.m. June 3 at 5:30 p.m. July 1 at 5:30 p.m. |
Summer Intern Needs
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 This is a very exciting time for Virginia Supportive Housing! New properties are under construction, new initiatives are beginning or expanding, and new staff are joining our succesful efforts to end homelessness in Virginia. With so much activity going on, we need a lot of support in the headquarters. Interns like Jonathan Glomb (left) create newsletters, write blogs, interview clients, process donations, help with solicitations, build databases, conduct research, and more. Many opportunities are available this spring and summer for motivated and energetic student interns with excellent writing, computer, and organizational skills. The minimum commitment is ten hours per week for eight weeks. To receive a description for any of the positions below or request an application, just reply to this message: Summer Public Relations Intern: A mass communications background is required. The deadline for applications is May 15! Summer Mission Advancement Intern: This position can be filled immediately and requires particular organization and attention to detail.
Financial Foundations Intern: This position requires a communications background and can be filled as early as the end of March.
Campaign Management Assistant: This is a brand new and very exciting opportunity that begins in April! |
WANTED: Youth Volunteers!
|  Global Youth Service Day is an annual campaign that celebrates and mobilizes children and youth to improve their communities through service and service-learning. Join Virginia Supportive Housing on Saturday April 16 from 12 - 4 for an outdoor project especially for middle and high school youth volunteers. A team of 25-30 individuals, including at least five adult chaperons, is needed to help rake leaves, trim bushes, cut grass, mulch, and plant flowers. Pizza, soda, & snacks will be served! To sign up for this project, just click here. |
Be A Part Of Affordable Housing Week!
|  Everyone deserves a safe, affordable place to call home. You can help to make it a reality by participating in Affordable Housing Awareness Week, coordinated by the Partnership for Housing Affordability and Hands-On Greater Richmond. This event gives volunteers in the Richmond area an opportunity to join 15 local non-profit housing organizations, including Virginia Supportive Housing, that are serving your Richmond area neighbors in need. A team of 15 - 20 volunteers will be needed every day to support VSH's Spring Spruce-Up Campaign. Volunteers will spend the week painting & cleaning occupied units, community, and administrative spaces at one of our downtown properties. Youth volunteers ready to work and accompanied by parents are welcome!
SCHEDULE:
DATES: Monday April 25 - Thursday April 28
TIMES: 1:00 - 4:30 p.m.
To register, click here or send an e-mail! |
More Volunteer Opportunities
|  With spring right around the corner, we've got PLENTY of projects coming up! If you would like to join one of the activities below, just reply to this e-mail!
APRIL 20 (1 - 4:30): 25 volunteers are needed to paint a vacant apartment so a new family can get off the streets.
APRIL 29 (1:30 - 4:30): 6 - 8 volunteers are needed to paint a VSH office space.
APRIL 30 (10 - 1): 20 volunteers are needed to landscape a VSH property for clients with traumatic brain injuries.
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| Cook Up A Spring Celebration! |  It's been a long cold winter but spring is just around the corner. What better way to celebrate the arrival of warm weather than with an outdoor cookout? Virginia Supportive Housing has twelve properties in the Richmond area, two large apartment buildings and ten smaller buildings with varying tenant populations. Can your group provide a meal in April or May at one of these properties? You can haul out the grill or do a simple potluck. What's on the menu is less important than the gift of fellowship & support that these activities provide for our formerly homeless clients. To find out more, click here! |
Support Our Clients!
|  It's not hard to support our clients. Ask VSH volunteer Rachel Schoonover! Rachel, pictured left, graduated last year from Virginia Tech with a degree in English. She serves her community by donating an hour of her time each week to provide creative writing workshops for VSH clients. How can you put your skills and talents to work in support of our clients? Here are just a few ideas:
*Be a friendly visitor
*Spend an evening playing games or Bingo
*Provide one-on-one GED tutoring
*Teach yoga or lead a walking club
*Teach basic computer skills
*Send holiday cards
*Assist with resume-writing
*Teach basic cooking or gardening classes
*Teach clients how to knit, paint, or other creative activity
*Provide one-on-one budgeting assistance
*Cut hair
To give the gift of your time, just RSVP for an upcoming orientation!
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Spring Time Is Family Time!
|  Family volunteering is a great way to spend quality time together and teach kids the value of community service. And it is fun! Virginia Supportive Housing invites families to join two upcoming spring activities: Saturday, April 23 (10 - 12): Spring decorating party Saturday, May 21 (10 - 12): Gardening activity presented by Backyard FarmerAll activities are suitable for kids ages 3 - 13 accompanied by their parents, grandparents, and/or caregivers. To RSVP, just click here! |
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| Upcoming Volunteer Orientations |
 Want to find out more about VSH and the ways that you can get involved as a volunteer in the Richmond area? RSVP now for one of our upcoming general orientation sessions. Orientations provide more information about the organization, the volunteer program, and available opportunities, and they are a MANDATORY part of the application process. SCHEDULE: Friday, April 8 at 5:30 p.m.
Friday, May 6 at 5:30 p.m.
Attendees are invited to bring a donated food item such as peanut butter, canned vegetables, or dry cereal! To attend an orientation or find out more, just reply to this e-mail! I hope to see you soon! |
| Sensitivity Training Schedule | |
 Volunteers who are interested in opportunities that involve direct client interaction MUST attend sensitivity training. This training will provide information on client rights, volunteer liability, policy violations, and other important reminders. RSVP now to attend an upcoming session!
SCHEDULE:
Friday, April 29 at 5:30 p.m.
Friday, May 20 at 5:30 p.m.
Attendees are invited to bring a donated food item such as peanut butter, canned vegetables, or dry cereal! Please note: Participants must attend general orientation FIRST in order to attend.
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I look forward to working with you!
Sincerely,
Alison Jones-Nassar, Volunteer Program Coordinator
Virginia Supportive Housing |
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Meet VSH's New Volunteer Coordinator!
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Virginia Supportive Housing is very excited to introduce Esther Robert, our new volunteer coordinator in the South Hampton Roads area! Esther will be coordinating all volunteer activities for Gosnold Apartments in Norfolk, Cloverleaf Apartments in Virginia Beach, and South Bay in Portsmouth. If you live in the South Hampton Roads area and would like to find out more about volunteer opportunities, schedule an orientation, or learn more about donation needs, please contact Esther at 757-394-3077 ext. 307 or send her an e-mail. General orientations will begin in May.
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COMING SOON: National Volunteer Week!
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Needed Donations
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Now that our donations closet has been fixed up (thank you, VCU BSW students!!), we know exactly what we have...and what we need. If you can provide any of the items below for our formerly homeless tenants, please click here! Paper towels Paper towel holders All purpose cleaner Dish detergent Laundry detergent Can openers Light bulbs Small trash cans Cutting boards Tupperware Oven mitts Pot holders Blankets Pillows Coffee Oatmeal Jelly Canned fruit For a complete list of needed items, click here. |
Got Digital?
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VSH clients have been offered an opportunity to participate in a series of digital photography classes starting in April, but they need cameras in order to take advantage of the offer. Do you have an old camera that you no longer use? Your donation can make it possible for our clients to take part in this creative expression opportunity AND it can be claimed on your tax returns. Find out more! |
Can You Help Teach Computer Skills?
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On Tuesday May 10 from 10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m., volunteers from Snag-a-Job will offer a workshop for VSH clients on basic computer skills and online job search strategies. Three to five additional volunteers are needed to provide one-on-one assistance during the workshop. If you can help, click here!
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