Community Partners

Build It thrives on committed and enthusiastic collaboration with individuals and organizations working in Richmond’s Northside communities. The Bonner Center for Civic Engagement is grateful for its ongoing Build It partnerships with the following schools and nonprofit organizations:

Boaz & Ruth
3030 Meadowbridge Rd., Richmond, VA 23222
Phone: (804) 329-4900

Boaz & Ruth is a nonprofit organization that provides on-the-job and beyond-the-job training as well as caring and coaching relationships for ex-offenders. The organization’s social missions are to provide job training for individuals needing a second chance (primarily reentry support for ex-offenders); to foster commercial revitalization for Highland Park (an urban neighborhood in transition); and to bridge culturally and economically disparate communities within the metropolitan area. Boaz & Ruth believes that social change comes best through human relationships; that everyone has both gifts and needs; and that the act of sharing changes both the giver and receiver.

Volunteer shifts at Boaz & Ruth are available Monday – Friday between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.

Directions to Boaz & Ruth

Chandler Middle School
201 E. Brookland Park Blvd., Richmond, VA 23222
Phone: (804) 780-4332

Fax: (804) 780-4423

Chandler Middle School (grades 6-8) is part of the Richmond Public School system and is located in the Northside neighborhood of Highland Park. Approximately 450 students attend Chandler, and 95 percent of those students qualify for the free or reduced lunch program, a clear indicator of poverty. Chandler’s mission is “to ensure that every child experiences the joy of dreaming, learning, and living in a non-threatening environment with the resources to meet his/her individual needs, as they become independent lifelong learners.”

Volunteer shifts at Chandler are available Monday – Thursday between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. and between 8:30 a.m. and 2:40 p.m. on Fridays

Directions to Chandler

Hotchkiss Field Community Center
701 E. Brookland Park Blvd., Richmond, VA 23222
(804) 646-4466

The Hotchkiss Field Community Center is located in the heart of the Highland Park community and is a part of Richmond’s Department of Parks, Recreation and Community Facilities. Hotchkiss offers activities for citizens of all ages. Build It volunteers assist with children's sports team practices from 5:30-7:00 p.m. and youth sports team practices from 7:00 - 8:30 p.m. Mondays through Fridays.

Volunteer shifts at Hotchkiss are available Monday – Friday between 5:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m.

Directions to the Hotchkiss Field Community Center

Overby-Sheppard Elementary School
2300 First Ave., Richmond, VA 23222
Phone: (804) 329-2515

Fax: (804) 780-4321

Overby-Sheppard, a fully accredited elementary school (grades K-5) in the Richmond Public School system, is located in the Northside neighborhood of Highland Park. Approximately 400 students attend the school, of which 90 percent qualify for the free or reduced lunch program, a clear indicator of poverty. Overby-Sheppard is committed to providing an instructional environment where students are proficient in the areas of oral and written communication, mathematics, science, social science, and technology, and to working collaboratively with students, parents, and the community to prepare students to become productive citizens in an ever-changing society.

Volunteer shifts at Overby-Sheppard are available Monday – Friday between 8:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m.

Directions to Overby-Sheppard

Reach Out and Read Virginia
VCU Health Center, Volunteer Services Department, 1250 East Marshall St., Richmond, VA 23298
Phone: (804) 828-0922

Reach Out and Read Virginia works with the VCU Health Center Pediatric Emergency Department located in VCU's Main Hospital in downtown Richmond. Volunteers read to the children in the pediatric emergency department and model good interactive reading practices to the adults in the process, with the aim of encouraging the adults to read to young children in the home environment. The Reach Out and Read model is applied in more than 2,000 pediatric offices, clinics, and emergency rooms throughout the United States and is designed to make books a routine part of primary health care so that children grow up with a love of books and reading.

Volunteer shifts available at the VCU Health Center Pediatric Emergency Department 24 hours a day, seven days a week

Youth Life Foundation of Richmond

Highland Park Learning Center

3076 Meadowbridge Rd., Richmond, VA 23222

Phone: (804) 321-1381

Fax: (804) 321-1382

The Youth Life Foundation of Richmond (YLFR), an affiliate of the Darrell Green Youth Life Foundation, operates learning centers that "exist to develop leaders by making long-term investments in children from at-risk communities." YLFR accomplishes this mission through after-school and summer programs that cultivate four core values: academic success, character development, computer training, and physical welfare. The after-school program at the Highland Park Learning Center operates from 3 - 5:45 p.m. Monday - Friday. Children may enroll in the program between the ages of 5 - 10 and are eligible to remain in the program until graduating from high school. The certified teachers who staff the learning center meet with each child's parents and school teachers to devise individualized education plans targeting each student's strengths and areas needing improvement. Volunteer mentors implement these education plans and act as a positive role model for each child through one-on-one tutoring. Although YLFR is a Christian-based organization, children and volunteers participating in the program do not have to be Christian.

Volunteer shifts at the YLFR Highland Park Learning Center are available Monday – Thursdays between 3 - 5:45 p.m.

Directions to the YLFR Highland Park Learning Center