Richmond youth violence prevention grants announced

RICHMOND, Va. (WWBT) - Dozens of Richmond grassroots organizations are splitting a big pot of money to find ways to keep area youth away from violence this summer.

More than 35 groups are on the receiving end of a total of $425,000 in grant money. Those groups are creating positive youth programs and services this summer, targeting those between 12 and 19.

“We want to build a full ecosystem of out-of-school time, positive youth development programs,” said Barbara Couto Sipe, NextUp RVA president and CEO.

The Broken Men Foundation got $20,000 for its programming. Over the weekend, the group took almost 100 children on their first fishing trip.

“Got on a boat. Never been out on the sea or the water before. No more than in a history book. And they had a chance to go fishing, but they also had father figures in their lives,” said Charles Willis, United Communities Against Crime.

Earlier this year, city leaders set aside $1 million for the Positive Youth Development Fund. Micro-grants of under a thousand dollars will help create block parties, as another example, in Richmond to support community building. So people can get to know their neighbors more. NextUp RVA is in charge of giving it out.

“That will support programs for kids such as field trips for kids to see other parts of the region. We will have leadership programs. We’ll have after-school programs, tutoring classes for kids over the summertime,” said Couto Sipe.

New Life Deliverance Tabernacle in Manchester will start a youth academy with its $20,000 funding. The pastor there plans to teach a younger generation violence prevention and conflict resolution.

“It takes a village to raise a child. However, there’s been a broken part of our village,” said Willis.

Another round of grant applications opens in late August. That will help sustain programming into next year. You can email info@nextuprva.org for details on how to apply. Their website is nextuprva.org

A full list of recipients can be found here.

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