Since the Junior League of Charlottesville (JLC) adopted its new focus area, Empowering Women Through Mentorship, in 2018, the League has awarded more than $60,000 to organizations in Central Virginia to fund projects aligned with this focus.

2021–2022

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Blue Ridge was awarded $3,000 for its project, Empowering Girls Through Mentorship. Over 21,000 females in our service area are living in poverty, with the highest concentration in Charlottesville City. Our vision is that all youth achieve their full potential. We advance this mission through our one-to-one mentoring program. We match youth (Littles) with adult mentors (Bigs). These mentor relationships (matches) meet weekly, engaging in activities that they both enjoy. The matches are supported by our staff. We offer several programs to provide real-world lessons and skills to the mentoring relationship.

Girls on the Run Central Virginia and Blue Ridge was awarded $2,000 to support its project, Girls on the Run in Charlottesville Schools. Girls on the Run is a physical activity-based positive youth development program (PA-PYD) designed to develop and enhance girls’ social, psychological, and physical competencies to successfully navigate life experiences. Throughout the program, girls developed and improved competence, felt confident in who they are, developed strength of character, responded to others and themselves with care and compassion, created positive connections with peers and adults, and made a meaningful contribution to the community and society. The grant was used to support scholarship participants in multiple elementary schools, including Clark, Johnson Elementary, and Jackson-Via.

Literacy Volunteers of Charlottesville/Albemarle (LVCA) was awarded $1,000 to provide textbooks for stay-at-home moms. LVCA addresses low literacy and under-education among adults in our region through free, individualized reading, writing, and English language instruction. We have a substantial number of adult women (many Afghan refugees) who are not in the workforce, yet still need to learn English. By serving these students, whether or not they will contribute to the workforce, LVCA helped them succeed in our community as they learn our language. By learning English, they can participate better in their children’s school activities and community activities.

Nearby Baby was awarded $2,600 to launch an initiative to connect new doulas with experienced mentors. It takes time, and more than a few observation sessions, to build valuable experience. Through a more formal and lasting mentor/mentee relationship, new doulas were better supported and better able to support families. In addition to one-on-one mentoring, Nearby Baby was able to further create connections between doulas through organization-wide professional development opportunities.

Therapeutic Adventures was awarded $1,400 for its project, SPRING FLY FLING – Fly Fishing and Therapeutic Retreat for Women Cancer Survivors. The retreat served 12 women cancer survivors, many of who were receiving care at the Sentara Martha Jefferson Cancer Center. These women learned fly fishing, fly tying, aquatic entomology, “Catch and Release” ethics, and more. They also had the opportunity to participate in kayaking, hikes, yoga, music, special workshops, and massage.

2020–2021

Reclaimed Hope Initiative was awarded $2,000 for its project, Racial Advocacy and Mentorship. The program offered a same race mentor to girls who have been adopted or are being fostered by a parent of a different race and educational training parents to better understand systemic racism, trauma, and how to best advocate for their child.

Sin Barerras was awarded $4,000 for its project, LADYS Mentoring Initiative. LADYS stands for Leadership, Advancement, and Development of our Young Sisters and provides mentoring for young Latin women ages 14-18. The project funded virtual field trips, apprenticeships, and $200 college scholarships for up to 16 young women.

Community Investment Collaborative (CIC) was awarded $2,000 to allow five women who have completed the Entrepreneur Workshop to participate in the CIC’s Financial Management Program.  The program provides one-on-one mentorship to develop new habits and skills to grow these women’s businesses.  New skills include financial record keeping, business accounting, Quickbooks training, cash flow tracking, and tax planning.

Wildrock was awarded $4,000 to support Black Women Matter Nature Retreats. The program is part of a self-empowerment group run by Black women for Black women. The goal of the program is to counteract the stressors Black women face due to systemic racism through connection with each other and with nature. Through nature immersion experiences at Wildrock, the women were provided opportunities to access green spaces and improve their health.

2019–2020

Child Health Partnership was awarded $3,500 to support its project, Neighborhood Girls Empowerment Group. The CHP neighborhood team offers outreach in some of Charlottesville’s most under-resourced neighborhoods. This program met 1-2 times per month and reached young teen girls ages 12-17 in Friendship Court, Greenstone at 5th, and Westhaven. Through peer group activities, field trips, and guest speakers, girls were exposed to new people, professions, arts, culture, relational skill-building, and self-care. The project addressed the needs of girls for improved self-esteem and confidence, awareness of educational and career opportunities, and long-term supportive relationships with peers and adults.

Community Investment Collaborative (CIC) was awarded $2,000 to allow five women who have completed the Entrepreneur Workshop to participate in the CIC’s Financial Management Program.  The program provides one-on-one mentorship to develop new habits and skills to grow these women’s businesses.  New skills include financial record keeping, business accounting, Quickbooks training, cash flow tracking, and tax planning.

Literacy Volunteers of Charlottesville/Albemarle was awarded $1,500 to support its project, Women-Only English Literacy Educational Activities. LVCA is the primary local provider of free basic literacy and English language tutoring for adults who read or speak English at the 5th grade level or below and most students do not have English as their native language. This program established conversation groups, field trips, and workshops to help augment instruction by one-on-one tutoring. Improving English language skills allowed women to be more able to participate in their community and pursue additional independence-furthering goals including enrolling in additional education, taking an active role in their child’s education, learning about community issues and registering to vote, and taking an active role in their own healthcare.

PACEM was awarded $3,000 for its project, PACEM Sister’s Circle. PACEM Sister’s Circle is a psychosocial support and educational group for homeless women who are currently sheltered and for those women who have exited the shelter. This funding supported a weekly program to provide psychosocial support and opportunities for enrichment and healing.

Region Ten’s Women’s Center at Moore’s Creek was awarded $5,000 to support its project, Healing Spaces at the Women’s Center. Region Ten’s WCMC opened in 2018 and provides residential treatment to women struggling with substance abuse with the goal for each woman to complete treatment empowered, and with tools and skills to maintain recovery throughout their lives. The project created a nature-infused space for community building, expressive art, nature connection, parent-child bonding through play, and mind-body skill practices. Current residents trained and mentored new residents on utilizing this space for therapeutic support and learning skills that they may take with them when they leave WCMC.

Ron Brown Scholar Program was awarded $4,600 for its project, Guided Pathway Support Program. The Guided Pathway Support Program seeks to collaborate with young women majoring in computer science at the University of Virginia and local community-based organizations to launch a Charlottesville area Girls Who Code chapter for high-school-aged students that will support young women’s interest in computer science and equip them with the necessary computing skills to pursue 21st century opportunities. The funds from this grant supported identifying and enrolling 50 high-school-aged girls to participate in free weekly two-hour STEM education and coding sessions through the new Girls Who Code Chapter, coordinating a Girls Who Code Speaker Series, and more.

2018–2019

City of Promise was awarded $4,000 to support the project, Mentoring Mothers through Promise Baby Academy. City of Promise provides academic support and community uplift to the 10th and Page, Westhaven, and Starr Hill neighborhoods of Charlottesville. City of Promise supports these communities through one-on-one academic coaching, adult empowerment, and health and wellness activities. Mentoring Mothers through Promise Baby Academy is an eight-week program for new and expectant mothers and their children. The goals of the program are to ensure parents have the information and support needed for healthy pregnancies and to equip parents to support their children’s early physical, emotional, and cognitive development.

Girls on the Run of Central Virginia was awarded $4,000 to support its project, Girls on the Run in Charlottesville Schools. Girls on the Run is a physical activity-based positive youth development program (PA-PYD) designed to develop and enhance girls’ social, psychological, and physical competencies to successfully navigate life experiences. Throughout the program, girls developed and improved competence, felt confident in who they are, developed strength of character, responded to others and themselves with care and compassion, created positive connections with peers and adults, and made a meaningful contribution to the community and society. The grant was used to support scholarship participants in multiple elementary schools, including Clark, Johnson Elementary, and Jackson-Via.

Postpartum Support Virginia (PSVa) was awarded $4,000 to support its project, Peer Mentoring for Mothers Experiencing Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorders (PMADs). Postpartum Support Virginia’s mission is to help new and expectant mothers and their families overcome anxiety, depression, and other perinatal mood and anxiety disorders. Postpartum Support Virginia’s vision is that all childbearing women in Virginia will receive information about PMADs and have access to help. Peer Mentoring for Mothers Experiencing PMADs adds a mentoring component to augment two Charlottesville Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorder support groups. With this funding, PSVa expanded support services to offer individual peer mentoring to support group attendees.

Sin Barreras/Without Barriers Inc. was awarded $3,500 to support the Sin Barreras-LADYS Program Mentoring Initiative. The project supported the LADYS (Leadership, Advancement, and Development of our Young Sisters), a dynamic group that mentors young (ages 14-18) Latina women preparing these young ladies for increasingly productive and fulfilling roles in society. The project funded the operational expenses for the training seminars for up to 20 women, the programming expenses for 14 educational workshops for up to 20 women, two enrichment day trips to Washington, D.C. for up to 20 young women, and a joint one-day apprenticeship program with adult volunteer mentors.