Notes from the Field: September Program Highlights

Storefront for Community Design inspires equitable community-driven design through our innovative design education programs including low-cost design and planning assistance and design workshops. Check out our September Notes from the Field to learn about recent updates from our programs.

---

City Builders Design Workshop
Design Workshops

We convene project-based learning opportunities that focus on real world issues in the built environment and encourage youth and young adults to discover and design solutions that create effective change in their lives and communities. Learn more about City Builders Design Workshop.

Summer Session: Design Camp

Storefront for Community Design hosted a week-long summer City Builders Design camp that invited youth from all over the city to join. The goals of the summer design camp were to learn about the design process and gain exposure to design professions. Using the graphic novel No Small Plans, participants explored urban planning while following a group of teens in their discovery of Chicago’s past, present, and future. They were also tasked to explore the Jackson Ward community and design a vacant lot at N 2nd Street and Jackson street.

The week began with a guided tour by Gary Flowers, Walking the Ward, to learn about the Jackson Ward community and its history. An architect from Baskervill stopped by to speak about his profession and a current project happening in Jackson Ward that his firm worked on. Later in the week, we visited the project site with a landscape architect and learned about plan drawings. Using what we learned at the project site, youth participants teamed up to discuss and design what they thought was needed in the Jackson Ward community. On the last day, we celebrated with the youth as they presented their project ideas to their peers and families.

View fullsize

image: City Builders during our summer camp program

This program was made possible by funding from the American Rescue Plan Act in partnership with NextUP and the City of Richmond’s Gun Violence Prevention Initiative. A HUGE thank you to all the partners who made this possible.

Summer Interns

Guess who’s back…. our interns from last summer returned this summer to assist with developing activities for our summer design program. The interns also created our very first reel for instagram to help with recruitment for the program! They were a huge help with the preparation and execution of City Builders and offered youth insight on meetings, programs, and future projects. We look forward to our continued partnership with Partnership for the Future and having our intern back next summer.

image: SFCD summer interns

---

Design Session
Low-cost Design and Planning Assistance

We provide community members design and planning assistance at an intimate, approachable level including one-on-one advice, conceptual sketches, and plans of action from volunteer design and planning professionals. Learn more about Design Session.

Activating Vacant Space for Youth Programming in Northside

Earlier this summer, we met with Yvette and Kristin, a mother and daughter, looking to re-activate a vacant building in Richmond’s Northside and fill a community need. Through our Design Session program, they were able to work with volunteer design professionals Lisa Moon and Paul Bethel to create an interior design concept for a youth programming center and better articulate their vision while honoring the legacy of their family and community through visual design elements.

View fullsize

image: Volunteer design professionals meeting with community collaborators at the project site.

Creative Engagement for Greenspace Design in the East End

Since the spring we've been collaborating with Bon Secours Center for Healthy Living Sarah Garland Jones Center to create a gathering space on a nearby empty grass lot. With the help of professional landscape architect volunteers from Timmons Group, we strategized on a custom engagement activity asking residents what they envision in a healing space and created a conceptual design based on feedback.

View fullsize

image: Engagement activity designed by volunteer design professionals.

Updates:

• We have NCARB credits!

  • Are you working towards your architecture license and looking to earn AXP credits? We've been pre-approved by NCARB for community-based design center/collaborative opportunities! Volunteers may submit recently completed experience at Storefront through their NCARB record.

• VCUarts mOb studio begins

  • If you stop by our office this fall, you will notice a very active space on Mondays and Wednesdays! mOb studio kicked off their semester in late August with a large mix of interior design, fashion design, and urban planning students. Led by VCUarts faculty Emily Smith and Kristin Caskey, student groups will collaborate on a mix of student-led and community-led design projects.

---

Community Visioning
Low-cost Design and Planning Assistance

We provide community-based design and planning assistance that inspires community members to take action, leverage their creativity, and realize a shared vision that strengthens our neighborhoods. Learn about Community Visioning.

Jackson Ward Community Plan

In August, Storefront for Community Design collaborated with the Jackson Ward Community Plan team to host two workshops with Gilpin Court and Jackson Ward residents, planning experts, and stakeholders. The meetings provided a review of the Choice Neighborhood Plan (CNP) process and an opportunity for everyone to share input and generate ideas for the future of Jackson Ward.

View fullsize

image: Interactive lego activity to replicate urban blocks in the Jackson Ward neighborhood; activity developed by LRK.

Several interactive stations filled the space, creating avenues for residents to both learn about the project and generate ideas. As attendees moved through the workshop, they took part in a variety of activities to help them learn more about urban design and housing and to give them platforms to generate ideas. The interactive stations included:

• A learning activity about housing types, such as single-family homes, duplexes, triplexes, townhomes, and apartments. Attendees learned about architectural styles and voted on favorites, with American Classic and Craftsman styles the top choices. Attendees also gave input about the building elements that are important to them. Residents said that walk-in closets, balconies, porches, multiple bathrooms with electrical outlets, and a bathroom with a tub were some of the elements most important to them.

• An activity about neighborhood urban blocks and amenities using legos. The activity explained different housing types and surrounding land uses and amenities. For example, one block may include row homes, a church, and mixed-use buildings with apartments above ground floor commercial space. Residents were most enthusiastic about recreational amenities such as playgrounds and about community programming like community kitchens.

• One-on-one discussions about how the community plan can assist with improving quality of life. Among the questions the team asked was, “What can we do to help you improve your health?” Some residents said that being able to easily check in with their doctor and participate in health and wellness education courses would help improve their health. Other residents thought new tree-lined walking paths would benefit their health.

View fullsize

image: Community Engagement/Visioning schedule for Jackson Ward Community Plan: May 2022 to November 2023

Check out the Jackson Ward Community Plan webpage to learn more about upcoming meetings and to review past meeting materials.

A mOb jOurnal

Hi, my name is Erin.

When I started at VCU, I knew I was passionate about sustainable design, but I wasn’t sure what professional path that would lead me down. Biology, engineering, interior design, architecture, and urban planning are all fields that have a significant impact on the built environment, but urban and regional studies was unlike any one of my interests alone. It represented designing with community values at the core of every intention.

As there is no natural avenue for creative expression within the urban and regional studies field at VCU, I found myself searching for something more.

discOvering mOb

I initially heard about the mOb studio course from a friend while talking about the intersection of my interests. It is an interdisciplinary studio course that bridged the gap between narrow, structured majors.

“Middle Of broad [mOb studio] is an experimental design lab uniting the departments of Graphic Design, Fashion Design, and Interior Design to create a hotspot for the school’s up-and-coming designers.”

— VCU Arts

My interest peaked. What does that mean? Could I, an Urban Planning student, be a part of this immersive design course? The answer was yes.

It was here I got to experience design through a different lens. For the first time I was able to see how our different approaches to design gave us the edge of a holistic perspective.

mOb prOject

When I joined the mOb studio, Storefront and mOb were moving towards new leadership and ideas. Storefront asked mOb students to help redesign this shared space their future needs in mind. Though I did not have formal experience as an Interior Designer as some of my teammates did, I knew how to design an equitable, resilient environment while working with a community.

My team and I knew one thing: the way people think about where they work is changing. With the start of the pandemic and the new emphasis on designing a ‘contactless’ community, we wanted our design to celebrate the relational themes between Storefront and the mOb studio to rebuild the community between both organizations.

The crux of our design was placing a large working table along the main intersection of the mOb and Storefront sides of the studios.

Renderings By: Keenan Rhodes

This table would serve as a functional space for people to come together as well as a symbol of the intersecting themes between the two organizations:

Create Community

Invoke Curiosity

Inspire Solutions

Focus Group Held at SFCD with mOb Alumni, Staff, & Volunteers

Other engagement efforts such as holding focus groups and exploring Six Points Innovation Center (6PIC) and local coworking spaces aided the process of creating feeling-based, placemaking programming in smaller pockets throughout the space.

Impact

As the mOb studio and Storefront continue to evolve over the next year, they expand on these findings as we all acclimate within this space. Though, from my experience on this project and with the mOb studio, I am left with one profound lesson: design should focus on creating community space as opposed to a space for the community.

---

Erin Hayes is now a Design & Engagement Intern at SFCD.

SFCD Welcomes New Board Members!

Storefront is excited to announce the addition of 4 new Board of Directors, Jillian Bates, Stephanie Golembeski, Tyler Silvestro, and Geoffrey Zindren! With new leadership and the creation of a new 3-year strategic plan, we are pleased to continue building a board that reflects our mission.

Jillian Bates is an Associate Attorney at Hirschler Fleischer. Her practice focuses on all aspects of commercial real estate transactions with a special focus on land use and zoning where she works to obtain a variety of land use approvals for developers, businesses, institutions and landowners in Richmond and Henrico.

Stephanie Golembeski is a Business Development Director at Froehling & Robertson Inc. She is responsible for managing and developing environmental opportunities for the Mid-Atlantic region as well as key relationships for the Richmond office. Her focus includes environmental consulting, geotechnical engineering and construction materials testing/special inspections.

Tyler Silvestro is a landscape architect and partner with Marvel Designs. He works with cities, community advocates, non-profit developers, and landowners to reveal the potential impacts and cultural connections inherent to shared landscapes. His focus on larger cultural and ecological impacts within the field of landscape architecture brought him to Virginia to help expand the practice.

Geoffrey Zindren works as a Public Affairs Manager with Alliance Group Ltd. With a multidisciplinary background in education and program management, and experience working with fortune 500 companies, government, and nonprofits, Geoff brings a wealth of communications expertise.

Update: Participatory Budgeting Initiative Kicks Off this Fall

Participatory Budgeting (PB) is a new paradigm providing an avenue for community members to engage in a democratic process that gives residents direct access to their tax dollars and allows them to guide where that money will go.

In October 2019, Richmond City Council passed a resolution calling on the city’s administration to set aside money each year for the initiative. It outlined a process for participatory budgeting in the City, but due to COVID-19, the initiative was put on hold. In 2021, the initiative picked up steam again and Storefront for Community Design helped to begin bringing together community collaborators to convene, develop, and implement the process in Richmond. PB can be a complicated process to understand, so we encourage you to keep reading to learn more about PB, how it may be implemented in Richmond, and ways to get involved.

---

The Participatory Budgeting Approach

This multi-year program will include a community-led effort to reimagine how the city invests in our communities. The final process that is workshopped and realized by community members will follow a similar four-step approach from successful PB precedents. Below is an example of the annual cycle of engagement referenced from the Participatory Budgeting Project.

1. Brainstorm Ideas: Community members in each Voter District come together in meetings to think about what types of projects they would like to see in their neighborhoods.

2. Create Project Proposals: Volunteers work with experts to turn people’s ideas into real project proposals. This includes capacity building by meeting with city departments to understand how much items cost and what can be completed in a one-year period.

3. Vote: After sharing the top projects in their Voter District, the community votes to validate every voice in the community.

4. Disperse Funding: The projects with the most votes in each Voter District receive funding to be implemented over the next fiscal year. 

The Participatory Process; source: participatorybudgeting.org

Each year, the process begins again, community members brainstorm new ideas, turn them into new projects, vote, and funding is dispersed in the following fiscal year. The goal is for PB to become a part of the City of Richmond’s budget process and a new way of equitable governing.

While much of the focus of PB is on the allocation of public dollars, the process will also expand the capacity of residents to be active participants in making community decisions. Residents will broaden their understanding on how project proposals are reviewed by City departments, evaluated by cost, and implemented in neighborhoods. Instead of decisions being made for residents, teenagers and adults will come together to imagine what their neighborhoods can become as they begin to close the gap between social and economic challenges and realize a more collective vision for democracy. 

In 2022, with funding from the Community Foundation of greater Richmond, Storefront kicked off the ideation of PB and began working with a consultant who will take this process to the next level. Starting in fall 2022, Matthew Slaats Consulting LLC will collaborate with the PB Steering Commission and community collaborators to create the roadmap for PB and develop a guidebook for Richmond’s process. The goal is to have a guidebook completed by early 2023 and begin educational outreach throughout Richmond. Storefront for Community Design will remain a partner in the project as a fiscal sponsor to assist with funding, provided by the City of Richmond, of the project over the next year.

---

Learn More About Participatory Budgeting

See below for additional resources to learn more about Participatory Budgeting and it’s impact around the country.

• VPM NPR: Initiative to Put City Spending in Residents’ Hand Moving Forward

• UVA Today Q&A: PB in Richmond

• Richmond Times-Dispatch: Reimagining the City Through PB

• Participatory Budgeting Project

• HUD Exchange: Participatory Budgeting

• People Power Hub

• Organizing Engagement Participatory Budgeting

• The World Bank: Participatory Budgeting

Become a Design Mentor for City Builders

Are you a professional designer and interested in getting involved in our City Builders Design youth program? We are looking for three (3) qualified design professionals to become design mentors during our 12-week program this fall. Design mentors will receive a stipend for participation along with the reward of developing the next generation of designers. Apply by Friday, August 26 to be considered.

Design Mentor Roles and Responsibilities

• Provide mentorship to students throughout the 12-week program

• Assist the Youth Innovation Director and the Storefront team to design hands-on activities and implement them during workshops. 

• Assist students with projects, studio time, and various tasks during the weekly workshop.

• Review student projects and provide constructive feedback.

Design Mentor Requirements

• Currently working or has experience working in a design career such as architecture, landscape architecture, urban planning, graphic design, etc. 

• Commit to a minimum of 10 in-person workshop sessions (2.5 hours each) out of the 12 workshops offered. Weekly workshops will take place on Tuesday or Thursday evenings this fall. 

• Be available to meet for two hours between workshops as needed.

• Experience with teens ages 13-18 preferred but not required.

• Pass a background check.

The City Builders fall semester will take place at Storefront’s office at 205 E Broad Street. The program will kick off on September 29 and will run through mid-December.

About City Builders Design Workshop:
The City Builders Design Workshop is a semester-long program for teens ages 13-18 with a vision to engage the next generation of designers and grow urban youth leaders.

2022 Golden Hammer Awards Call for Submissions Now Open

Storefront for Community Design and Historic Richmond will partner for a sixth year to host the awards program to recognize professionals and community members improving our neighborhoods.

Do you have a project that was completed after January 1, 2021? Submit your project by September 12 at 11:59pm to be in the running for a Golden Hammer Award!

About the Golden Hammer Awards
The Golden Hammer Awards were started in 2000 with a goal of honoring excellence in neighborhood revitalization projects throughout Greater Richmond. This year's award event will take place on Thursday, October 27 from 6-8pm at Hardywood Richmond!

Categories include:

• Best Restoration: Includes restoration by a homeowner, contractor, or developer. Includes historic tax credit projects.

• Best Adaptive Reuse: Includes projects that were rehabilitated for a new use, multi-family residential, and historic tax credit projects welcome.

• Best New Construction: Includes neighborhood infill.

• Best Placemaking & Urban Design: Arts and culture projects, park and green-space projects, transportation and infrastructure projects, or other neighborhood enhancing features including large scale (i.e., parks, urban streetscapes, etc.) and small scale (i.e., community garden, grass roots programming, etc.).

• Best Residential: Single-family residential projects.

---

Sponsorship Opportunities! 

Annual support for our organization, programming, projects, and events is critical. Interested in becoming a sponsor for the Golden Hammer Awards? Check out our sponsorship benefits and opportunities for more information.

Poster Show: A Covid Empowerment Project

At Storefront, we know all too well that the built environment around us directly affects our well-being. We aim to inspire community-driven design throughout Richmond while engaging the next generation of designers. This spring semester, two of our programs worked on parallel health messaging projects that came together as a poster show, activating a public space in a new way.

We learned that the Richmond Henrico Health District was seeing extreme covid health disparities and low use of covid mitigation and prevention measures by youth and Black communities. That, covid fatigue and racism being declared a public health crisis underscored the greater question at hand. How do you encourage groups to take advantage of the resources available and be empowered to make informed decisions?

mOb studio and City Builders set out to explore that question. They used visuals to relay health messaging related to accurate covid health information and overall wellness for the community. 

City Builders Design, a semester-long program that focuses on real world issues in the built environment, met weekly after school to design a solution. The youth ages 13-18 explored their community and learned from designers in the field of architecture, fashion design, graphic design, and urban planning. By the end of the semester, they had learned a new way to communicate health messages, using the built environment and empowering them to use the resources around them to create awareness.

“Teaching with City Builders reminded me that not only should we include our children in the process of designing better things for our cities but also to become better designers we need to awaken the child in ourselves. -”

— John Malinoski

A team from mOb studio, a service learning class through our VCUarts partnership, worked directly with RHHD to create and pilot a Covid and Public Health awareness campaign. Through conversations with RHHD partners, and help from a professional mentor, they came up with a visual communication style, health messaging and potential poster sites.

Both groups were guided by a local design professional, John Malinoski who mentored the mOb team and led workshops for the City Builders youth. Both projects focused on providing exposure and education to health awareness, equity, disparities, & outcomes. We couldn't help but notice that following a design process and incorporating hands-on making naturally allowed us to pause and create space for intentional conversations about health/wellness.

The site-specific installation and additional posters were contributed by pirates, a poster based design collective that aims to create positive visual communication and temporary built environments for important issues in our present lives. 

City Builders Design students, m0bstudents, and pirates displayed their posters on a hot day in May along Meadowbridge Rd. The work from both groups came together in a poster show event that showcased and brought in partners to amplify resources. Light refreshments were provided by the Kitchen Magician, a local DJ played tunes, and Hope Pharmacy provided vaccinations at the site. The students also participated in a wheat pasting workshop led by John Malinoski to learn a technique for applying posters to the built environment, while community members were given an opportunity to screen print a health message on a reusable bag provided by Studio Two Three.

Thank you to all of those who participated in the Poster Show: A Covid Empowerment Project.

Storefront Celebrates 10 Years with Exhibition

On May 6, under stormy skies, Storefront for Community Design hosted a block party at 205 E Broad Street and was honored to see so many supporters show up to celebrate! Guests enjoyed food truck fare, music, desserts, t-shirts, great conversations, and the unveiling of our 10 Years, 10 Stories of Impact Exhibition. Thank you to Baskervill, our exhibition sponsor, along with our other event sponsors: Singlestone, Century Construction Company, Inc., Gilbane, Lynx Ventures, Timmons Group, Hanbury, and Anova.

View fullsize

image: Monica Escamilla Photography

It has been amazing to see the impact that Storefront has made across Richmond. Thank you to the Founders of Storefront and VUCarts Middle of Broad (mOb) studio for taking your initial visions and evolving them over the last ten years. Richmonds is growing rapidly, and our work is now more important than ever. With a new strategic plan, we are poised to inspire equitable community-driven design and engage the next generation of designers.

If you were unable to make the block party celebration, don’t fret! The 10 Years, 10 Stories of Impact exhibition will be up through September. Stop by during the next RVA First Friday to check it out. Also, we still have t-shirts for sale so get one while you can! Also, learn more by downloading the 10th Anniversary Celebration Event Program and check out the photos below highlighting a wonderful evening with friends of Storefront.

“It has been an incredible journey being part of Storefront for the past five years. Our city has changed dramatically during my time on the Board of Directors and especially over the past ten years, and the services that Storefront provides has been an integral component of this growth.”

— Bernard Harkless, Board Chair

In-Kind Sponsors:

• Keith Fabry Printing

• Nightingale Ice Cream Sandwiches

• Nonprofit Management Services

Additional Recognitions:

• 1 Smokery Pl. Food Truck

• 10th Anniversary Storefront volunteers

• Arley Cakes

• La Cocinita Food Truck

• Marketing volunteers: Katy Latimer, Maureen Neal, and Susan Sekerke

• Monica Escamilla Photography

• Studio of Jiyoon Cha (design of 10 Years, 10 Stories of Impact Exhibition)

• The Eye of Life Band

• The Right Reverend L7

Notes from the Field: June Program Highlights

Storefront for Community Design inspires equitable community-driven design through our low-cost design and planning assistance programs and design education programs. Check out our June Notes from the Field to learn about recent updates from our programs.

---

Design Education: City Builders Design Workshop

We convene project-based learning opportunities that focus on real world issues in the built environment and encourage youth and young adults to discover and design solutions that create effective change in their lives and communities. Learn more about City Builders Design Workshop.

Spring Session: A Health Messaging Campaign

This spring, the City Builders Design Workshop focused on how the built environment affects the health of a community. Students living in the City of Richmond ages 13-18 explored the foundation of a healthy city and discovered how social determinants of health play an important role. According to the World Health Organization, social determinants of health include factors like socioeconomic status, education, neighborhood and physical environment, employment, and social support networks, as well as access to health care.

COVID-19 has impacted our built environment and forced us to rethink how we use spaces. City Builders Design students, in partnership with the Richmond and Henrico Health Districts, a graphic design mentor, VCU design students, and professional designers, created unique posters to communicate health messaging in their own neighborhood. A city is only as healthy as the people that live, learn, work and play in it!

The students unveiled their work in a community poster show in mid-May. The posters are on display at Six Points Innovation Center (6PIC) until the end of June, so stop by and check them out!

View fullsize

image: City Builders designing their posters

Registration is open for our City Builders Summer Workshop!

This summer, Storefront is hosting a weeklong City Builders Design Workshop to explore a graphic novel that follows the neighborhood adventures of teens in a city. Participants will take what they learn and collaborate with design professionals to brainstorm and design solutions in Richmond’s Jackson Ward neighborhood.

We are seeking youth and young adults ages 13 -18 in and around the Jackson Ward neighborhood who are inspired by real world projects that make positive change in their neighborhoods. The workshop will take place on Monday, August 1 to Friday, August 5. Lunch will be served and each participant will receive a stipend for participating in the program. Learn more and register by July 18.

Join our weeklong summer City Builders Design Workshop taking place August 1-5.

---

Low-cost Design and Planning Assistance:
Design Session

We provide community members design and planning assistance at an intimate, approachable level including one-on-one advice, conceptual sketches, and plans of action from volunteer design and planning professionals. Learn more about Design Session.

Health Messaging Posters

In partnership with the Richmond and Henrico Health Districts, Storefront for Community Design collaborated with VCUarts’ mOb studio to develop a COVID-19 and public health outreach campaign. Through the format of large scale hand-made posters, the student team focused on impactful visual communication that captures attention and connects audiences to up-to-date resources via QR codes. The posters are currently up at 6PIC with the City Builders’ posters. In addition, they are up at Boaz and Ruth (on the blue wall adjacent to 3044 Meadowbridge Rd). Stop by and check them out! Both sites are outdoor and accessible to the public.

View fullsize

image: mOb team wheatpasting posters at Boaz and Ruth

Community Design Space

As part of a Design Session request, Storefront collaborated with mOb studio to reconsider the needs of both groups in the existing space and create a conceptual spatial design with a larger area for staff, intentional community design workshops, shared gallery and pin-up spaces and upgrades to kitchen and technology. The team engaged past and current users through a public focus group and tackled the many facets of this unique space!

View fullsize

image: mOb studio + Storefront staff reviewing a proposed interior design concept

Resources:

• Connecting Ukraine-US Design Professionals: A team of volunteer architects has created a pathway for US-based firms to offer remote, freelance work to Ukrainian designers (from Arch League of NY)

• Extreme Heat, Climate Change, and Racial Equity: Watch the latest Racial Equity Essays event with members of Richmond’s environmental community discussing the urgency of local climate action and equitable approaches to realizing a sustainable Richmond!

---

Low-cost Design and Planning Assistance: Community Visioning

We provide community-based design and planning assistance that inspires community members to take action, leverage their creativity, and realize a shared vision that strengthens our neighborhoods. Learn about Community Visioning.

Highland Grove Guide Launches

In fall 2021, Storefront kicked off a collaboration with Better Housing Coalition (BHC) to lead a community visioning and engagement process to receive feedback and ideas from residents, business owners, and potential homebuyers regarding specific outdoor elements and architectural elements for the Highland Grove Community Unit Plan.

This spring, Storefront completed the community engagement and recommendations guide for BHC. The guide includes plans, actions, and recommendations resulting from the six-month long process of the project team working with the community to evaluate existing conditions, review the proposed community plan, and provide recommendations for the neighborhood.

The guide provides a strong foundation for next steps and decision-making, but this document is only the starting point for BHC and community partners’ work moving forward. As neighborhood improvements are phased in and residents begin to move into Highland Grove, new circumstances may reshape the plan and outdoor elements. Additional community engagement is critical throughout the lifespan of the construction project to ensure future Highland Grove residents and adjacent neighbors’ voices are heard prior to final selection of outdoor elements

image: Highland Grove Community Engagement and Recommendations Guide

Jackson Ward Community Plan Kicks Off

In November, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced a $450,000 planning grand award to the Richmond Redevelopment and Housing Authority (RRHA). This community award is designed to stimulate affordable housing and economic development in the neighborhoods of Gilpin Court and the entire Jackson Ward community. Since November the planning team, including RRHA, the City of Richmond, Richmond City Health District, Looney Ricks Kiss (LRK), and Storefront for Community Design, have been busy strategizing a robust action plan for community engagement and plan development.

This May, the Jackson Ward Community Plan planning team held two community meetings for the Jackson Ward Community Plan to bring Gilpin Court and Jackson Ward residents, planning experts, elected officials, and community members together to reach an informed, shared vision for the future of the neighborhood. The Community Plan provides an exciting opportunity to ensure that the many projects currently being implemented or planned in the Jackson Ward neighborhood (i.e. Reconnect Jackson Ward, 1st Street Bridge renovation, Belvedere Exchange improvement, etc.) are considered and included in the neighborhood plan.

View fullsize

image: Community Engagement/Visioning schedule for Jackson Ward Community Plan: May 2022 to November 2023

Storefront has been contracted to assist the planning team with community visioning and engagement throughout the project lifecycle. Upon submission to HUD at the end of 2023, the Community Plan will be a living document that will be organized and designed to act as a guide for community empowerment and a road map for continued planning and action. We are excited to be part of the planning team and look forward to collaborating with Richmond residents over the next 18 months.

Check out the Jackson Ward Community Plan webpage to learn more about upcoming meetings and to review past meeting materials.

Summer 2022 Volunteer Opportunities

View fullsize

Are you passionate about community voice, equitable design, and collaborative partnerships? We are seeking volunteers with varying interests and expertise to help us this summer, so don’t be bashful to get involved! Upcoming opportunities include:

1. Design Education - City Builders Design: Help us build the new curriculum for our City Builders fall 2022 and spring 2023 semesters.

2. Community Visioning: Help us plan, design, and host small engagement events in Jackson Ward.

3. Design Session: Provide one-on-one advice, conceptual sketches, and plans of actions throughout the year.

See below for more information. If you are interested in volunteering, be sure to sign up by Friday, May 27. If you have any questions, please email hello@storefrontrichmond.org. We look forward to hearing from you!

---

Volunteer Opportunity #1
Design Education: City Builders Design

Storefront's Design Education program is building a new design curriculum for the fall 2022 and spring 2023 semesters. The new City Builders Design program will kick off in the the fall and encourage youth ages 13-18 to discover and design solutions that create effective change in their lives and communities.

---

Volunteer Opportunity #2
Community Visioning

Storefront is participating in an exciting community visioning initiative in Jackson Ward. We are planning, designing, and hosting a variety of small engagement/visioning activities with the community and seeking volunteers to help us create activities and participate.

---

Volunteer Opportunity #3
Design Session

Storefront’s Design Session provides one-on-one advice, conceptual sketches, and plans of actions. Volunteers demonstrate qualifications in the planning and design field and offer guidance on a volunteer basis. Once you are on the Design Session volunteer list, emails will be sent throughout the year with specific project volunteer opportunities.