Gleanings from the Field Sharing Our

Common Wealth Winter 2009

Our Mission:

The mission of Boaz & Ruth is to rebuild lives

and communities

through relationships,

training, transitional jobs and economic re-

vitalization.

P.O. Box 6129 3030 Meadowbridge Rd Richmond, VA 23222

(804)-329-4900

We’re on the Web

www.boazandruth.com

Rebuilding

Empowering

EMS at the Meadowbridge Road Shopping Village

Boaz & Ruth encourages you to come to its Shopping Village on Meadowbridge Road. Come spend a day with our partici-

pants as you eat and shop at our businesses. You should also consider hiring Mountain Movers, who will transport your

large purchases and tend to your other moving needs. Every dollar you spend helps rebuild Highland Park and empowers

individuals to reform their lives. The relationships you build at the Shopping Village will endure.

EAT...Firehouse 15 offers daily specials, free wireless internet access, bargains from local vendors and comfortable

meeting places MOVE...Mountain Movers will transport your large purchases; clean garages, attics and basements; and rearrange

and clear rooms in your office or home. Customer Joan Sties said: ―The workers were very professional and very patient as

we debated where items should go. They took great care with each and every item.‖ SHOP...The Harvest Store and Sunny Days offer unique bargains on gently-used clothing and accessories, and like-

new furniture, all in a vibrant atmosphere

After spending her life living for other people,

Duryea Holley now lives for just one thing—

today. After being released from a Kentucky

prison in April 2009, Duryea realized that she

had no more chances to waste. She came to

Richmond to live with her brother and joined

Boaz & Ruth rather skeptically. She felt it would

be ―yet another program‖ that would not help

her in the long run. Duryea had grown accus-

tomed to a life of drugs and abuse, and she be-

came trapped in a cycle of bad decisions and

negative behaviors. She has now been clean and

sober for 26 months, and while she is still adjust-

ing to her new life, she wakes up each morning

with a sense of purpose. She admits that she is

not the woman she could and should be, but she

is proud that she is no longer the woman she

was. Duryea joined the construction team this

summer and learned to work with plumbing,

electricity and sheetrock. She has earned her

Toastmasters competent communicator certifi-

cate, opened checking and savings accounts, re-

ceived her driver’s learning permit and recon-

nected with her family. Duryea says she has ac-

complished more in the last six months than she

had in the previous 20 years. She has goals, such

as starting school, but still focuses on living for

today, because that’s all she can do.

Milestones Duryea Holley

connecting

Local church conspires at Christmas — you can too!

The Christmas season is supposed to be a time to recognize the birth of Christ, but at some

point, the meaning of Christmas has been lost. Christmas is now a season where increased

debt and stress become commonplace. But one local church is hoping to conspire against

the norm and commit to what Christmas should be about—worshipping fully, spending less,

giving more and loving all.

Last year, Woolridge Road

Church instituted a campaign

which emphasized the importance

of giving time, instead of simply

gifts, to loved ones during the

holiday season. The church ac-

cepted donations from its mem-

bers, totaling $26,000, half of

which was donated to Boaz &

Ruth. The church also recognized

that thousands of children die

each day from water-borne ill-

nesses, so it donated an the re-

maining $13,000 to Living Water

International. Woolridge Road

Church sends volunteer groups to Boaz & Ruth 3-4 times a year. Their projects have in-

cluded cleaning the floor of Firehouse 15 Café and providing operational support to Sunny

Days (see picture, above). One of the members of Boaz & Ruth’s Board of Directors, Joseph

Bartholomew, is also a member of Woolridge Road Church. The church has been a model

partner of Boaz &

Ruth for years,

and the example

its members have

set could be repli-

cated by other

churches in the

area. Please con-

sider giving sup-

port to Boaz &

Ruth and the

Highland Park

community in

whatever way you

can this holiday

season. Boaz &

Ruth is also hosting a Christmas Caroling event 6-8 p.m. Thursday, December 17. In the

past, carolers have lifted up the community during the Christmas season through song (see

picture, above) However you decide to help this year, conspire against societal norms this

Christmas by worshipping fully, spending less, giving more and, most importantly, loving all.

Mon-Thurs 7am-5pm

Fri 7am-4pm

Sat 8am-3pm

329-FIRE

Firehouse 15 Cafe

Did you know you can get news updates from Boaz & Ruth through

Facebook (Boaz & Ruth) and Twitter (@BoazandRuthRVA)?

Here’s a sample of what’s been going on recently at Boaz and Ruth:

Rev. Lloyd Price, who served as Boaz & Ruth’s program intake and AmeriCorps director since the program’s inception, has left B&R to pursue additional work with his ministry. Operations manager Derrick Peterson will now oversee program intake while volunteer coordinator Megan Rollins will oversee AmeriCorps members. The B&R family wishes its best to Rev. Price and his wife, Roberta.

The 2009 giving campaign has raised $93,000—73 percent of our total goal. Ten more participants will be graduating from the program December 10. B&R would like to thank the Metropolitan Women’s Bar Association, who has

committed to provide Christmas dinner baskets to all program participants.

As 2010 approaches and people think about their

New Year’s resolutions, Boaz & Ruth encourages

you to think about one thing you could do to re-

store lives and the Highland Park community in

the coming year. Here are a few simple actions

that can make a tremendous impact:

As you’re given new clothing and furniture

during the holiday season, donate your old

clothing and furniture to our businesses

Make room for your new holiday gifts by hir-

ing our Mountain Movers to clean and clear

out your home

If you’re having a holiday party or gathering,

consider hiring our Firehouse 15 staff to cater

the event

Give the most meaningful gift any person can

provide by donating your time to rebuilding

the Highland Park community

PAGE 2

Upcoming Events

December

Informational Lunches

Tuesday, December 1

Thursday, December 17

12:00 PM – 1:30 PM

2009 Graduation

Thursday, December 10

5:30 PM—7:30 PM

Police Training Academy

1202 West Graham Road

Christmas Caroling

Thursday, December 17

6:00 PM—8:00 PM

3030 Meadowbridge Road

*Wear your Santa hat and

we’ll leave from Harvest

Thrift shortly after 6 p.m.*

January

Informational Lunches

Tuesday, January 5

Thursday, January 21

12:00 PM – 1:30 PM

MLK Celebration and

Candlelight Walk

Monday, January 18

6:00 PM

Fresh Anointing

Cathedral Church

February

Informational Lunches

Tuesday, February 3

Thursday, February 19

12:00 PM – 1:30 PM

Beyond Dialogue

Tuesday, February 5, 12, 19

6:00 PM — 9:30 PM

PAGE 3 Board of

Directors

Tom Edmonds Chair

Virginia State Bar (retired)

Darius Johnson Chair-Elect

Consolidated Bank & Trust

Twandra Lomax-Brown Vice Chair

Virginia Tech

Yvonne Haynes Secretary

Richmond Behavioral Health Authority

Steve Mapp

Treasurer First Market Bank

Elaine Avery

First Market Bank

Joseph Bartholomew III SunTrust

Carlos Brown

Dominion

Robert Dortch Management Consultant

Carole Farnham Psychologist (Retired)

Reginald Gordon

Greater Richmond Chapter – American Red Cross

Addison Hagan

Transamerica Capital

Jennifer McClellan Virginia House of Delegates

Verizon

Corell Halsey Moore Hewlett Packard (retired)

Tom Nicholson

Nicholson Law PLC

Claude Stevens Boaz & Ruth

Charles Summers

First Presbyterian Church

Clarence Taylor Boaz & Ruth Graduate

City of Richmond

Marilyn Wayland Free Agents Marketing

Winnie Westbrook

Virginia State University

PRESIDENT, CEO Martha F. Rollins

“The one thing”

For information on any of these events, or to make

reservations, please call (804) 329-4900 ext. 203 or e

-mail reservations @boazandruth.com.

Thursday, December 10th , 5:30 – 7:30

Police Training Academy

1202 West Graham Road

Join us for a celebration of the accomplishments of our

7th graduating class of apprentices. We have seen 47

members graduate and transition to new jobs.

2009 Graduation—Dec. 10

“There is a wonderful mythical law of nature that the three things we crave most in life -- happiness, freedom, and peace of mind -- are always attained by giving them to someone else.” Peyton Conway March Did you know…Every level of giving is

needed, appreciated and valued?

Mother Teresa said: “We can do no great things, only small things with great love.” Highland Park resident Bridgett graciously talked about her employment search and challenges her family will face this season. Boaz & Ruth’s family responded. Gifts came from participants and staff with giant hearts, yet modest means. Bea, Donna, Nathaniel, Henry, Roger, Lafonda and Derrick used personal resources for a Thanksgiving bas-ket. Her new harvest was bountiful, but the love that went into it healed Bridgett’s soul and energized her spirit. Bridget returned with cake for friends baked from a mix ten-

derly selected from her basket.

Did you know… How grateful we are to those who have given to our fall 2009

Campaign?

“We are grateful for your giving spirit. It is friends like you who provide the sealing glue that holds this vessel together. For this is a transitional program and there is truly no wind to carry us forward without your

gifts.” William McCray, program participant

“Your gifts allow me to stay in this program and more importantly, provide me the oppor-tunity to give back.” Joan Blackwell, program

participant

Did you know that, in the words of Flora Edwards… “In helping others, we shall help ourselves, for whatever good we give out completes the circle and comes back

to us?”

“I am so grateful for the people of Boaz & Ruth. Everybody comes through here, from the person with extreme challenges to the Governor. And somewhere magic happens. You learn to be happy when magic happens in another person’s life. You see another person’s miracle happen and you say to yourself, maybe one day, something good will happen to me. Then one day you wake up and you are a different person, you have

broken free from the shackles, your mind is a little clearer, you can see the light at the end of the tunnel. And you know you are helping to create the path for those that are coming behind you. I wish everyone could have this.” Stephen Jenkins, past program participant, current full-time live-in caregiver and part-time interviewer at VCU. We are humbled and with lifted spirits because of your

generosity.

Please see the Gift Guide and Envelope enclosed or Consider Giving Online at: http://boazandruth.com/index.cfm/topic/

donation

Your contributions will make a difference!

United Virginia Contractors (UVC) staff and

Boaz & Ruth participants worked together to

revitalize a Highland Park neighborhood home

2008 graduates Wendell Randolph, left, and Rochan

Johnson found jobs after leaving Boaz & Ruth last year

RestoreCorps: B&R’s national vision

Spending on corrections now totals

$70 billion annually, according

Bruce Western’s ―From Prison to

Work.‖ Furthermore, two-thirds

of all ex-offenders are rearrested

within three years and one-fourth

return to prison during that time.

Boaz & Ruth serves as a model for

a potential national service pro-

gram, called RestoreCorps with a

mission to target these statistics

and more. This vision for a nation-

wide program has been largely

influenced through Boaz & Ruth’s

experience as an AmeriCorps pro-

gram for the past four years.

This program would address the

interrelated needs of released pris-

oners and their blighted communi-ties by rehabilitating and reviving

both. Ex-offenders face many chal-

lenges after being released from

prison, including unhealthy rela-

tionships, few marketable skills and

felony convictions that complicate

the process of securing employ-

ment and housing. As a result,

many fall into a cycle of repeated

incarceration. Meanwhile, the com-

munities to which ex-offenders

return are often similarly plagued:

poverty, unemployment and crime

all create an environment that ex-

offenders cannot use to resurrect

their lives in a

positive man-

ner.

RestoreCorps

would be a na-

tional service

program focused

on helping for-

merly incarcer-

ated persons

restore their

own communi-

ties. While or-

ganizations such

as Boaz & Ruth assist prisoner

reentry through transitional job-

training, RestoreCorps would exist

on a larger scale and follow the values of AmeriCorps. Restore-

Corps participants would be com-

posed entirely of people who

served time in prison.

RestoreCorps would provide a

supervised, real-life working ex-

perience in which members prac-

tice core standards of workplace

behavior, responsibility and positive

relationships with peers and au-

thority figures. It is precisely these

competencies that formerly incar-

cerated men and women need to

maintain employment, avoid re-

incarceration and

succeed in life

outside prison

walls. In addition

to providing ―life

labs‖ for partici-

pants, the enter-

prises in which

they participate

would further the

economic progress

of the surrounding

neighborhood,

contribute to the

sustainability of the program, and

connect economically depressed

communities to the broader com-

munities that surround them.

The recidivism rate for Boaz &

Ruth graduates in our pilot reentry

program to date is 12 percent, or

less than half the national average.

Now more than ever, this nation is

in need of innovative interpreta-

tions of the national service model

that has inspired AmeriCorps. The

widespread need for effective pris-

oner reentry programs calls for a

distinctive national service

program.