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University Communications

University of Richmond Chaplaincy Presents In My Backyard Awards

September 29, 2005

The University of Richmond Chaplaincy has presented nine area organizations a total of $10,000 in grants in recognition of their community-building efforts in the city of Richmond.

The “IMBY” Awards—standing for “in my backyard”—are presented annually and made possible through the generosity of the Carole M. and Marcus M. Weinstein family. Members of the local nonprofit community serve on the selection committee. Winners were recognized at a banquet on campus Sept. 22. This year’s “IMBY” winners are:

  • ART 180, for giving young people in challenging circumstances opportunities to express themselves through art.
  • Faith Community Baptist Church’s RISE program, for empowering women in the Fairfield, Whitcomb and Creighton Court housing developments to build inner strength leading to healthy families and communities.
  • The Giving Heart/Furniture Share, for acquiring thousands of donations of clothes, furniture and other goods and distributing them to nonprofits to use in addressing community needs.
  • Hilliard House, for assisting homeless women and children in building their capacity to live productive lives by offering transitional shelter and related services.
  • Luther Memorial School’s "Watching Luther Grow" project, for cultivating cross-cultural and cross-generational community through gardening and cross-disciplinary study.
  • National Student Partnerships’ VITA project, for assisting disadvantaged individuals by mobilizing college students to provide free tax preparation assistance, financial literacy training and services that promote self sufficiency.
  • Ramsey Memorial United Methodist Church, for providing English as a second language and civic education classes to individuals in the Southside Richmond community.
  • The READ (Reading and Education for Adult Development) Center, for helping adults with low-level reading skills develop basic reading and communication skills through one-on-one tutoring.
  • Richmond Friends of the Homeless, for supplying hungry men, women and children in the Bainbridge-Blackwell and Jackson Ward-Gilpin Court communities with meals, clothing and services.