By Randy Davis

Edward Robinson Jr. and Raymond Tedamy founded A Gathering of the Ways in 2005 as a nonprofit organization to create several community service programs.

It has since met its goal and is currently sponsoring three distinct programs: a Nexus program, a community clean-up program, and a community library.

When Robinson, 52, was asked which program he is most proud of thus far, he became pensive.

“Our library,” he said smiling, “It’s a culmination of all the work and efforts of all of our members.”

AGW’s Library

At present, the AGW Library, located on the second floor of the Gathering of the Ways house at 2316 T Street in Church Hill, contains books, art work and religious and cultural icons from around the world.

Its texts include scriptures from the world’s major religions as well as books on culture, sociology, psychology and foreign languages. There is even a book on the Beatles.

The library has a desk, laptop computer and wireless Internet which is also available to patrons.

Aaron Kunk, 23, a VCU graduate student in the School of Education, is a student intern at the AGW house. Kunk is the library’s curator and librarian.

“Helping renovate houses, that’s more on the economic side,” Kunk said referring to AGW’s Nexus program which deals which community housing, “And here at the library is more on the art and culture side,”

Kunk joined the organization because he wanted to become more involved in the community, he said.

Because of his busy student schedule, the library’s operating hours are limited and open only for specific projects.

Kunk said the library is open to the entire Richmond community, particularly elementary and college students.

Kunk plans to create an after school reading program for elementary school-age students. He also hopes the library will be an extra resource for college students who are involved in religious studies, intercultural and international studies programs.

The library will also be home to another community program, AGW’s lecture series.

“We don’t want to leave anyone out,” Kunk said.

AGW’s Lecture Series

The purpose of the lecture series, said Robinson, is to expose individuals in the Richmond Community to issues and topics that they might not have ever thought about. Besides the library, Robinson points to AGW’s lecture series as an excellent community resource.

Past lecturers included: Syngman Rhee, the first Korean moderator of Presbyterian Churches USA, Cliff Edwards, professor of Philosophy and Religious Studies at VCU, and Jerome Jones, a Richmond artist who is gaining national acclaim for his diverse artwork.

The Nexus Program

The Nexus program ia AGW’s final component.  The goal of the Nexus Program is to help low-income tenets move from being renters to becoming homeowners. The program also provides ”rap around” services once stable housing obtained.

“The Nexus Program has recognized that in order for a person to be healthy and in order for a person to have long term housing and stability they need to also have a supporting structure,” said Tedamy, AGW’s executive director, “and the Nexus program has conceptualized what that structure is going to look like.”

Rap around services include helping participants with financial literacy, job training skills, obtaining affordable health care, educational support, and in some cases, psychological support.

AGW’s board members consist of several licensed social workers and a real estate agent/broker, all of whom are aware of the housing needs of the community. Hence, Tedamy and fellow board members are crafting the program to identify the population they want to work with.

The Nexus program has partnered with Richmond Housing Opportunities Inc. which renovates and owns houses in the Church Hill area.

Several low-income residents now rent many of the newly renovated houses, none of them however, are buying the homes, said Robinson.
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Data from the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act

According to the VA 2008 data collected by HMDA, only 10 percent of African-Americans who earned incomes of $25,000 or less actually applied for housing-related loans. This is the low-income group targeted by the Nexus program.  (Click on Chart)

This brings up two interesting questions: how important is homeownership to African-Americans who earn $25,000 or less, and is home ownership a priority for them? Hence, in order for AGW’s Nexus program to meet its goal of helping individuals move from being renters to becoming homeowners, it must first educate them in the benefits of home ownership.

The data also showed that 47 percent of home-related loan applications submitted by African-Americans were denied.  In comparison to White-Americans, who had a 25 percent loan denial rate, denial of housing-related loans to African-Americans was almost double that of White-Americans. (Click on Chart)

In conclusion, an analysis of the data reveal two important challenges facing the Nexus program:
1. Convincing low-income earners to seek home ownership.
2. Helping potential low-income homeowners prepare for the application process to increase the chances of their loans being approved.
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AGW’s Adopted Community Clean-up Program

In support of its Nexus program, AGW has adopted the area in Church Hill where many of the renovations are taking place. Once a month, community volunteers go into the adopted neighborhoods and pick up trash, clear debris, and remove abandoned furniture. This community effort encompasses AGW’s community clean-up program.

The City of Richmond provides the bags for cleanup, the picker-uppers (instruments used to pick up trash) and sends a truck to remove big piles of debris or furniture when requested by the organization, said Robinson.

AGW’s ultimate goal, Robinson said “is to make sure that this community is well respected and being developed from the inside out rather then from the outside in.”

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Nerd Box

 The data for this report came from the HMDA and was released in 2008.

The data was analyzed using both Microsoft Access and Excel.

The charts were created using Many Eyes
www.many-eyes.com

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By Randy Davis

Last year, almost half of the traffic deaths in Richmond were alcohol-related, according to the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles. This year, three concerned citizens are doing their part to lower that statistic.

Jim Porter, founder of To The Bottom and Back, Carter Hill, state coordinator for Mothers Against Drunk Driving chapters throughout Virginia and Sgt. David Galyon of the Richmond Police Department have all found creative ways to tackle this nationwide problem.
 

2BNB – A New Way to Visit the Shockoe Bottom

In 2007, Porter was driving to his son’s high school graduation in West Virginia when he was hit by an individual driving under the influence of drugs. Porter suffered injuries to both his shoulder and back.

In August 2009, Porter created a shuttle service to provide Richmonders and tourists a safe way to get around the city without the hassle of finding scarce parking spots and having to pay exuberant fees. In the process, he also hopes to curb DUI and DUI-related incidents.

To The Bottom and Back is a free shuttle service that operates Thursdays and Fridays from 6 p.m. to 3 a.m., Saturday from noon to 3 a.m. and Sunday 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. The company is funded through donations and advertising, Porter said.  
 

Its route begins at Ellwood Thompson’s parking lot in Carytown. The shuttle then travels east on Cary Street, makes a loop at the Farmer’s Market in Richmond’s Shockoe Bottom and returns west on Main Street back to Ellwood Thompson’s.  

With his company, Porter hopes to accomplish two missions.

“I want people to move around Richmond and enjoy the city,” he said, “I also want people to learn not to drink and drive.”

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MADD Encourages DUI Arrests

Hill, 55, is a volunteer for MADD. His 20-year-old son was killed in 1997 while riding with an impaired driver.

Hill said Porter has good intentions but a flawed strategy.

“He’s taking people to the bottom and returning them to a parking lot for them to drive away impaired,” he said
Hill believes that for DUI programs to work, people must not get behind the wheel of their cars intoxicated.

When asked what MADD is doing to curb DUI-related crashes, Hill said that for the month of September, MADD conducted law enforcement award ceremonies across Virginia. MADD gave awards to law enforcement officers for DUI arrests or DUI education. He believes that education is critical to the prevention of DUI-related crashes.

“Education is a big, big factor in this whole equation. Locking people up is one way to educate them because now they have to go thorough a program called ASAP – Alcohol Safety Action Program,” Hill said, “Once they go through that program it tends to education them a little more and make them a little more aware of the whole entire issue.”    

Education is Key

Galyon is approaching education from a different angle. He is involved in educating police officers not only in Richmond but across the state.

Galyon, a seven-year veteran of the Richmond Police Department, is on the Governor’s task force for DUIs and is the leading DUI instructor for Virginia.

His approach to curbing Richmond’s DUI-related crashes involves educating law enforcement officers.

In Richmond, police recruits go through a one-week, 40-hour training program for DUI enforcement while in the police academy. Veteran officers must attend eight hours of refresher DUI training yearly. And lastly, high-performance DUI officers attend a two day course that qualifies them as DUI technicians, he said.

A DUI technician is on every shift. This officer assists fellow officers with their DUI arrests and acts as a breathalyzer operator.   

“In 2003, Richmond made 85 DUI arrests. This year we made approximately 600 DUI arrests. In each phase of training we put out, within 30 days we see a 10 percent increase in DUI enforcement each month that we send out a new group,” he said.

Experts say prevention, education and enforcement all are important in reducing DUIs in Central Virginia.

DUI Statistics

In 2008, in the 21 cities and counties that make up the Richmond metro area, there were 160 traffic fatalities, according to the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles. Of the deaths, 74-or 46 percent-were caused by DUI.

In Gloucester County, for example, alcohol was a factor in nine of the 12 traffic fatalities last year (click on chart to enlarge).

Visit Google Docs to view data…

If Porter, Hill and Galyon have their way, the area’s roads and highways will be much safer in years to come.

U.S. Theatrical Release Poster

“Fevela Rising” is a 2005 documentary by American directors Jeff Zimbalist and Matt Mochary. The film focuses on the life and work of Anderson Sa, a former drug trafficker who established the grassroots movement Afro Reggae.

By Randy Davis 

In 1993, Anderson Sa created the group, Grupo Cultural AfroReggae – GCAR (AfroReggae Cultural Group) out of his desire to counteract the violent drug industry and police oppression which existed in the Vigario Geral favela in Rio De Janeiro.

In its early stages, GCAR intended to attract adolescents interested in a number of musical genres which included soul, rap, hip-hop and reggae. The group offered a different kind of education to the youth it attracted. 

In the film, this education focused on dance and percussion.

The film portrays GCAR as functioning on the premise that through education – via its workshops – the likelihood of the favela’s youth getting caught up in drugs and gang violence would be diminished.    

Although formally regarded as a documentary, many of the formal characteristics of the film do not conform to the traditional documentary approach wherein life and real life events are presented as realistically as possible.

For example, the film begins with the image of a kite in motion. Initially the kite appears in animation until the camera reveals a flesh and blood boy manipulating the kite by its sting. The image of a child flying a kite is presented several times throughout the film. This first image of a kite in flight adds a surreal dimension to the film.

Surrealism is an artistic device not generally utilized in documentary filmmaking. Hence, this first image clues the viewer in that this documentary will be ‘atypical’.

Other formal characteristics of the film that do not conform to the traditional documentary approach include close-ups of  Sa and Junior who are the film’s two main characters.

Sa’s face in particular is framed in extreme close-ups. The effect is that the viewer is made to feel apart of Sa’s inner world. The viewer shares Sa’s feelings and emotions as he narrates the story of the AfroReggae movement.

Slow motion is also used throughout the film and adds to its surrealistic dimension. Slow motion is a reflexive device used to alert viewers that they are in fact watching a film. In essence, reflexive devices suspend the ‘suspension of disbelief’.  

There are, however, many formal characteristics in this documentary that do conform with the traditional approach to documentary filmmaking.

The first is film footage of actual events occurring in real-time. In an interview, Jeff Zimbalist stated that he and co-director Matt Mochary had instructed youth from AfroReggae and a group called Nos do Cinema in the use of their DV equipment and had left cameras with the children when they returned to New York.

“What was achieved was unique access to some of the more violent episodes of the favela and some of the most visceral and authentic scenes in the film,” Zimbalist said (in his director’s statement).

This authentic film footage which includes raids, brutality and corruption by the police gives the audience a realistic view of life in one of Rio De Janeiro’s most violent favelas rarely seen by outsiders.     

A second formal characteristic of the film that conforms to the traditional approach to documentary filmmaking is an example of ‘cinema verite’.

‘Cinema verite’ occurs when unexpected events take place during filmmaking that the filmmaker does not expect or plan. This occurred when Zimbalist found himself rushing to the hospital after receiving a call that Sa had had a freak accident and was paralyzed for the neck down. When he arrived at the hospital’s emergency room he found Sa in full body traction.

“In a faint whisper, Anderson told us to film him. He told us this was the truth, this was part of his story. Just as suddenly as a man finds himself unable to move below his neck, Matt and my film had unexpectedly shifted. What had started as a more general investigation into the AfroReggae movement and the horrors of the favela had become the story of one man’s fight to overcome,” Zimbalist said (in his directors statement).
 
Up to this point in the documentary, the film had centered on AfroReggae’s attempt to use music as an instrument of change. With Sa’s accident, the film had become concerned with the strength of the human spirit to overcome adversity. This is an example of ‘cinema verite’ at its best.

It is also important to note at this point, what was not included in the film. Rio De Janeiro is known throughout the world for its ‘Carnival’ and its popular dance the Samba. Yet these two popular elements of Brazilian culture are not shown in this documentary. In addition, the celebrated beaches of Rio De Janeiro also do not appear in the film. And lastly, the  well-known statue of ‘Christ the Redeemer’ that stands atop Corcovado mountain looking over Rio De Janeiro with outstretched arms appears only as a memorial in the film. 

While the film demonstrated that many of the favela’s youths were positively influence by the movement, an important question still lingers: did music really changed the youth? This question can only be answered by follow-up research. It would be interesting to ascertain if the youths who participated in the AfroReggae workshops remained drug and crime free into their later teens. The film left this question unanswered.

What the film successfully conveyed was the triumph of the spirit as exemplified in Sa’s use of his strength of will in recovering from his paralysis to continue his leadership role in the AfroReggae movement. 

In essence, the directors’ combined use of both surrealistic and realistic film aesthetics serve to alert the audience that they are not watching a ‘typical’ documentary.

In summary, just as the film depicts Rio De Janeiro’s Vigario Geral favela along with all its other favelas as existing on the periphery of the city proper; so does the absence of its Carnival, the samba and beautiful beaches from the film, convey to the audience that they are viewing events and living conditions also existing on that periphery. Events and living conditions which are on the periphery of those lovely post cards showing ‘Christ the Redeemer’ looking over a beautiful and tranquil Rio De Janeiro.

Hollywood Cemetery, located at 412 S. Cherry St., is not just a resting place for some of Virginia’s most notable figures; it has also become one of Richmond’s most popular tourist spots.

By Miguel Souza and Randy Davis

Jenifer Darcy, 30, guides her friend Dr. Lauren Sawchyn carefully through the cemetery quietly describing the history of the place. She explains that she enjoys bringing her friends to the cemetery.

“Typically, we go to the pyramid that’s over there and then I usually bring people around to presidents’ circle,” she said.

Dr. Lauren Sawchyn looked ecstatic as she stood gazing out over Richmond’s skyline.

“I like looking out over the James River and seeing all the beautiful sculptures over the grounds,” she said.

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Hollywood Cemetery has different meanings for different people. Click on our podcast to find out how history, recreation and ghosts are a part of this tourist spot.

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Hollywood cemetery’s first burial took place in 1849. However, it was not until 1858 when President James Monroe’s remains were reinterred at the cemetery, that it became a popular tourist spot.

There are many reasons that tourists come to visit the cemetery.

Emily King, 73, stated that she brought Grant Mosley and his son Kurt to the cemetery because they were interested in civil war history and were looking for ancestors.

Grant Mosley, 56, said that he and his son basically came as tourists.

“We came to sight-see and visit some special graves and to see the confederate cemetery,” he said.

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Take a visual tour of Hollywood Cemetery and its history. Presidents, artists and many famous people are among its occupants. Click on photo.

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The Hollywood Cemetery is the final resting place of 18,000 confederate enlisted men as well as two presidents: James Monroe and John Tyler, in addition to Jefferson Davis who was president of the confederacy.

The remains of six Virginia governors have also found their final resting place in the cemetery.  

Other notables include: General James Ewell Brown “Jeb” Stuart who is a famous Confederate Calvary commander, Major Lewis Ginter who made his fortune in the tobacco industry and was the builder of The Jefferson Hotel, and Mary Branch Munford who established Virginia’s public school system.

The cemetery consist of 135 acres and would be nearly impossible to cover on foot. David Hodnett, 27, said he was interested in the cemetery for its historical value and that he wanted to learn about Virginia. He and four friends were touring the cemetery on their bicycles.

“Our intentions were to ride through here and take it in for a few hours… its such a big area it’s hard to cover everything on foot. It’s much more convenient and leisurely I guess on the bicycle,” he said.

In the end, Hollywood cemetery appears to an exciting place for the living as well as resting place for the dead.

By Randy Davis

Looking as if he were recalling a pleasant event in his life, Rabbi Yosef Bart became ecstatic as he explained why he became an educator.

“I always enjoyed studying Jewish text and found it very rewarding both intellectually and spiritually,” he said reflectively, “But when I first had the opportunity to do some teaching, I found that there was in addition to the joy of studying, there was like an added layer of presenting the material to someone else and making it understandable and appealing to them, which was something special.

Rabbi Bart’s Biography

Bart, 41, is the assistant principal at the Rudlin Torah Academy. He also teaches courses in Jewish studies at the Yeshiva of Virginia, the boys’ high school division of the academy.

Bart attended Yeshiva University where he received both a bachelor’s degree in accounting and his rabbinical ordination. He received his master’s degree in education from the Azrieli Institute of Jewish Education.

He first joined the faculty of Rudlin Torah Academy in 1998, where he taught for three years while serving as a pulpit Rabbi of Young Israel of Richmond.    

During a two-year hiatus, Bart taught Judaic studies at the Robert M. Beren Academy in Houston. He rejoined the Rudlin Torah Academy and the Yeshiva of Virginia as assistant principal and instructor of Jewish studies in 2003.

Importance of a Jewish Education

Although Bart is an orthodox Jew and belongs to the orthodox congregation of Keneseth Beth Israel, he said that the Rudlin Torah Academy is for the entire Jewish community and accepts students from every denomination and non-denomination.

“We’re for all the Jews in town,” he said.

Bart became passionate when discussing his feelings in regards to the importance of a Jewish education for Jewish children.

The result of a strong Jewish education is that children are not only proud to be a Jew, but also learn what it means as they gain a strong sense of Jewish identity and knowledge, he added.

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To listen to Rabbis Bart’s views on the importance of a Jewish education, click podcast.

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Academics at Rudlin Torah Academy
 
In addition to traditional academic subjects such as English, math and history, etc, the Rudlin Torah Academy has a Jewish curriculum which begins in kindergarten where children begin learning the Hebrew alphabet, said Bart. 

In first grade, children begin reading in Hebrew and are expanding their Hebrew vocabulary; and in second grade they begin translating from a text, he said.

At the academy, boys and girls in kindergarten through eighth grades attend co-ed classes. However, at the high school level, beginning with the ninth grade, boys and girls attend separate schools within the academy: the Shaarei Torah for girls and the Yeshiva of Virginia, a boarding school for boys. 

At the Yeshiva of Virginia for example, classes begin at 7:15 and end after 6 p.m. Thirty boys attend the boarding school.

“The school has a rigorous program of academic study and Jewish study scholarship,” said Rabbi Hal Klestzick in a video produced for the Richmond Times-Dispatch.  

The Jewish studies curriculum consists of instruction in the Hebrew language. Then there is biblical studies where biblical text is studied verse by verse in the original Hebrew. Bart said that students learn the commentaries and an in-depth analysis of the verses. There is also the study of the Talmud, which is basically Jewish case law, he said. 

Not all Jewish parents send their children to the high school divisions of the academy. Several students attend kindergarten through eighth grade and then go to secular high schools. But the trend is that more and more parents are sending their children to the high school divisions, Bart said.

The Alternative – After School Programs

However, some Jewish parents do not feel the necessity of sending their children to Jewish schools at all. Many Jewish children attend secular public or private schools.

David Farris, who converted to Judaism from Christianity and belongs to the reform Congregation Or Ami said that a Jewish education was important to Orthodox Jews.

“The orthodox Jews are most interested in that because they have a much older kind of life style,” he said.

Many synagogues have their own Hebrew after schools and Sunday school programs, where Jewish children can receive instruction in Jewish studies.

“We have supplemental schools. We believe that as long as our kids are in a supplemental school and they are learning at home that they have met and that we have met their needs and we’ve prepared them properly,” said Russell Finer, executive director of the reform Congregation Beth Ahabah. 

A Warm Environment

Rabbi Bart however, is still enthusiastic in regards to teaching and the importance of a Jewish education for the development of a strong Jewish identity.

“We take kids from all different temperaments and knowledge bases and backgrounds and they blend together here to [form] a beautiful and harmonious mix,” he said. 

Bart became animated as he described the learning environment of the Rudlin Torah Academy.

“It is a warm environment. The children are nurtured here. Again, the small class size is a big plus. The teachers are not just outstanding teachers but they are outstanding people who love kids and are amazing with them,” he said smiling, “It’s a wonderful place to teach and be a part of.”

A third generation Reform Jew, Rabbi Romer leads his congregation in the practice of “radical welcoming,” as a means to create community. 

By Randy Davis

Of Richmond’s seven synagogues, Congregation Or Ami, lead by the Rabbi Ben Romer, is the most liberal.

When asked to give a definition of Reform Judaism, Romer, 57, described it as, “the most egalitarian, the most inclusive and some would say the most liberal ….,” he said.

Radical Welcoming

In the Congregation Or Ami, more than 50 percent of the married couples are in interfaith marriages, whereas one partner is a Jew and the other is not. The congregation also accepts children as Jewish whose father is a Jew, but whose mother is not. This is one of the many differences between Reform Judaism and other denominations of Judaism such as the Orthodox denomination.

The congregation also accepts same sex couples. There is at least one gay and three lesbian couples in the congregation all of whom have children and have formed families. 

“We work on, ‘radical welcoming’ to create community, that is, we care about people,” Romer said.

A Trailblazing Congregation

In addition, the congregation allows women to be involved in full governance. In fact two female Rabbis preceded Romer.

“The congregation has really been a trailblazer in that sense. Early on they recognized that women have the same full liturgical and governance rights in our movement,” he said.

Romer was the spiritual leader of congregations in North Caroline, South Carolina, Indiana and Florida before coming to Congregation Or Ami – a break away congregation of the much older Congregation Beth Ahabah, which is located in Richmond’s West End.

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Would you like to visit Congregation Beth Ahabah’s museum and archives? Take a tour with Executive Director David Farris as he tells the history of Jewish Richmond through its many famous families. (Click on Photo)

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A Different Style of Reform

Referring to Congregation Beth Ahabah, Romer said that both congregations practice Reform Judaism, but very different styles of reform.

Russell Finer, executive director of Congregation Beth Ahabah describes how Romer’s congregation differs from his.

“They’re less structured and less formal then we are, both in their style and approach to both, worship, study and Judaism in general,” Finer said.

“There would not be as many Reform Jews if we both didn’t exist,” Romer said.

David Farris, who converted to Judaism in 2000, expressed why he is a member to Congregation Or Ami.

“I like the friendliness of it and the creativeness of the worship style… To this day they write their own services. They don’t have any prayer books or hymn books or anything like that. When you go out there for a service on Friday nights, they give you a bunch of Xeroxed pages stapled together and it works very well,” he said.

In Congregation Or Ami, the people are more receptive to, “creative styles of worship,” Romer said. For example, a paperless service was recently held, whereas the service was projected on the wall.

Another difference between the reform and the orthodox and conservative denominations is the amount of English used in worship. Reform Judaism uses a greater amount of English in their services, Romer said.

Other Jewish Denominations

In Richmond, four major Jewish denominations are represented. They include orthodox, reform, conservative and what is referred to as Chabad-Lubavitch, said Rabbi Yosef Bart, an Orthodox Jew and educator at the Rudlin Torah Academy.

Bart has a more traditional view of Judaism.

“Judaism doesn’t change because times change,” he said.

Bart believes that God does not change his mind. God gives laws which can be explained but not changed, he said.

The interpretation of the law is the main difference between the different denominations of Judaism, said Matthew Langsam, a Conservative Jew and assistant executive director of the Jewish Community Federation of Richmond. 

In Richmond, there are two reform synagogues, two conservative, two orthodox and Chabad of Virginia, which is an ultra-orthodox denomination, said Sarah Rosenbaum who works in the development fund raising and outreach section of the Jewish Community Federation of Richmond.    

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How do the Jewish denominations represented in Richmond differ? Listen to our podcast with Jack D. Spiro, Harry Lyons Distinguished Chair of Judaic Culture at Virginia Commonwealth University.

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Still a Cohesive Religion

“Where we come together is that we all believe in Abrahamic law. We all believe in the Ten Commandments. We all believe in the basic tenets of Judaism,” Langsam said.

“The bottom line,” Romer said, “it’s all about connecting spiritually.”

The Congregation Or Ami is located at 9400 Huguenot Road.

By Randy Davis

Abigail Adams beamed as she looked over the large crowd of people “We raised over $50,000 today and it all goes to research. That’s about $5,000 more then last year; considering the economy, I think that’s pretty good,” she said still smiling.   

The Foundation Fighting Blindness, Inc. sponsored the Annual Richmond VisionWalk on Saturday at the Short Pump Town Center. VisionWalk is the national signature fundraising event of the foundation.

Adams, the event’s manager for the foundation, organized the fund raising event this year. She estimated more than 300 people participated in the 3.1 mile walk. That number included 50 volunteers and 250 walkers, she said.

Foundation Fighting Blindness funds research

In addition to the annual walk, the foundation has sponsored galas, wine events, golf tournaments and dinners to raise money.

“Our dinners have raised between $250,000 and $300,000; since its inception in 1971, the foundation has raised over $350 million,” Adams said.  

A fact sheet she handed out to walkers stated that the Foundation’s urgent mission is to drive research that will provide preventions, treatments and cures for people affected by the entire spectrum of retinal degenerative diseases.

The foundation, headquartered in Owings Mills, MD, has funded thousands of research studies at hundreds of prominent institutions worldwide. Currently, it funds 137 grants at 59 institutions, according to its fact sheet.

Walkers raise funds

“The research is important to help prevent vision loss,” said Dawn Peifer whose daughter Kimberly is affected by a retinal degenerative disease. Peifer belonged to a team of walkers who solicited donations to help support the foundation’s research.

“The walkers raise funds by sending e-mails to their families and friends asking for donations,” Adams said. 

Volunteers lend a hand

Rana Rasheed, a salesperson at Kohl’s department store, stood at a table handing out T-shirts.

“Each store sends five volunteers and donates $500 to the foundation,” he said.

“’Kohl’s Cares for Kids’ programs supports many fund raising events involving children,” Mary Warren, another Kohl’s employee and volunteer said. 

Cathy Foldesi, Richmond regional coordinator for the Guiding Eyes for the Blind’s puppy raising program, stood at her table with a German Sheppard puppy. Foldesi and other volunteers handed out literature from her organization.

“This has been a great event, we had a really good turnout,” she said empathically. 

Malina Scott stated that she found out about the annual walk on the Web, “I signed us up that way,” she said. Scott and 12 additional volunteers belong to the Sigma Omega Phi Fraternity, a social fraternal organization for dominate lesbian women.

“This is our first year, but we’re coming back,” she said.

A great turnout

When asked if she was pleased with this year’s walk, Adams gazed into the crowd.

“Oh my God, I’m more then pleased. I’m ecstatic,” she said, “this is one of the best walks we’ve ever had.”