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.