Mary Lou dedicated her life to be a voice and champion for the disenfranchised. She held positions with various local government entities, non-profit agencies, and was the founding organizer of the Richmond Coalition for a Living Wage. This coalition succeeded in persuading the City of Richmond to pay a living wage to all city and school direct employees. This accomplishment earned her the moniker, “The Living Wage Lady”.

Mary Lou’s legacy and biggest accomplishment is her vision for the Greater Fulton community to own a place where neighbors work together to reach their personal and community goals. Our Neighborhood Resource Center is that place. The NRC strengthens individuals and communities by providing opportunities for neighbors to build relationships, access resources, and develop the skills to enhance their lives and determine the fate of the community.

While we are sad to have lost our champion, we rejoice in the knowledge that, through the NRC’s continued commitment to empower and support the Greater Fulton community, she lives on in each of us.
Please join us at the NRC on Saturday, January 7, 2012, from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m., as we celebrate the life of our own Mary Lou Decossaux. In lieu of flowers please make a donation to the Neighborhood Resource Center.

Neighborhood Resource Center
1519 Williamsburg Road
Richmond, VA 23231
www.nrccafe.org (804)864-5797

PHOTO CREDIT: BRUCE PARKER/TIMES-DISPATCH

The program participant works in the kitchen with our Chef Blue, Monday through Thursday, washing dishes and cleaning up from the meals and cooking classes we offer local children in our afterschool program. We reserve Fridays for job reflection and training.

Under the program, the assistant’s job training covers all of the topics outlined in the United States Department of Labor’s Work Readiness Assessment, including:

• Taking initiative
• Quality of work
• Communication skills
• Response to supervision

Additionally, the assistant’s goal is to become fully trained to work in a commercial kitchen. The assistant works to receive a ServSafe® certificate to verify knowledge of food safety, cleaning and sanitation, according to standards set by the National Restaurant Association. This certification can be used in future employment opportunities to demonstrate commercial-kitchen work readiness.

The NRC is looking to expand this program into the school year, providing youth employment and job-training year round.

On June 9, NRC Youth members unveiled their first Farm Stand at our community center made from a donated tent, handmade signs colored with markers and folding tables. Upon setting up shop, they offered the following boxes of bright, fresh produce for sale to the neighborhood:

• Carrots
• Collard greens
• Eggplant
• Cucumbers
• Cabbage
• Lettuce
• Squash

All of the produce was beautiful and affordably priced, with a suggested donation of $1 for a bunch of carrots or head of cabbage, and $2 for several summer squash. And, as soon as the stand opened, the children experienced a highly successful start, serving up customers that included neighbors and parents, alike.

The Farm Stand project has been in the works since early spring 2011, when Shalom Farms came to the NRC with a proposal to partner in a youth-led farm stand. Their idea was that if NRC youth would set up and run a farm stand, they would provide locally grown produce, free of chemicals or pesticides, for them to sell. Well, the idea was a big hit! And the youth have since been in charge of sorting, bagging and pricing produce; building the stand; making signs and handling sales. In the process, they are learning key business and economic aspects, including farming practices and details about produce, as well as how to start and run a business.

Additionally, all of The Farm Stand’s proceeds go right back into benefiting the NRC youth. At the end of the growing season, they will use the funds to engage in a cultural or educational event, or start a new NRC program of their choosing.

The Farm Stand is open every Thursday from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. until October. So, be sure to stop by the NRC for fresh, local and delicious produce!

On June 4, Greater Fulton came together to celebrate the great work from community members who have been planting the seeds of Greater Fulton’s Future. This celebration brought out the excitement from local churches and community centers, and engaged the community for an enriching day of education, outreach and fun. We gathered at Powhatan Hill Park on Williamsburg Road and celebrated by sharing with residents the work that community members have already started, while also unveiling the vision to shape Greater Fulton’s Future. And to top off the celebration, we enjoyed live music, games for the kids, food, and face painting.

The celebration followed-up from ongoing meetings between residents who have been gathering since September and working diligently to craft a collaborative community vision agreement with community partner organizations, local representatives and city officials. As a result, seven work teams emerged from the community visioning process comprised of residents and community partners: Legacy, Economic Development, Education, Physical Infrastructure, Services, Housing, and Culture and Parks .

We are now moving into the initiative’s action phase, with many great projects in the pipeline. The following items are just a few of the many projects included in the Greater Fulton’s Future plan:

• Compiling an Oral History Project
• Creating a Fulton Memorial Park
• Connecting Parks to Residential Spaces via walking trails
• Expanding the Neighborhood Watch Program
• Increasing Tutoring Programs in Partnership With Richmond Public Schools
• Organizing more Neighborhood Clean Ups and Beautification Days

For more information on the initiatives, please visit or call the Neighborhood Resource Center at (804) 864-5797, or email the NRC, today.

On Sunday, May 22nd from 12noon to 2pm, the Neighborhood Resource Center will be hosting an afternoon reception / open house as an opportunity for our friends and neighbors to introduce someone new to the NRC. So grab a friend and come on by…there will be yummy food cooked by the NRC after-school kids and plenty of volunteers on hand to give you a tour. Visit the Montessori Preschool, take a stroll through the Children’s Learning Garden, listen to a recent tune written and recorded in the NRC studio and learn about the NRC’s new community organizing initiative, Greater Fulton’s Future. We hope you’ll join us!

Organized labor has supported the NRC since the beginning….and they continue to ensure we have the resources needed to build a stronger community in Greater Fulton. Show your support by joining this year’s Organized Labor Poker Run on Saturday, May 21st. All proceeds benefit the NRC! learn more >

Long-time volunteer, sometimes staff member and devoted friend of the NRC, Karen Ress is preparing for a new life in Staunton, Virginia. I spoke to her about her experience at the NRC.

Karen: My husband and I moved to Fulton Hill in late 2003.  I was glad to get out of Jersey. My work life was very frustrating.  There was no flexibility on the job, no room for ideas.

Mary Lou: What brought you to the NRC?

Karen: I met you at a civic association meeting. The NRC was operating out of a small storefront on Williamsburg Road and you were looking for volunteers to help tutor GED students. Shortly after I started volunteering you all bought the old post office. As the walls were going up, there was talk about a tot library that would be the base for a Storytime and parent education program. My interest peaked and I got heavily involved in the library project, ordering and sorting books and reading to children. Over the years the program went through a lot of changes. Now, we have a Montessori Preschool, parent education nights and Storytime once a week for kids from the daycare across the street.

Mary Lou: Was it your work with preschool children and early literacy that kept you involved in the center for all these years?

Karen: I enjoyed Storytime and puttering in the tot library…When the preschool opened and needed help, I applied.  I was fascinated by the Montessori approach and a bit skeptical about how well it would work until I got into the classroom and saw the kids changing. I also enjoyed organizing special activities for the older kids in the afternoon…carving pumpkins and decorating Easter eggs. In the early days, when staff were rare, I even filled in for you in the office when you had to go to meetings. I’ve learned a lot about what my abilities are.

Mary Lou: I remember the day you donated your carport to the center.  We found a willing church group and all of us together carried that thing from your house, through the neighborhood to the center!  There were brick-making days in garden, art auctions and Hotel X events…Other than incredibly varied, how would you summarize your experience at the center?  What do think it’s meant to others?  What has it meant to you?

Karen: The NRC gave me the freedom to do things my way. My health is better. I’m a calmer & happier person. I developed a network of relationships through the NRC. It’s been the focal point of my life in Fulton. As far as the preschool, in my opinion, we had children that would have had a hard time integrating into elementary school. I think we helped quite a few make a smooth transition.  At one point, I transported one of our kids to Theatre 4 so she could participate in a musical; she did great.  This was a child who would have regular crying fits when she first started coming to the center. For a lot of kids, the center is their home away from home. The NRC has a really different way to organize community.  It’s about people coming in to do what they love—not what they have to do for a paycheck. For people thinking about volunteering, I would say come in.  Tell staff about your interests. They’ll listen and they’re flexible. Your involvement can take the shape you want it to. It’s been very difficult to walk away.

From all your friends at the NRC, much love and many thanks Karen.  All the best in your new community, they are lucky to have you.

8:30am to 11:30am
at Central Montessori ~ 323 North 20th Street

Besides heavenly pancakes–griddled to perfection from batter made by Lamplighter out of Relay Foods-donated ingredients–and fresh, locally roasted coffee from Lamplighter, the parent volunteers at Central will be serving up quite an event for you…music, activities for the small humans among us, a photo booth and raffle drawings every hour for 30 cool prizes:

-Gift certificates from 10 restaurants plus World of Mirth, Franklin Goose, and Dick’s Sporting Goods
-Original Shropshire Studios art
-Groovy things from the Library of Virginia gift shop
-Gift certificate and gift basket from Relay Foods
-Theatre IV tickets
-Children’s Museum membership
-Richmond Kickers tix and Little KICKS enrollment
-Family season pass to the Flying Squirrels–and a chance to throw the first pitch.

All pancakes are just $1.00

We hope to see you on Saturday for a great time, yummy food and good company…all to benefit the NRC Montessori Preschool!

Many thanks to Central Montessori School, Lamplighter and Relay Foods for sponsoring this event.