Jefferson School City Center Receives Statewide Award For Exceptional Restoration Projects at Preservation Virginia Conference
The restoration of Charlottesville’s historic Jefferson School received one of two statewide community preservation awards from Preservation Virginia, the state’s premier historic preservation organization, at their annual conference in Roanoke, VA on October 21, 2013. Martin Burks, President of the Jefferson School Foundation, and Andrea Douglas, Executive Director of the African American Heritage Center, received the award.
On receiving news of the award Burks said, “The restoration of Jefferson School is something Charlottesville’s African American community worked toward for a very long time. We’re honored to receive this award and we thank Preservation Virginia for recognizing how much the restoration and re-opening of Jefferson means to our community and our entire city.”
The restoration of the school is the result of twenty years of advocacy and determination on the part of Jefferson School Alumni and committed citizens to save Charlottesville’s most important remaining African American civic landmark.
Jefferson School and Carver Recreation Center, located adjacent to Vinegar Hill neighborhood, served as the center of educational and recreational life for Charlottesville’s African American community for generations before falling into disrepair in the late 1990s. The building re-opened in December 2012 as Jefferson School City Center (JSCC). It houses a collaborative team of tenants that include the Jefferson School African American Heritage Center, Carver Recreation Center, a YMCA Child Care Center, Piedmont Virginia Community College programs, Literacy Volunteers, Common Ground Healing Arts, a Martha Jefferson Hospital Clinic, the Women’s Initiative, Jefferson Area Board for Aging’s Mary Williams Senior Center and Vinegar Hill Café.
This is the second statewide award received for the restoration of Jefferson School City Center. In April 2013, the Virginia Downtown Development Association (VDDA) gave an Award of Excellence to the Charlottesville Redevelopment and Housing Authority for their role in assisting with the restoration. According to the VDDA, “The Annual Awards of Excellence program recognizes and encourages excellence in historic downtown revitalization throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia.”
Literacy Volunteers Receives Challenge Grant, Celebrates by Serving Pancakes
Literacy Volunteers will launch its 30th birthday celebration with a Pancake Party at Vinegar Hill Cafe on Saturday from 8 am until noon. The event, part of Vinegar Hill Cafe’s pancake fundraiser series, will kick-off Literacy Volunteers’ “30 for 30” Campaign, which encourages new donors to give $30, continuing donors to add $30 their current contribution level, and supporters to start social media fundraising campaigns through the website.
LVCA just learned that the Perry Foundation has offered a matching grant of up to $15,000 toward the costs of technology for Literacy Volunteers. LVCA is trying to raise the matching $15,000 by December 1. “We think raising $30,000 would be a terrific way to celebrate our 30th birthday!” Executive Director Ellen Osborne said. “This grant will help us reach more students through additional computers, new language-learning software, and other technology infrastructure.” In the last 30 years, Literacy Volunteers’ tutors have helped thousands of students gain the literacy skills they need to improve their lives.
Saturday’s celebration will feature a pancake buffet, complete with toppings and bacon, along with birthday favors, a video booth, and a raffle sponsored by New Dominion Bookshop. Pancake tickets are $8.00 and available at the door. LVCA and the Vinegar Hill Cafe split the profits.
Yin Yoga Workshop Tonight at Common Ground Healing Arts
Tonight (Friday, October 25) from 6 to 8 pm Common Ground will host a workshop on Yin Yoga, which is considered an inward practice that can be used to build awareness of the body, encourage a sense of non-attachment, and move towards inner contentment. It complements Yang styles of yoga like vinyasa, ashtanga, power yoga, which help muscles stretch and move. In a Yin Yoga practice, the focus is on the connective tissue and joints, rather than the main bulk of the muscle.
Leading the workshop is Sue Bovenizer, a natural health therapist, bringing an eclectic array of modalities to her therapy practice. Having been trained and certified in aromatherapy and classical massage techniques in England in the 80′s, Sue returned to America in the early 90′s to become a certified advanced cranio-sacral therapist with Upledger Institute. Other modalities she offers in her practice include Somato-Emotional Release work, Visceral Manipulation, Infant and Pediatric CST, Instructional TMJ Release work and Reiki (Master level). As a certified Integral Yoga teacher, Sue offers restorative yoga training individually and in classes.
The class costs $30 and participants can register online. Funds raised through these workshops enable Common Ground to offer many healing arts opportunities on a sliding scale.
Jefferson School City Center is a voice of the nine nonprofits located at Charlottesville’s intergenerational community center, the restored Jefferson School. We are a legacy preserved . . . a soul reborn . . . in the heart of Cville!
