After receiving news that his wife was in remission from cancer, antique car enthusiast Mike Baldauf wanted to give back to UVA Cancer Center, the very place that helped save her life. He organized the Virginia Festival of the Wheel, a three-day gathering for vintage and classic car-lovers, the proceeds of which return to the cancer center to help patients deal with the financial burden of treatment.
While ax throwing has grown increasingly popular in recent years, it has long been part of the world of lumbersports. In April, Devils Backbone brought lumbersports back to the Charlottesville area with its second Lumberjack Classic, during which 24 lumberjacks and 12 lumberjills from across the country used razor-sharp axes and saws to compete for cash prizes in nearly a dozen events, including standing chop, hot saw, and springboard. The free family-friendly event also featured chainsaw demos, food stands, and—of course—plenty of beer on tap.
After having multiple traumatic experiences with the local mental health care system, activist Myra Anderson founded Brave Souls on Fire in 2015, creating a supportive and affirming space for Black individuals with mental health conditions. In addition to discussing the impact that systemic racism, cultural stigma, and other issues have on Black mental health, the grassroots organization provides free one-on-one and group peer support, as well as advocates for funding for Black-led organizations and spaces dedicated to Black wellness.
Access to public transportation is a cornerstone of a healthy community. But for those for whom travel-by-CAT is difficult, Jaunt fills in the gaps—and has since 1975. The curb-to-curb demand-response (i.e. not a fixed route) is $1.50 each way, but those with disabilities ride free.
When Edgar Lara moved to Charlottesville 10 years ago, he soon learned two things. One, the Latinx community was isolated. Two, a tiny, brand new local organization, Sin Barreras, was on a mission to change that.
Lara, now the organization’s executive director, first connected with Sin Barreras and founder Fanny Smedile at its flagship event, Cville Sabroso. There, he discovered the like-minded Latin American community members he’d been seeking.
“In getting to know Charlottesville, I didn’t see the community I came from,” Lara says. “The people I would meet, they didn’t understand me. The microaggressions—it was constant, and it made me feel like, ‘Wow, you have no idea.’”
Smedile herself moved to Charlottesville in 2000 and felt much as Lara did 12 years later. An immigrant from Ecuador, she had taken it upon herself to make changes in her first U.S. home of New Jersey. She brought the same outlook to C’ville. Working mostly through her church at the time, she frequently gave out her cell phone number to Latin American people new to the area and others who she thought she could personally help make their way.
Smedile founded Sin Barreras officially in 2012. It was a 100 percent volunteer agency for roughly its first four years. Smedile and her small group of volunteers built on the work she had done connecting folks with resources—be it food, interpretation, or legal support—for more than a decade.
The organization grew in response to need. Sin Barreras applied for and obtained its first grant in 2015. The group’s volunteers built their budget further through grassroots fundraising and hired their first employee in 2016.
According to Lara, the first Sin Barreras hire didn’t work out. That’s when he decided he would pause his own career and take the position himself. The 2016 election only accelerated his plans to push the organization forward. The 2017 Unite the Right Rally pushed everyone even harder.
Today, Sin Barreras provides more comprehensive services to Spanish speakers and the immigrant community than it ever has before: social, legal, and health support; adult education programs; events like the annual Cville Sabroso; and community engagement. The education component is significant—Sin Barreras assists with primary and secondary schooling and helps folks obtain GEDs and complete leadership and tech training. The group doesn’t have lawyers on staff, but the organization can help those in need through its network of affiliated attorneys. Most recently, Sin Barreras began advocating for immigrant rights on a national level.
“We are there for people’s urgent needs first of all,” Lara says. “Our community has all kinds of different needs…every challenge you can imagine.”
Sin Barreras offers office hours Monday to Thursday from 2-7:30pm, and the organization still takes calls at the same phone number Smedile gave out as her personal cell years ago.
“This is a community that is taken advantage of. It happens constantly,” Lara says. “Everything we do is advocacy, raising voices, and empowering people.”
After giving birth to her daughter, artist and art teacher Sarah Sweet decided to get more serious about doing good for the future of the planet. She launched The Scrappy Elephant, a creative reuse art supply store in the winter of 2020, following an inspiring trip to Nashville’s Turnip Green (an organization with a similar mission). Since January 2021, the Palmyra shop has diverted more than 12,000 pounds of art and craft supplies from landfills—and inspired countless art projects with Sweet’s never-know-what-you’ll-find inventory. Bonus: Sweet just opened a Charlottesville shop, too.
When you’re ready to upgrade your downriver rambling, proceed directly to the James River Batteau Co. “This is the Cadillac tour of the James River,” Company co-founder Will Smith says. “If you want to float with a big bunch of friends, this is the most comfortable way to go.”
Batteaux (batteau’s Francofied plural) are flat-bottomed wooden boats designed in the late 1700s specifically for central Virginia’s unique rivers. The James River Batteau Co., founded earlier this year by Smith and buddy Will Cash, operates a 50 x 8-foot batteau outfitted with benches and chairs.
The nascent business offers two riverbound experiences: a midday float with a historical bent and a sunset cruise with charcuterie boards and live acoustic tunes. Clients are welcome to B their own B, while the James River Batteau team provides cups and ice along with those meats and cheeses.
Smith and Cash have been in batteaux since their youth, with Smith’s father having floated in the James River Batteau Festival for the first time in 1987, the year his son was born. The Batteau Co. founders’ experience makes them knowledgeable tour guides—and steady-handed batteaumen.
“You wouldn’t bring your grandmother tubing down the river, but we’ve had people up to 90 years old out there,” Smith said. “This is a pleasure, flatwater float, not an adrenaline experience.”
Courtney Commander and Tobiah Mundt are working on bringing a proper skating rink to Charlottesville, but until then, their occasional pop-up skate events (look for the group at Tonsler Park, and on Instagram for more info) have us rocking while we’re rolling, with a live DJ on site, plus food trucks and merch. Don’t skate? They give lessons. Don’t have skates? There’s some to rent. Let’s roll.
Playtime is essential to being a kid, and Little Planets—a company that creates nature-inspired pop-up play areas for local events and festivals, breweries like Champion and Brewing Tree, and private homes—wants to bring the fun. From fairy gardens to mud kitchens, Little Planets is serious about play (and, what’s more, giving parents a break from entertaining).
Breakfast is one of The Haven’s largest expenses, so Bellamy Shoffner coordinated the collection and donation of thousands of eggs and gallons of coffee for the Charlottesville day shelter.
Like crafting a pop-up children’s library at the Wildrock nature playscape in Crozet, or buying out a theater for free community showings of The Hate U Give, this was one of the many initiatives Shoffner has led in Charlottesville through her activism platform, Revolutionary Humans.
“I’ve learned that overall, the Charlottesville community is tight-knit, fiery, and selflessly committed to being and raising a generation of revolutionary citizens,” says Shoffner.
This summer, Revolutionary Humans is launching When We Gather, a virtual collective of parent activists helping each other avoid burnout while creating change.
The collective is the culmination of an activism career that began with Shoffner’s Hold the Line, a digital magazine exploring the intersection between parenthood and social justice.
Originally an effort to stand against hate, the publication connected Shoffner with friends and allies across Charlottesville.
“I didn’t expect a digital publication to turn into years-long relationships, but the strength of Revolutionary Humans supporters has made endless opportunities to evolve,” says Shoffner.
Like many Revolutionary Humans programs, Shoffner designed When We Gather so participants can fit activism into their family schedule. That’s why membership includes everything from a book club “paced for busy people,” to family-friendly activity ideas, to an annual virtual retreat for those who can’t get away from home.