VACU Awards First Annual Youth Advancement Grant

Virginia Credit Union awarded $15,000, as part of their first annual Youth Advancement Grant, to Church Hill Activities & Tutoring (CHAT) at its Non-profit Appreciation Breakfast and Roundtable Discussion this morning.

“The grant funding provided by Virginia Credit Union will directly support CHAT’s workforce development efforts through our Work Leadership Institute” said Jackie Griggs, Director of Development for CHAT. “With the right vocational and educational opportunities and support services, our youth will be empowered to break the cycle of poverty and have the opportunity to pursue meaningful employment and success in higher education in our community as young adults and beyond.”

“Virginia Credit Union’s Youth Advancement Grant was created to help an organization that is making a substantial difference in the lives of under-served students in the city of Richmond,” says Todd Feldman, Chief Marketing Officer at Virginia Credit Union. “We know that many youth in the city of Richmond have unique challenges and we want to partner with an organization to help meet these challenges head on.” 

The credit union identified an opportunity to help by developing a grant to award to a well-established (5 years in existence) non-profit, helping to empower Richmond youth through a work-force development program. “We also want to partner with this organization to help further their mission and provide financial education to the youth they serve,” said Cherry Dale, Financial Education Director at Virginia Credit Union.  

CHAT serves the youth of East End Richmond and equips them with the heart, head, and hands to make transformative life decisions. CHAT’s workforce development program includes three businesses that create job opportunities to prepare youth for future financial success. These businesses include the Front Porch Cafe, a cafe that employs youth and graduates from high schools in the community. CHAT also employs and trains high school students through Nehemiah’s Workshop, a woodshop that produces products for local individuals and businesses. Finally, the screen printing business, On Point Prints, employs high schoolers to print t-shirts, sweaters, bags, and more, to be sold in the cafe along with made to order purchases for groups.

“We are so pleased to award the Youth Advancement Grant to CHAT to be able to both substantially invest in their workforce development efforts and to provide financial education to the community youth involved in the program to help them on their path to financial success,” said Dale. “We’re looking forward to continuing to show our appreciation and support to the many non-profits who do so much hard work to help the youth in our community in the years to come.” 

A financial cooperative serving more than 265,000 members, Virginia Credit Union offers a variety of affordable banking services, loans, mortgages, and free financial education resources, with a focus on helping people be more confident with their finances. Virginia Credit Union is an equal housing opportunity lender and is federally insured by NCUA.