The social media campaign, RVA Breastfeeds, has been launched to raise community support for breastfeeding mothers during World Breastfeeding Week, August 1 – 7. The campaign is sponsored by the Richmond Health Action Alliance, a coalition funded by the Virginia Foundation for Healthy Youth and administered by the Richmond Healthy Start Initiative, a division of Richmond Department of Social Services. The Richmond Health Action Alliance seeks to reduce childhood obesity through policy, infrastructure, and environmental changes that promote a breastfeeding-friendly and physically active community. During the campaign, life-sized cutouts of breastfeeding women and families that reflect the cultural diversity of Richmond will be strategically placed throughout the area. Other campaign components include community leaders serving as “Breastfeeding Champions,” the dissemination of breastfeeding facts, and peer-to-peer support in the form of tips for expecting and breastfeeding mothers. Loc...

Mayor Dwight Jones and Thomas Wilds, President of the Church Hill Association joined in opening 23rd Street between Grace and Franklin streets and marking the completion of the 23rd Street cobblestone restoration project today. The following are Mayor Jones prepared remarks. Good afternoon and thank you all for joining us here today. I would like to acknowledge Cynthia Newbille, the Richmond City Councilperson for the East End 7th District. Unfortunately, she is not able to join us today, but I want to point out that she has been a strong advocate for this restoration project. (Her liaison Sam Patterson will be at the event) Knowing her excitement for this area I am certain she would say - This is a great day in the City of Richmond and especially the East End as we mark the completion of the 23rd Street cobble restoration and officially re-open this street! I would like to thank our Department of Public Works, our contractors and sub-contractors for a job well done. And I would li...

Mayor Dwight C. Jones announced a new measure to advance transparency by launching the City's new Open Data Portal, accessible at data.richmondgov.com . The Open Data Portal features tools which allow users to combine data sets to build their own views of information. The portal includes several data sets such as the City’s payment register, real estate assessments, community survey data, neighborhood statistics, motor vehicle accident information and much more. The data sets are organized into the City's focus areas of Unique, Healthy and Inclusive Neighborhoods and Communities; Economic Growth; Community Safety and Well-Being; Transportation; Education and Workforce Development; Sustainability and the Natural Environment; Well Managed Government. “We are making this data available to advance transparency in government,” said Mayor Jones. “This online research tool will provide residents with information to help them understand how public money is being spent.” The Payme...

The City of Richmond announced today that it has been awarded a grant of $300,000 from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation of Battle Creek, Michigan. The grant was awarded to support the city’s continued work toward a stronger system of early childhood development and education in the City of Richmond. This award is a direct result of the work of the Early Childhood Task Force, convened last August by the Mayor’s Office of Community Wealth Building in collaboration with Richmond Public Schools and with the participation of numerous early childhood providers and community organizations. The grant aims to support Richmond’s efforts to institutionalize stronger coordination across multiple early childhood services and to develop new models for connecting families to needed support services. “I am very pleased that the W.K. Kellogg Foundation has recognized the important work on poverty reduction being done in Richmond and elected to provide significant financial support to our efforts in early...

Mayor Dwight C. Jones today announced the appointment of Lenora Reid as Deputy Chief Administrative Officer for Finance and Administration. Reid has worked as Director of Finance for the City of Suffolk since 2012, during which time the City earned a “AAA” bond rating. “Ms. Reid is an accomplished leader in public finance,” said Mayor Jones. “I look forward to her aggressive efforts to strengthen capabilities in our finance team and deliver results.” Reid previously worked in several positions for the City of Richmond from 2003 to 2007, to include serving as Acting City Controller. She worked as Controller for the City of Portsmouth from 2008 to 2012. She is a Certified Public Accountant and holds the professional designation of Chartered Global Management Accountant. She earned an MBA from Strayer University and dual bachelor’s degree with honors in accounting and management from the University of the District of Columbia. As Suffolk’s Finance Director, Reid has been responsible for ...

In a June 10 press conference, Mayor Dwight C. Jones announced the city-wide distribution of new 95-gallon recycling carts in July 2015. The announcement follows the City’s grant award -- first announced in January of this year -- in partnership with Curbside Value Partnership (CVP) for a public/private recycling program. Click here for more information on the Richmond Recycles program. “The City will receive nearly $560,000 as one of four cities chosen to partner with Curbside Value Partnership for this first of its kind program,” explained Mayor Jones. “This effort is in line with our RVA Green sustainability plan and we are pleased to be moving forward with our city-wide distribution of these recycling carts.” In early July, city-wide delivery of approximately 57,000 new 95-gallon recycling carts. Some 6,000 residents received a cart in January during the initial roll-out. All carts are expected to be in place by the end of 2015. The City is working locally with Central Virgin...

Mayor Dwight C. Jones and the City’s Office of Minority Business Development recently held a graduation ceremony for the third round of participants who have successfully completed the City’s Money Smart for Small Business program. The Money Smart program is a nationally acclaimed, comprehensive financial education curriculum developed jointly by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and the U.S. Small Business Administration, to assist minority and emerging small businesses in specific areas that will increase their ability to be sustainable and successful. “The Money Smart for Small Business program provides small and minority owned businesses with a wealth of business resources and knowledge which strengthens the diversity of businesses, consumers and employers. Entrepreneurship and a vibrant small business community are vital components in our efforts to reduce poverty and the city’s unemployment rate,” said Mayor Dwight C. Jones. Since the program’s 2012 inception, the 10-mod...