Community Engagement

Students in College of Humanities and Sciences are part of the dynamic and vibrant Richmond metro community and engage with the community in various ways—through personal volunteerism, service learning classes and community research experiences. Are you interested in tutoring a student from a local elementary school, working on a community garden in a food desert or volunteering at a local health clinic? These are just a few of the many activities our students are engaged in. Find ways you can get involved below.

Visit VCU's Community Engagement website

Featured Organizations

Students, staff, and faculty are engaged with several community organizations in the Richmond metro area.

Sacred Heart

Sacred Heart supports Latinx/Latino families in the Richmond metro area by providing them with tools to thrive and flourish. Sacred Heart provides an array of services and resources, such as adult GED classes, English as a second language (ESOL), conversational Spanish and the Latino Leadership Institute. The organization offers several youth and children's programs, such as Casa Lupiz, in which middle school ESOL students explore different art mediums including drawing, painting and sculpture. Volunteers are essential to Sacred Heart. They teach English classes, tutor Spanish and GED classes, read to children, paint murals on the walls, help register students, record attendance, practice citizenship interview skills and photograph events among many other activities.

Equality Virginia

Equality Virginia (EV) is the leading advocacy organization in Virginia seeking equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBTQ) people. EV advances LGBTQ protections by monitoring LGBTQ-related legislation in Virginia and advocating on behalf of Virginia’s LGTBQ community. EV also seeks to move Virginia’s transgender and non-binary community toward equality through community conversations, resources and community connections. Several opportunities exist to get engaged in EV (e.g, donations, petition work and/or hosting a speaker).

Health Brigade

Health Brigade, formerly known as the Fan Free Clinic, is Virginia’s oldest free and charitable clinic located in Richmond’s historic Fan District. Health Brigade was established in the 1970s as a small community clinic and patterned itself after similar efforts in San Francisco’s Haight-Ashbury neighborhood. Health Brigade provides diverse and integrated medical, mental health, community outreach and care coordination services for low-income and uninsured persons. Health Brigade has several volunteer opportunities for healthcare professionals as well as mental health and wellness internships, and group volunteer opportunities.

my service experience

Carver Dance gave me and other VCU students an opportunity to use our skills and knowledge from the classroom to support nearby Richmond communities. It is so fulfilling to see kids open up and have fun with the dances we share with them, as it shows us that they feel more comfortable expressing themselves.

Joanna

Rivera

Student

Kinesiology and Health Sciences

Community Engagement Highlights

May 2, 2024

Mellon Foundation grants will help VCU professors launch Richmond Freedom School

Elizabeth Canfield, Ph.D., with the Department of Gender, Sexuality and Women’s Studies, and Mignonne Guy, Ph.D., with the Department of African American Studies, are developing a new program for the Richmond community.

Feb. 19, 2024

In VCU Honors College, students get teaching and tutoring experience through partnership with Richmond public high school

Now in its eighth year, the Open-Honors Connect program enhances undergraduate learning while expanding course offerings for the city school system.

Feb. 15, 2024

VCU researchers team up with Salvation Army to promote financial literacy for Richmond families while targeting the roots of poverty

Psychology professor Marcia Winter says addressing both topics together, through the new Building Wealth and Health Network, can help break the cycle.