July, can it get any hotter in Chesterfield and where did the first half of 2025 go - It seemed to pass very fast. The 2^nd quarter has been packed full of engagement opportunities for all our divisions to reach out and make an impact within the community. A few of those moments will be highlighted from our different Human Services sections in this newsletter. 

Success stories are all around us in many different areas. We continue to engage and provide quality services to the county and listen to the needs of the community and citizens.

Chesterfield County Human Services is thrilled to announce that we were chosen to be a recipient of seven different National Association of County (NACo) awards in early summer. Many of our projects that were the topics for these awards, are being recognized across the country by other stakeholders as we set the bar for finding ways to work better together and helping our citizens to be successful and make us all stronger.

As we set to getting our youngest citizens gearing back up for the new school year, we will kick off once again with a Back to School Bash on August 2, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., at Beulah Recreation Center.

Thank you for all that you do each and every day to make an impact on our community, YOUR community.  You continue to make a difference!  Please be sure to check out our Human Services page on the website for complete and up to date listings of all events that you and your family can engage in and enjoy throughout the year!

On June 5, the county’s annual Senior Volunteer Hall of Fame was held at the Chesterfield Technical Center (Hull campus). We received 16 nominations. These nominees volunteered over 108,000 hours of community service after the age of 60. The three individuals who were inducted in the 2025 SVHOF at the ceremony are Robin Hoerber, Peter Plourd and Wonnease Rhone.

Robin Hoerber, from the Midlothian district is a retired rehabilitation teacher, who continues to support the visually impaired and teaches seniors how to cope with vision loss through the Lifelong Learning Institute. She has also served others for over 30 years at Mt. Pisgah United Methodist Church. She was nominated by Robin Altimari.

Peter Plourd, resident from the Midlothian district, is a dedicated volunteer and Vietnam veteran who actively serves his community through church committees, his golf club and veteran organizations. He contributed over 500 hours to the Medical Reserve Corps, including service at more than 30 COVID vaccine clinics and call centers. He also volunteers with the Community Response Team, helping protect vulnerable residents. He was nominated by Sarah Gagnon.

Wonnease Rhone, representing the Dale district, founded 5 Loaves, a mobile food pantry launched during the pandemic to serve families in need. She partners with churches, farmers, and local groups to fight hunger. Wonnease also serves as head usher and canvassing team member at St. Paul Baptist Church and remains committed to ending food insecurity in our community. She was nominated by Bernadette Gilmore.

Congratulations to the 2025 Senior Volunteer Hall of Fame winners!

Career Day at Bensley Elementary School

Bensley Elementary hosted their Annual Career Day on Friday, May 23, to bring professionals into the school to introduce kindergarten through fifth grade students to various types of careers. By answering questions and providing real-world insights into their professions, these individuals provided presentations to inspire students to think about their futures in new and exciting ways. A special thank you to Ila Cartwright, school counselor, Bensley Elementary School, who did a fantastic job with the logistics for the event.

Youth Advisory Board Addresses Youth Violence at Middle Schools

This year, the Youth Advisory Board continued their mission to address youth violence in the county in partnership with Chesterfield Mental Health and Chesterfield County Schools. The students reviewed national, state and local school and community climate data on youth violence. They created the Impact Project Workshop, a prevention program for middle school students that addressed mental health, building positive culture and the importance of community service. This program served 120 students at Robious Middle School and 80 students at Carver Middle School. The workshop is designed to build community, decrease the number of negative student interactions, destigmatize mental health, discuss coping mechanisms for elevated emotions and establish early prevention strategies. The students learned new information about each of the topics and shared that the information was helpful and they would like more programming in the future.

On June 10, Community Correction Services (CCS) met to begin updating their Strategic Plan.

The half-day session was facilitated by Tamara Highsmith of Learning and Performance Center and was a great success.

The new plan will include a focus on staff well-being, addressing secondary traumatic stress, increasing opportunities for staff feedback, moving from a referee model to a coaching organization, providing evidence-based practices to our clients and sharing our success with our stakeholders.

Families First Team Sponsored a Mother's Day Celebration

Chesterfield-Colonial Heights Families First hosted a Mother's Day celebration at the Beulah Recreation Center, May 13. The event was attended by 29 people and featured a meal, family activities, crafts and dancing.