About Us

    The University of Richmond Micah Initiative was created in 2003 with the hope of connecting students from the UR community with kids from the east end of Richmond. Over one hundred volunteers signed up to participate in one of Micah's programs in the first year with mentors spanning from Whitcomb Court Elementary School to the Peter-Paul Development Center. Our organization, unlike other service organizations, limits its duties to the assistance and development of education with at-risk youth from Richmond. If you like working with children, then you will love this program. We are also the only service organization sponsored and run through the University of Richmond Chaplaincy which is open to all students.

 HOW DOES IT WORK?

    U of R students are allowed to choose any program they wish. Our goal is to benefit the children of this city by working with you and your busy class schedule. The majority of students will choose one of the mentoring programs. They are required to go to their respective schools for one hour a week. Before they go though, they must complete an orientation session provided by the Virginia Mentoring Partnership or other organizations deemed beneficial by the Micah board. This program will begin you on your journey of working with under privileged youth. During the semester, while you are still mentoring, you will be encouraged to attend one event sponsored by the Micah Initiative. These events will cover a wide range of topics from faith and religion to ethical and societal concerns. You may choose whatever event you would like to. You are not required in any way to participate in a faith based program, that decision is up to you. At the end of the semester you will be asked to have lunch with a few of your fellow volunteers, some members of the UR faculty, staff, and leaders of the program. Here you will discuss what you thought about the school, kids, etc.

NOTE: Not every program has these guidelines.

      This organization is here to help you work around your schedule. You get to pick the time, the day, everything! You make the decisions as to how much time and when and we will make it happen. We hope that you will choose Micah.

        We also would like you to know that we consider the participants of this program our priority. We are available at any time to talk with you if you have any concerns or suggestions. We will also make a strong effort to familiarize ourselves with you so you know who you are working with. This is very important for a few reasons: (1) We want you to feel comfortable with the work that you are doing, (2) We want to become a stronger program, (3) Your making a huge investment and we want to acknowledge that fact to you.

        Another very important role for all of our mentors/volunteers is that they will be called upon in the spring to vote for two things. The first is for the executive board members for next year. Having a working knowledge of your fellow volunteers will assist you in that decision or possibly inspire you to run for a position. The second is that every year we will give an award to one student who has gone above and beyond the call of duty. This is an important part of letting you know that we appreciate your work.

     If you have more questions please visit the respective homepages for each program or e-mail us at micah@richmond.edu .