February 27, 2026
Lifting Black Voices: Mrs. Lula Rogers, Abundant Life Co-Founder
Today, in celebration of Black History Month, we honor our co-founder and spiritual grandmother, Mrs. Lula Rogers. Born in Charlottesville in 1917, Lula Wicks married Charles Rogers, who died in 1946. Mrs. Rogers worked as a housekeeper and then an educator for 30 years. She served in the cafeteria at Burley High School before becoming a teacher’s assistant at McGuffey School. After McGuffey’s...
February 12, 2026
Lifting Black Voices: Alicia Lugo
Today, we honor Charlottesville native, and education trailblazer, Alicia Lugo, who impacted our area for decades as an educator, community leader, entrepreneur, and activist. Alicia Lugo attended then-segregated Burley High School before graduating from Hampton University. She returned to Charlottesville to teach in the City schools and then served eleven years on the Charlottesville City...
February 5, 2026
Furthering our Mission with Grant Funding from Charlottesville Area Community Foundation
Charlottesville Abundant Life Ministries is awarded grant funding from Charlottesville Area Community Foundation to further its mission. Charlottesville Abundant Life Ministries is a 30-year-old neighborhood-based non-profit with a mission of spreading God's love through the Prospect Avenue Community through wholistic programming geared towards community empowerment. As a faith-based...
June 30, 2025
Antoine Davenport: From Community Member to Successful Entrepreneur
Charlottesville native, Antoine Davenport, began his journey on Charlton Avenue, being raised by his grandparents. He attended Charlottesville City Schools, going from Greenbierer Elementary to Walker Upper Elementary, to Buford Middle, to Charlottesville High School. Davenport recalls having a close-knit family on his father’s side. He would often visit local community-centered facilities, as...
May 15, 2025
Meet Kanesha Reilly: Abundant Life’s New V-Trades Coordinator
Kanesha Reilly, whose parents are former Prospect Avenue community members, joined the Abundant Life team as the new V-Trades Coordinator. Having grown up in the earlier parts of her childhood here in Charlottesville, Kanesha watched her mom’s childcare business grow, which started in Prospect to support the families in the community. Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible,...
February 28, 2025
Abundant Life Black History Month Highlights: ‘Lift Every Voice and Sing,’ Lane High School Black History Week
This week we are highlighting educator, Esther Vassar of Lane High School who stood in the gap for her students at a time of racial discrepancy. Lane High School, preceding Charlottesville High School, was a segregated High School in Charlottesville up until 1959, following a three-year battle in federal court to avoid integration of schools in Virginia. Though schools had been integrated for...