August 20, 2019
In restoring a trail, young people lead the way
On July 19, young men from the 5/8 Club and STRIVE met with members of the Fifeville Neighborhood Association about restoring a trail that used to connect Greenstone on 5th to Tonsler Park and Cherry Avenue. The trail was heavily traveled decades ago but is overgrown and unusable today. We discussed issues like how we could make the trail safer and better known to the people in our community....
June 28, 2019
STRIVE throws party for seventh graduating class
In what has become an annual tradition, nearly 50 people gathered at Trinity Presbyterian Church on June 12 to celebrate STRIVE's 18 mentoring pairs and it's seventh graduating class. After a welcome by STRIVE Assistant Coordinator Dylan Rosenthal and blessing by participant Joseph, guests enjoyed a meal catered by Wayside Chicken. Next, STRIVE participants and mentors took turns standing...
January 20, 2019
Mentor Spotlight: Jerry Maynard, Jr.
In honor of National Mentoring Month, we asked STRIVE mentor Jerry Maynard, Jr. to reflect on his 3+ years working with 12th grader Cardale Emmery. STRIVE matches high school boys with Christian adult male mentors for all four years of high school and the first year post high school. Over those 5 years they build a relationship, create and work towards goals, and learn about God’s love...
December 31, 2018
Meet our neighbors, the Torres-Guzman family
When you give to Abundant Life, you make an investment, trusting God to use us to spread the Gospel, empower Prospect families and better our community. Your financial gifts help us support our neighbors, like the Torres-Guzman family. In 2015, Benny, Adelina, and their two sons moved into a new Habitat for Humanity duplex next to our White House. One evening, seeing a group of children playing...
October 30, 2018
Our response to the NYT article on Charlottesville Schools
At Abundant Life we are committed to neighborhood-based ministry that reflects Jesus’ own incarnational life. For us, this has involved living among, learning from, and investing in the lives of those in closest proximity to us. Yet these relationships with individuals and families in the Prospect Neighborhood inevitably connect us with larger issues in our city and country that directly affect...
October 23, 2018
Students and mentors bond at annual STRIVE Retreat
For the sixth straight fall, STRIVE students and mentors descended on Watermarks Camp in Scottsville for an overnight retreat on October 12-13. Because of STRIVE's reliance on one-on-one relationships, the annual retreat is not only a great way for mentoring pairs to bond with each other, but with other members of the program, as well. Upon arrival, counselors showed each group of seven to its...