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Our Partnerships Blue Sky Fund participants get involved with our program through various organizational partnerships and relationships. School children from mostly Richmond City Public Schools by recommendations from teachers and tutors, and we will continue to grow those school partnerships. Lawson Wijesooriya, our executive director, lives in a low income neighborhood of the East End, and so includes her neighbors (mostly from Martin Luther King Middle School and Armstrong High School) in our year-round programming. We have relationships with local youth organizations, such as the Boys and Girls Club Salvation Army, Church Hill Activities and Tutoring, Peter Paul Development Center, Strategies to Elevate People, St. Andrew's School, and Elijah House Academy. We will continue to build our partnerships in order to offer these programs to a wide sector of our city. Please contact us if you are interested in partnering.
Camperships Every summer Blue Sky Fund sends children from Richmond City to a variety of summer camps. We believe that the outdoor experience is so important to youth and therefore see this founding principal of Blue Sky Fund as something we need to encourage in this community as these campers (ages 8-18) would not usually be able to otherwise afford camp. Blue Sky Fund facilitates the paperwork, funding, and transportation. In the past we have sent kids to Summers Best 2 Weeks, Westview on the James, Camp Alkulana, Riverside Outfitters Outdoor Kamp, Watermarks Camp, and Virginia Fishing Adventures Camp. If you are interested in more information about this program, or sponsoring a campers experience, please contact Lawson at
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Explorers The Explorers enjoy the opportunity to learn about nature from being in nature. In 2008 this program began in partnership with Oak Grove-Bellemeade and Chimborazo Elementary Schools. For two years committed volunteers, Blue Sky Fund, teachers, and 3rd grade students met one Saturday a month, traveling outside the students urban environments to discover more about themselves and their environment. This Spring, with prompting by Oak Grove, we chose to offer this program as a 3rd grade school day trip, still once a month, and still free to the schools and their students. Beyond any of our expectations, this idea was so well embraced by many of the city schools that we are excited to report that we will be moving from 2 schools and about 35 students to 5 schools and approximately 360 students. With the new school day schedule however, we are in the market for many new volunteers! We are currently seeking teachers, assistant teachers, team leads, and team building facilitators. Please contact Callie at
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for more information or to sign up! We look forward to all our future growth!
Outward Bound Together Blue Sky Fund recruits crews of 12 members each from a very diverse cross section of ninth graders from the greater Richmond region to experience the wilderness together and then to lead a community service project back at home throughout the school year. The crew goes on a 4 day backpacking adventure with Outward Bound in the summer then meet upon their return to initiate and fund a community service project of their own design. These participants learn to do more than they ever thought possible, work with people very different from themselves, and use those new skills to serve their communities. This year we are excited to have two crews, one boys and one girls. Adventuring Adventuring is one of our newer programs, having existed in its current capacity for a little over one year. In this 6-8 week program, participants are taught basic outdoor skills such as how to put up a tent, start a fire, appropriate dress, and some first aid. Each session also generally has a theme such as hiking, biking, climbing or skiing and is tailored appropriately. Most sessions culminate in an expedition that challenges and often forces the youth to use their new found skills out in the great outdoors. Currently we run this program with CHAT (Church Hill Activities and Tutoring) as an after school program and the Anna Julia Cooper Episcopal School during the school day. Contact Callie at
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to volunteer or if you have an organization or school that would be interested in offering this program to your youth.
Fishing clinics Blue Sky’s fishing programs are organized and carried out with the help of Virginia Fishing Adventures. Anglers help lead fishing expeditions for kids of all ages. Recent fishing opportunities included: February- a group of twelve boys and girls fish some freshwater ponds in Louisa County. The ponds are stocked with trout, yellow perch, and striped bass. March- March marks the beginning of the Hickory and American shad's run up the James River. Six boys will joined renowned catfish master Captain Mike Ostrander on his boat in search of some big bites. Church Hill Games This annual one-day event is one of our most popular. CHG is a sports clinic day at Bill Robinson Park in Church Hill that provides fun, sports instruction, lunch, and an inspirational message to over 120 participants with the help of 120 volunteers who share God's love with these neighborhood children. CHG is supported by Third Presbyterian Church, St. John's Episcopal, St. Paul's Baptist, and other area churches, as well as local sports organizations such as U-Turn and the Richmond Tennis Association. This year we will be held the event on June 5th, with great success thanks to all of our phenomenal volunteers. Please contact us if you would like to be a part of this much anticipated event in 2011! Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service After an extremely sucessful day this past year, Blue Sky Fund has decided to consider our Martin Luther King, Jr Day of Service day an event in and of itself. This day on - NOT a day off! - takes many volunteers and parteners from around the city to spend time reflecting on the life and mission of Dr. King as well as complete service projects to better our community. This year we helped the James River Park System with some trash pick up and painting as well as creaking no sew fleece blankets for Project Linus. Please join us next year in what we hope to be another amazing opportunity to give back to the community! We are currently developing new programs and exploring new partnerships. We would love to design a program to fit your group! Please contact us about creating an outdoor adventure that fits your educational or recreational needs.
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