www.wtvr.com/news/local-news/13th-annual-latin-jazz-and-salsa-show-festival-goes-virtual
Recognizing our community leaders and heroes and bringing community services and programs through Food drive. Book drives, Blanket drives and Dance classes, Which includes music and cultural exchange. And have been giving back to the community with the summer ending
"The Best Latin Jazz and Salsa Festivals since 2006" https://www.wtvr.com/news/local-news/13th-annual-latin-jazz-and-salsa-show-festival-goes-virtual
Virginia Expands COVID-19 Vaccination Workforce, Creates Additional Pathway to Enlist Volunteer Vacc
RICHMOND—Governor Ralph Northam announced several efforts aimed at increasing Virginia’s vaccinator workforce to support the continued expansion of COVID-19 vaccinations across the Commonwealth, including a new initiative to recruit eligible individuals interested in administering vaccines.
Governor Northam recently signed House Bill 2333, sponsored by Delegate Lamont Bagby, and Senate Bill 1445, sponsored by Senator Siobhan S. Dunnavant, which expand the pool of health care providers eligible to administer the COVID-19 vaccine in Virginia. Last month, the Governor issued Third Amended Executive Order Fifty-Seven to provide additional flexibility to health care providers in supporting the Commonwealth’s vaccination program and ongoing COVID-19 response. Earlier this week, Governor Northam announced that starting April 18, all adults in Virginia age 16 and older will be eligible to get a COVID-19 vaccine.
“Last year, we issued a call for 30,000 medical and non-medical volunteers to join our fight against COVID-19, and I am proud that over 35,000 Virginians have since stepped forward to assist through the Virginia Medical Reserve Corps,” said Governor Northam. “Thanks to the tireless efforts of our health care providers and volunteer vaccinators, Virginia is now administering an average of more than 70,000 of the COVID-19 vaccine each day and has given over 3.8 million shots to date. By further expanding our vaccinator workforce, we can build on this momentum and ensure we have additional vaccination capacity as supply increases and more individuals become eligible to receive the vaccine.”
Health care providers who are now authorized to administer the COVID-19 vaccine in Virginia include but are not limited to dentists, dental hygienists, veterinarians, optometrists, and health professions students enrolled in an accredited Virginia program. Eligible providers may serve as vaccinators if they have the appropriate training and meet the supervision requirements. All COVID-19 vaccine providers are responsible for ensuring that individuals who administer shots at their site are authorized by law to do so.
Eligible health care providers may register to volunteer as a COVID-19 vaccinator through either the Virginia Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) or the newly-established Virginia Volunteer Vaccinator Registry (VVVR).
“These efforts to increase the ranks of vaccinators will immediately affect Virginians and their ability to get vaccinated as quickly as possible,” said State Health Commissioner M. Norman Oliver, MD, MA. “We need ‘all hands on deck’ as we ramp up our vaccination campaign, and the legislation introduced by Delegate Bagby and Senator Dunnavant is crucial to providing additional tools for these unprecedented times.”
Established in 2002, the Virginia MRC is a force of dedicated volunteers who stand ready to support the Virginia Department of Health (VDH) in responding to public health emergencies and addressing ongoing public health initiatives. MRC volunteer vaccinators are required to complete a background investigation, volunteer orientation, vaccination-specific training as outlined by the VDH and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and a skills assessment to demonstrate competency in administering the COVID-19 vaccine. MRC medical volunteers may have the opportunity to serve in other positions and response missions.
The VVVR is a temporary COVID-19 emergency program administered by VDH and the Virginia Department of Emergency Management (VDEM) that serves as a pathway for eligible providers who only wish to serve as vaccinators during the COVID-19 response. Qualified registry volunteers are required to complete vaccination-specific training as outlined by the CDC and VDH and demonstrate competency in administering the COVID-19 vaccine. A list of credentialed volunteers will be made available to hospitals, non-profit agencies, and local health departments operating community vaccination clinics upon request.
Registering through either pathway is not a guarantee that an eligible health care provider will be enlisted to vaccinate, and volunteers may not be deployed immediately. While most Virginia localities are meeting the current need for COVID-19 vaccinators through existing workforce channels, demand is expected to increase alongside the Commonwealth’s growing supply of federally allocated vaccines.
For more information or to sign up as an MRC or VVVR volunteer, please visit vdh.virginia.gov/covid-19-community-vaccinator.
Unidos Por Puerto Rico
Return Home" Puerto Rico - A personal trip turned into a short film, very emotional for all who have left and hope to some day return. I've travelled all over the world and there is nothing like Puerto Rico. I love my island. I hope you can connect with my images and feel what I feel. - CorretjerFilms ------------------ "Regreso A Casa" Puerto Rico - Un viaje personal convertido en una pequeña película, sentimental para todo aquel que se fue y algún día regresara. He viajado por todo el mundo y no hay nada como Puerto Rico. Amo a mi isla. Espero que se puedan conectar con mis imágenes y sentir lo que siento yo. - CorretjerFilms **PLEASE SHARE**
Stoney administration launches rent relief program for qualified immigrant families
Today the city held a public meeting with residents currently living outdoors on property owned by Virginia Commonwealth University adjacent to the city’s Cold Weather Overflow Shelter.
These are some of the most vulnerable members of our community. We are working with the full continuum of Richmond’s non-profit, faith-based, homelessness and social service providers to support this community and to work with each resident individually to address their unique challenges and circumstances.
While we have significant concerns for the health and safety of those living in the encampment, until a longer term solution is identified, we will work closely with these service providers to have a presence, on-site, at the Cold Weather Overflow Shelter so we can help connect those currently living there with available resources and more stable housing as quickly as possible.
We firmly believe housing is a right, not a privilege. The city’s Homeless Strategic Plan (click here to access the presentation and report) will guide our path as we work with community stakeholders and members of City Council to find long-term solutions to homelessness in our city – from creating more shelter beds to providing healthy, safe and sustainable housing. We can and must do more.
Mayor Levar M. Stoney
Councilwoman Ellen Robertson
