Another Season of Growth
by Sheri Shannon, Southside ReLeaf Co-Founder
School is in full swing and Starbucks’ pumpkin spice season has officially begun, signaling the start of fall — or the transition to a dormant season. But we’re still experiencing a season of growth at Southside ReLeaf.
To help keep pace with our projects and community outreach, we’ve hired V. Jones as our new program manager and Syd Collier as our new greening coordinator!
V. Jones; photo by Sha Aguado
Syd Collier
In these roles, V. is leading efforts to manage our greening, education, and policy programs – including building an infrastructure for the organization to scale up programmatic work. Syd, an original member of the Greening Working Group we created for Southside residents, will spearhead our planting projects, onboarding new parks, and identifying areas for greening.
Some of you may have connected with V. and Syd already, but please warmly welcome our newest team members by emailing them or dropping a line on social media! You can learn more about them by reading their bios on our website.
Our staff and Board of Directors also completed our first-ever strategic plan with the help of Dr. Shantell Chambliss with Nonprofitability.
Here’s what we learned we’re doing well:
We’re doing a good job engaging Southside residents, addressing community needs, and advocating for environmental justice in historically underserved areas.
Our mission to improve the quality of life in Southside is clear.
We’re great collaborators! We enjoy partnering with individuals and organizations.
But, as a grassroots organization, there are things we need to focus on:
How do we increase our staff and funding capacity to sustain our work?
We can do a better job of sharing our successes and providing updates on current projects.
What does the next chapter of the organization look like?
I’ll be honest, when Amy and I read through the feedback we received from the Insights Report, we cried. Genuine tears of happiness, accomplishment, and growth.
We started this organization five years ago as volunteers who wanted to address a pressing need in the city. Soon after, Sarah and Melissa joined us as volunteers. For four years, we were an all-volunteer organization. Last year, thanks to the Robins Foundation and the Virginia Department of Forestry, we hired our first staff. Now, we’re a team of eight with Lisa, our outreach coordinator, and Tara, our grant writer!
From left to right: Rodney Gaines, Derick Winn, Dr. Chambliss, Sheri Shannon, Melissa Spencer, Andrew Murray, Amy Wentz at a board retreat
Melissa Spencer and Sheri Shannon plant a tree at Hickory Hill Community Center
Sarah Wilkinson, Amy Wentz, Melissa Spencer, and Sheri Shannon at Southside Community Center hosting a tree giveaway
Lisa Aikins-Afful at a recent maintenance day at Hickory Hill Community Center
Sarah has transitioned to an official staff member as our communication coordinator, and Melissa has evolved to manage our business operations. Even better – we’re all being compensated for our work now.
This is where I’m crying real thug tears again.
In many ways, we are building the plane as we fly. But we appreciate the patience, grace, and guidance from our supporters. More importantly, Amy and I are building an organization rooted in real justice work – not only with our programs but how we operate.
In the coming weeks, we will finalize our strategic plan and share what the next 18 months will look like for the organization. Southside ReLeaf is doing historic work in the city and it will be a very long time before we enter a season of dormancy.
We heard y’all about that funding in the Insights Report. Donate to support our work so we can keep doing amazing things together.