Photo by Heather Bell – Members of the RADical Change Commission serve as hosts during last weekend’s school supply shopping days at The Shelter on Downey Street. Pictured are RADical Change Commission members and community volunteers (First row, from left): Lateffa Smith (on behalf of Christiansburg Institute Inc.), Janiele Hamden (organizer of the RADical Change Commission), Akeem Akers (CI,Inc.); (Back row, from left) Mike Wyms (Cut Nice Barbershop and RCC), Andrew Crane (RCC) and Donte` Morrison (Women’s Resource Center and RCC).
Heather Bell
The RADical Change Commission hosted its Second Annual Free Community School Supply Shopping Day over the weekend, giving out free school supplies to 100 children in the city.
Held at The Shelter on Downey Street, an outreach ministry and a home for Radford University students with housing issues, Radford City Public Schools students were invited to shop on the lawn for all the supplies they needed to start of the school year. From notebooks and binders to backpacks, masks and markers, bins overflowing with donated supplies dotted the yard.
Founded by community organizer Janiele Hamden, the objective of the RADical Change Commission is “to demonstrate actionable resolve in instances we identify barriers to the safety, empowerment, and success of at risk, vulnerable populations.”
Hamden said the Commission had a number of organizations come together to support the school supply effort, including Jubilee Christian Center, The Shelter, Radford Youth Adult Partnership (RYAP), First Baptist Chirchon Third Avenue and the Christiansburg Institute.
“RADical Change would like to give our partners and volunteers the spotlight for their incredibly selfless work and devotion to our community in the joint effort of hosting the 2nd Annual FREE Community School Supply Shopping Day,” said Hamden. “I can’t imagine a greater legacy of success than to continue loving on our neighbors and serving one another.”
The official mission of the RADical Change Commission is “dedicated to identifying, initiating, and supporting efforts of systemic change for vulnerable, at risk populations.
We HOPE to dismantle racial and social inequality.
We BELIEVE we can support and encourage our neighbors.
We COMMIT to creating a community system of altruism and benevolence.
Through building community and connection, we can invest in our neighbors in a proactive, preventative manner, thereby eliminating the current model of punitive reactivity. Through our discipline, passion, and actionable resolve, we devote ourselves to inspiring a movement that will impact generational transformation.”
Hamden says she has seen positive changes in the city with more on the horizon and cites the Commission’s vision, which is:
“The RADical Change Commission envisions a world where the promise “Liberty and Justice for ALL” is protected and honored. We understand Liberty in this instance to mean “the state of being free within society from oppressive restrictions imposed by authority on one’s way of life, behavior, or political views”. We understand Justice in this instance to mean “a concern for justice, peace, and genuine respect for people”. We hold ourselves and our fellow beings accountable to bring this vision to fruition.”
