Monday, June 5, 2023

Hometown: Project Lifesaver Car Show Sets Record for Collected Food

A car show raised thousands of dollars for a program that helps keep community members safe, while a local organization made a donation to fuel the next generation of community leaders. Avalon received a donation to support counselor services to children, and the College of William & Mary will have a familiar face in a new employee.

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Project Lifesaver Car Show Sets Record for Collected Food

The May 3 Project Lifesaver Car Show (Submitted)
The May 3 Project Lifesaver Car Show (Submitted)

The James City County Police Department held their most successful Project Lifesaver Car Show to date on May 3.

The fifth annual event raised more than $4,700 for Project Lifesaver, a program that uses radio transmitters to track clients with Alzheimer’s, dementia, autism and other disorders who might be prone to wandering away from home and not be able to find their way back. Police can respond with the tracking equipment and usually find individuals within 30 minutes.

The program is free as long as fundraising is successful, and James City County currently has 31 clients registered with Project Lifesaver.

The car show also collected more than 5,800 non-perishable food items to be donated to the Salvation Army.

Kiwanis Donates Busch Gardens Tickets for City Youth Programs

A local service club is lending a hand for a City of Williamsburg project that supports young residents during the summer.

Gary Ripple, on behalf of the Kiwanis Club of Williamsburg, gives tickets to JaLauna Burton, Public Housing Manager for the City of Williamsburg's Redevelopment & Housing Authority (Submitted)
Gary Ripple, on behalf of the Kiwanis Club of Williamsburg, gives tickets to JaLauna Burton, Public Housing Manager for the City of Williamsburg’s Redevelopment & Housing Authority (Submitted)

The Kiwanis Club of Williamsburg recently donated tickets to Busch Gardens to the city, which will be used as incentives for participation in the Summer Youth Achievement Program. Founded in 1994, the program is free and open to children ages 13 to 15 who live in the city limits. They attend for five days a week for seven weeks to learn about respect, responsibility and positive role models through field trips and classes by community leaders.

To learn more about the Summer Youth Achievement Program, click here.

Williamsburg Community Foundation Supports Avalon

Avalon-LogoAvalon: A Center for Women and Children is the recipient of a grant from the Williamsburg Community Foundation, funded by a foundation’s community endowment and an anonymous donor.

The center received $5,000 to help support their children’s counselor position, which provides individual and group counseling to children at the emergency shelter and in its Outreach Office.

W&M Welcomes Alumnus as New HR Head

The College of William & Mary’s campus will be familiar to John Poma when he starts as the next associate vice president for human resources in July. Poma received his undergraduate and M.B.A degree from the school, and also met his wife there.

John Poma (Photo courtesy of William & Mary)
John Poma (Photo courtesy of William & Mary)

“I am thrilled to accept this position at the College of William & Mary,” he said in a news release. “It is a privilege to come back to a place that has meant so much to me. This is an opportunity for me to give back to the school that has had such an important impact on my life. For me it’s very personal.”

Poma brings more than 25 years of human resources management and leadership experience to the role. He currently serves as president of n1Health, LLC, a health asset management firm based in Richmond.

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