Ministry Partner Update: RJI
Ministry and missions, like everything else during these unprecedented times, have come with new challenges. One City Church ministry partner we’d like to highlight is Richmond Justice Initiative (RJI). A few members of City Church recently met with Heather Caleb, RJI’s Director of Development, to hear an update on their work in and around Richmond and to see how we can continue to support and help them—particularly as they seek to continue their impactful work while adjusting to the new normal necessitated by the pandemic.
RJI was founded in 2009 as a faith-based nonprofit with the goal of preventing and ending human trafficking. City Church has been partnering with them almost since their inception and looks forward to continuing our support.
While there are many wonderful organizations that provide help and resources to those who have been victims of human trafficking situations, RJI primarily focuses on human trafficking prevention. A major way they do this is through their innovative Prevention Project curriculum. The Prevention Project curriculum, which has been adopted by school districts here in the Richmond area and has since expanded to schools around the country, educates teachers, students, and community members on the dangers of human trafficking, how to recognize signs of human trafficking situations, and how to speak up and be an advocate for yourself or others who may be at risk.
The first step is becoming educated on this issue, and once you do, it is sobering to realize that human trafficking can take place even in communities that we would consider safe. It often flies under the radar unless you know what to look for. RJI offers a free video presentation on human trafficking so that you can educate yourself on this issue. You can watch that here.
COVID-19 has presented unique challenges for RJI and has increased the threat of human trafficking since so many more people (and especially youth) are online without supervision. You can read more about human trafficking in the time of COVID-19 here. Additionally, as you are certainly aware, especially if you have school-aged children during this time, education looks quite a bit different these days. So, how has this affected RJI’s crucial work and how can City Church members continue to support them?
Heather shared that, like many school districts, RJI has rolled out a virtual version of their Prevention Project curriculum. The good news is that teachers who have been implementing this virtual program with their students have found it to be effective and have shared that they have been encouraged by its impact. RJI also offers an Online Safety Guide that you or your kids can download, or perhaps share it with teacher friends.
Some other good news is that RJI was recently contacted by a school district in Tennessee that simply found their program online and reached out. Please pray that more school districts would recognize a need for these resources and would do the same.
Another challenge RJI is facing is determining how to engage volunteers in a virtual environment. As a nonprofit, RJI relies heavily on their volunteers who, pre-COVID, helped organize community events, speaking engagements, presentations, and fundraising events, including their annual Benefit for Freedom. The RJI team is now moving forward with their work virtually and seeking new ways for volunteers to lend their support.
The Benefit for Freedom, their largest fundraising event of the year, was held as planned in May and was still successful even though it was converted to a virtual event. Heather did share, however, that, due to the economic impact COVID-10 has had on some of their ministry partners, their funding has suffered in the months since the pandemic hit. Please pray for sustained funding for their work and that God would put this issue on the hearts of those who have the resources to help.
City Church plans on continuing to support RJI and the important work they are doing in and around Richmond. If you or someone you know is interested in volunteering with RJI or learning more, please don’t hesitate to reach out. You can find a volunteer interest form on their website here where you can choose how you would most like to serve and the RJI team will match your skills and interests with their current needs. You can also reach out to a member of the City Church staff or to Marjorie Blanton (marjmarj13@gmail.com) or Roni Neffinger (veronicajneff@gmail.com) who have been volunteering for RJI for several years if you would like to learn more.