Podium RVA

Podium RVA is Central VA’s only free and consistent literacy program for young people across Greater Richmond and the Tri Cities. Its mission is to empower youth ages 11–19 as confident and capable writers and communicators with the skills to succeed in school, career, and in life. Programs build off one another in two tiers: 1) Foundational Education and 2) Understanding Your Professional Self. Podium’s model of intervention is to Educate. Empower. Transform. This focuses on understanding values and experiences, collaboration, and empowering youth through active learning and engagement in planning, choice, and reflection. Programs meet year-round in three-month sessions for either one or two hours a week. 

Podium serves children, students, and their families across Richmond, Hopewell, and Petersburg cities and in Henrico County, VA. Many youth reside in some of the most economically disadvantaged areas in the region. This environment puts children at a greater risk of poor academic performance, behavioral issues, school dropout, and puts communities at a greater risk for higher poverty, homelessness, and crime rates. Programs are designed for under-resourced communities and schools to reinforce and build on lessons learned during the school-day while identifying writing as a positive coping tool for personal expression. Podium works solely in schools with English Standard of Learning (SOL) pass rates averaging under 50% and in high need neighborhoods. Podium’s hands-on, collaborative approach, combined with high expectations, creates an ideal learning environment, regardless of where a child lives or their family’s ability to pay for their enrichment.