Our Location:
The Chance Youth Foundation Inc.
2807 Hull Street
Richmond, VA 23224
Contact:
Office Line: 804-233-8288
Fax Line: 804-233-8288
Conner Brothers Community Center: 804-230-8878
email: youth@chanceyouth.com
Website: www.chanceyouth.com
Organizational History
The Chance Youth Foundation was founded on March 21, 1997. Dedicated to the memory of Carter Lee Hill, Jr.
Carter Jr. Was born December 6, 1971 to Carter and Linda Hill. He also had a sister, Amanda, and a fiancée, Deborah Dunkley. He was loved very much by all.
On March 21, 1997, Carter Jr. was tragically killed in a alcohol related car crash. Words will never tell the heartache and the pain the family and friends suffered over the loss of such a beautiful son. Carter Jr. was a good kid, to know him was to love him.
He drove a truck for Dominion Equipment. He loved to fish, ride dirt bikes, scuba dive and hangout with his friends. Carter Jr. loved to have a good time with all the boys his age. He loved people and laughter. He always had a smile on his face and will be greatly missed by all that knew and loved him.
Carter Jr’s death was the inspiration for Chance. The family and friends felt that the idea for Chance was a calling from God. With God’s help all the wonderful volunteers now involved and the ones that will join us in the future of the organization is sure to lead to success.
Chance’s goals are to let our youth know that they have a safe harbor to come to. We want them to see there are lots of good times to be had without the influence of alcohol and drugs.
Through Chance, we want to give our children the best “CHANCE†in life to be productive, God-Fearing adults, so they may carry on as productive educators of their children.
We [Carter, Linda and Amanda Hill], the parents and sister of Carter Jr., are going to dedicate the rest of our lives to trying to prevent another family from going through the pain and suffering from the loss of a child.
The Chance Youth Foundation started their first project at the Chichamicay YMCA Center. They volunteered to help the children and teens of the community by setting up programs and activities to deter teens from alcohol and substance abuse. The organization attained a 501-C3 Non-profit status and chartered their goals to provide a safe environment for teens to grow and prosper as an alternative to drugs and alcohol. The organization attained their goals for five years until they moved into the Richmond area.
In 2004 the organization planned out the Conner Brothers Community Center project in hopes to bring the organization agenda into the Richmond Community.
Mission:
The chance youth foundation exists to provide safe activities as an alternative to drugs and alcohol for teenagers. The organization mission’s new goal is the focus on the youth of Richmond. We help boys and girls from all parts of the City of Richmond that are around an environment with exposure to crime, drugs and alcohol.
The need for this project to be successful is vital to improving the surrounding communities. As you may know, the area that we are serving is low-income with high crime rates. The youth population in those areas is exposed to a lot of crime and gangs in the surround communities, which could have negative impact in their lives. We are there to help them out by mentoring, and shelter them with activities in hopes that they would not participate in gang activities, commit delinquencies, drug and alcohol abuse. It is in our belief that the establishment of the Conner brother’s community center would give the teens and children of Richmond a positive place to go other than the influence of the streets. Our goal is to establish this location as a beacon of hope for the surrounding communities for anyone that needs help.
The current facility can accommodate 50 people and can run on a skeleton staff crew of three. Since August 15, 2005, evening classes have started. There are 20 youths per evening class. The project has already taken off with a large outcome of people who would want to participate. There are several dozen more people are interested and have already signed up for the recreational programs.
The need for a community center serves not only as an establishment for recreational use but a beacon for any teen or child who needs help in the community. It is to our belief that creating recreational programs such as boxing and martial arts would have a vital impact on the youth’s lives. They have a greater chance to deter away from gang affiliation, drug and alcohol abuse. That is our goal, to give opportunities for the teens and children of Richmond in hopes it would impact a positive future for their community.
