Voices of Poverty to Launch Thursday

PODCAST SERIES FOCUSES ON POVERTY IN CHARLOTTESVILLE
Voices of Poverty Program to Launch this Week

CHARLOTTESVILLE (April 24, 2007) – A program designed to draw attention to the problem of poverty in Charlottesville will launch at a press conference Thursday April 26 at 10 a.m. in the Madison Room at the Jefferson Madison Regional Library, 201 E. Market Street in Charlottesville. Called Voices of Poverty, the program is a series of podcasts – audio interviews broadcast online – with those living in poverty or working to help those living in poverty, in the greater Charlottesville area.

“The goal of this project is to humanize the 25 percent of our population living at or below the Federal Poverty Level right here in Charlottesville,” said Joe Hughes, captain, Charlottesville Fire Department and a spokesperson for the project. “We want to give that population a voice so our community might understand, identify with, take heed of and be inspired to make a difference.”
The podcast series, featuring interviews with a mother living in transitional housing, homeless individuals and others dependent on local resources to stay alive, as well as those working to solve the poverty problem, will be distributed via the Web site www.voicesofpoverty.org beginning April 26. The series will continue over the next four weeks, with new podcasts released every few days. Thursday’s conference will highlight the premiere of the podcast series and provide an opportunity to discuss Charlottesville’s poverty issues with participants in the program.

“The Voices of Poverty project helps bring awareness to the fact that there are many impoverished people living in our community and there are many ways we can help,” said Shaele Wood, volunteer center director at United Way – Thomas Jefferson Area. “Through volunteerism, we believe we can all make Charlottesville a better place to live – for everyone.”
The project team partnered with United Way’s Volunteer Center, which provides opportunities for individuals and groups throughout the Charlottesville area to lend a hand in time, talent and labor. Visit www.BeAVolunteer.info for volunteering resources in Charlottesville.

The project was developed by a team from the 2006 class of Leadership Charlottesville, a civic and community-building program offered by the Charlottesville Regional Chamber of Commerce.

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