READ ACROSS AMERICA
Making our presence known in the community...
In 2021, Burning Sands Alumni Football Foundation members were linked into classrooms for the “Virtual Read Across America” to celebrate the joy of reading with Richmond Public Schools elementary students. Burning Sands was well represented in the 2022 Read Across America event as our members in Washington, D.C., and New Jersey joined the Richmond members to help introduce elementary students to the joy and importance of reading.
ADOPT-A-STREET CLEANUP
Through a two-year partnership agreement with the Richmond Clean City Commission’s “Adopt-A-Street” program initiated in 2021, the Burning Sands Alumni Football Foundation engaged in a clean-up campaign to keep chosen areas of the city cleared of trash and litter. Members performed bi-weekly cleanups of the “triangle” that encompasses Hovey Stadium — Admiral Street, Brook Road, and North Lombardy Street — to keep the campus grounds clean. From the July 2021 through October 2022 cleanups, we collected well over 5,000 lbs. of trash and litter!
In March 2022, Burning Sands received a plaque from the Richmond Department of Public Works for its volunteer efforts in helping to keep the streets of the City of Richmond litter free.
ADOPT-A-STREET UNVEILING CEREMONY
After completing a specified number of cleanups, organizations are given signs with its name. During a March 26, 2022 ceremony, the Burning Sands Alumni Football Foundation unveiled two Adopt-A-Street signs bearing the names of four legendary VUU coaches: Willard Bailey/Jesse Chavis, and “Tricky” Tom Harris/Joe Taylor. Those signs hang at the campus and Hovey Stadium sides at the Brook Road and North Lombardy Street corners.
A third sign with the Burning Sands Alumni Football Foundation name is strategically placed at the corner of Admiral & Lombardy streets to inspire football players as they return to the locker room from the practice field.
