Mayor's Office
900 E. Broad St., Suite 201
Richmond, VA
23219 USA
Phone: 804-646-7970
Fax: 804-646-7987
Email: RVAMayor@rva.gov
A City that Serves
Moving the Mayor’s pillars forward requires careful work in policy, budgeting, and day-to-day City operations. Each priority area also requires a spirit of service and the determination to come together in order to drive tangible change in our communities.
Serving together teaches us about the critical issues facing our neighbors and helps us see perspectives beyond our own. It’s relationship-building and change-making at its best.
That’s why Danny believes that a culture of service is a key element of both democracy and a thriving Richmond. On this page, you can explore the Mayor’s “Days of Service” initiative and find practical opportunities for serving and making connections.
What’s up next
Tree Week 2025
Richmond is recognized as a "Tree City USA" by the Arbor Day Foundation. With this recognition, we commit to maintaining and growing our urban forest by planting trees across the city in partnership with various community organizations during Tree Week. This year's Tree Week has over 30 planting events from November 1-8. To get involved, visit reforestrichmond.org.
A culture of service
A culture of service doesn’t take shape with a single day of service (although it’s amazing that we can build a house or feed a community in a day!). It’s an ongoing commitment we make every time we pick up a hammer, fill a plate with food, or plant a tree. It’s a connection to others that informs our daily actions and decision-making.
Danny and his team participate in service opportunities that advance and spotlight priority areas. Learn about some of those previous service events below:
Mayor’s Days of Service, September 2025
Our fall Days of Service was an incredible opportunity for several City departments and residents alike to connect while serving across Richmond. For this service event, we focused on Pillar Two: Thriving Neighborhoods and the full continuum of housing needs. Mayor Avula was able to connect with some of our homeless residents over a hot breakfast at Commonwealth Catholic Charities. The City's Office of Community Wealth Building team, Neighborhood and Community Services team, Procurement team, Housing and Community Development team, and Economic Development team all volunteered at a number of projects including accessibility ramp installation with project:HOMES, donation receiving and sorting at CARITAS, and neighborhood cleanups with Clean City Commission and Capital Trees. Several corporate partners like CW Performance Group LLC, Richmond Tool Bank, and Ukrops donates supplies for these projects. Mayor Avula ended the weekend hanging siding with Richmond Habitat team at a new home build in the Southside. We are so thankful for the nearly 200 Richmonders that volunteered their time to impact the City's housing needs.
Volunteers prepared Commonwealth Catholic Charities' Youth Hub Garden for fall programming. CCC's Youth Hub serves Richmond's youth experiencing homelessness.
Procurement team sorted donations at CARITAS' The Healing Place, a recovery program for individuals suffering from substance use disorders.
Mayor Avula cutting wood planks for Richmond Habitat's Southside Build.
Highlighted pillars: A city that tells its stories, A thriving and sustainable built environment
The Mayor participated in service projects coordinated by the National Parks Service and Richmond Parks and Rec at Abner Clay Park in the Jackson Ward neighborhood.
Highlighted pillars: Thriving families, thriving economy, thriving and sustainable built environment
In this first-ever day of service hosted by the Mayor’s Office, city officials coordinated 15 service projects and 175 volunteers across all 9 city districts. Volunteers gave more than 650 hours of service through park clean ups, health screenings, gardening, to walking puppies at Richmond Animal Care and Control. Danny gardened at Gilpin Court’s Community Garden, prepared for spring planting with UMFS, and mulched Libby Hill Park in his home neighborhood of Church Hill.
Resources and Opportunities
A number of City departments and their partners run service opportunities year-round. Explore the information below to see how you can become a part of this city that serves!
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The Community Foundation: Supports community Changemakers who want to give time, talents, or resources to critical projects in our region. Visit their Engagement Center for a host of local volunteer opportunities.
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Richmond’s Parks, Recreation, and Community Facilities Department (PRCF) provides volunteer opportunities for individuals, corporate groups, scout and/or school projects. If you want to support community gardens or participate in youth athletics, there are options for you.
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The Richmond Clean City Commission runs RVA Clean City Sweep, a volunteer-based group that hosts litter clean-up events all over town.
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The Greater Richmond Medical Reserve Corps, organized by the Virginia Department of Health, welcomes volunteers with and without medical expertise to support health and safety initiatives across our communities.
