Our Story
Embrace Richmond was started when a group of suburbanites began to dream of ways of helping their urban neighbors.
One of these women, Wendy McCaig, met a homeless woman whom we will call Stephanie, through a CARITAS shelter. When Stephanie and her baby daughter exited the shelter they found themselves sleeping on the floor. Wendy recruited her suburban friends to help collect furniture for the family. In just two days these women collected enough furniture to completely furnish the family’s home. The story would have ended there, but over the next few months Wendy and Stephanie became friends.
One day, Wendy asked Stephanie, “What do you want to do with your life?” She responded, “I want to help others the way so many people have helped me.” That is how Embrace Richmond got started. It was born out of the desire of a homeless woman who wanted to give back. That “pay-it-forward” philosophy is ingrained in everything Embrace does.
Embrace Richmond is now able to mobilize dozen’s of individuals who like Stephanie desire to give back to their community both through our AmeriCorps program and our community led community action teams. Learn more about these urban street saints, our staff, our founder and our board by visiting the Our Team page.