Preferred Citation

Richmond United Neighborhoods (RUN) annual programs, 1983-1987, Collection # M 256, Special Collections and Archives, James Branch Cabell Library, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA.

Acquisition Information

Gift of the Executive Director of Richmond United Neighborhoods, 1988-04. Donor was not named, but the address provided was for All Souls Presbyterian Church at 19 Overbrook Road, Richmond, VA.

Processing Information

The collection was originally processed in 1988 by archivist Betsy Pittman. The original title of the collection was "RADA - Richmond United Neighborhoods Archives, 1983-1987." RADA stands for Richmond Area Development Archives. The Richmond Area Development Archives was established in 1987 as a sort of artificial grouping of collections in our department. RADA consisted of collections of primary source materials documenting the post-World War II growth of the Richmond, Virginia region (some collections date from before that time period). Subjects included urban planning, suburbanization, attempts to revitalize downtown, housing, transportation, communication, politics, labor, education and the cultural life of the region.

The collection was reprocessed in 2025 by archivst Keahi Adolpho. The scope and contents note, biographical/historical note, and subject headings were written and assigned during reprocessing. The collection title was changed to more accurately reflect the contents of the collection. The original finding aid is in the collection's control folder and is available upon request.

Biographical / Historical Information

Richmond United Neighborhoods (RUN) was a non-profit organization of community groups organized to address neighborhood issues in Richmond, Virginia. The idea for the group was conceived of in 1977 by a group of local clergy and directors of community centers who were concerned about the impacts of displacement on residents and the ways in which government programs for low-income communities were failing to meet community needs.

The group was officially founded in 1978 in Highland Park and a year later became involved in the Save Oregon Hill Organization. In the fall of 1980, seven other groups joined from North Richmond, South Richmond, and Church Hill. In 1984, an organization in Carver also joined the group. These neighborhood groups were based out of churches, with its members primarily being part of those churches and their local communities.

These community organizations realized that by working together as a group, they could bulid momentum and support for enacting change and tangibly improving the neighborhoods they lived in. Through RUN, they were able to secure funds and grants to add street lights to neighborhoods, support a sewer project to lessen flooding, fix cracked sidewalks, and start a home improvement loan program, among other things.

Additionally, RUN held leadership training and quarterly workshops on topics such as budget and finances, leadership, strategic planning, housing issues, and energy (costs and the need for actual meter readings over estimates). Issues that RUN was focused on included improving neighborhood crime prevention, reinvestment, recreation, environment, safety, and (access to) energy.

Scope and Contents

The collection consists of of 8 annual programs from 1983 through 1987. The majority of the programs contain an agenda, information on the leadership of Richmond United Neighborhoods, and local advertisements. For 1984, 1986, and 1987, there are two programs each, one being a schedule with advertisements and the other being a more detailed agenda with rules, bylaws, resolutions, leadership nominations, and other topics up for discussion.

Arrangement

Items are arranged chronologically in the folder.

Related Material

Richmond United Neighborhoods supported and was involved with the Save Oregon Hill project. VCU Special Collections and Archives has the Save Oregon Hill records (Accession 2014-12-078), a collection which is currently unprocessed but may be available for research. Contact Special Collections and Archives staff at libsca@vcu.edu to discuss access.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• Community centers -- Virginia -- Richmond.
• Community development, Urban -- Virginia -- Richmond
• Neighborhoods -- Virginia -- Richmond.