Just a short drive out of Downtown Richmond heading toward Eastern Henrico County lies the community of Fulton Hill. Heading down Williamsburg Road, travelers will soon pass the Neighborhood Resource Center. The NRC offers a variety of programs for community members in the Greater Fulton Hill area.

One program is the Young Writer’s Recording Studio. This class meets every Wednesday at 3:30 p.m.

Community children are encouraged to come and write down lyrics, poems and stories. After writing down their creation, program participants may have the chance to record their work in the sound booth. In the past two years, more than 50 participants have laid down tracks in the NRC’s Recording Studio. Last year, several completed songs were chosen to be placed on the NRC’s Studio Sampler CD.

One of the songs featured on the CD was written and preformed by program participant Kenya Turner. Kenya is an 11 year-old and is very enthusiastic about the Young Writer’s Recording Studio. “My favorite experience is when I first got my first CD and the look on my mama’s face when she heard it,” said Kenya.

Atoaji Radellant, the leader of the Young Writer’s Program, just came to the NRC a few months ago.
“I do see the potential and I feel like a lot of these kids will end up writing some great pieces,” said Radellant.

If this sound interesting and you’re a Fulton Hill Community resident, please visit the NRC or it’s web site for more information.

This story was developed as part of a journalism class in the VCU School of Mass Communications. Reported by Phillip Ranallo and Brett Tignor.