The Cameron Station Civic Association held its virtual membership meeting on September 5, 2024. Our guest speakers were Roberto Gomez, Executive Director of Cornerstone Craftsman, and Deb Roepke, Executive Director of the Alexandria Seaport Foundation.
The Alexandria Chamber of Commerce named Mr. Gomez as a 2024 40 Under 40 honoree, and Ms. Roepke was elected as a member of Living Legends of Alexandria. Cornerstone Craftsman helps youths ages 12 to 17 and the Alexandria Seaport Foundation helps youths ages 18 to 23 in mastering a trade to make a dramatic positive improvement in their lives.
Mr. Gomez noted that Cornerstone Craftsman provides at-risk youth with the instruction, tools, and mentoring required to earn a livable wage and have a viable career in the skilled trades. He said that learning a trade had saved his life and he wanted to provide the same opportunities to underprivileged youths. He has worked closely with Ms. Roepke and her organization. Cornerstone now serves thirty youths, up from five when they started.
The Alexandria Police Department has taken a keen interest in the program and its success, and the Alexandria City Public School system has paid for busing youths to and from the program. Cornerstone has a sophisticated IT system where they can track each individual’s progress during and after they leave the program. Currently, Cornerstone is working with the Department of Juvenile Justice in Richmond to get them started in their program. For more information, go to: https://cornerstonecraftsman.org/.
Ms. Roepke stated that the Alexandria Seaport Foundation provides a haven where youth can learn career and life skills through one-on-one mentoring, personalized instruction, and project-based learning. The Foundation has followed up with over two thirds of their graduates and learned that over half have jobs, with all but five percent working on obtaining a job. Their program consists of a formal in-shop programming for six months, including a one-month trial period, and then transitional support for getting internships, jobs and/or further education. For more information, go to: https://alexandriaseaport.org/.
Sash Impastato moved into Cameron Station in 2000 and was awarded the Mark Pillow Community Spirit Award in 2021. Sash has been an officer or director of the Cameron Station Civic Association since 2001, on the board of the Alexandria Federation of Civic Associations since 2004, the founder in 2014 of the West End Coalition and also serves on the Advisory Group for the Implementation of the Eisenhower West and Landmark Van Dorn Small Area Plans. Sash is a happily retired former lawyer having served a sentence of 30+ years at Big Law.
We welcome all Cameron Station residents and business owners to join the Cameron Station Civic Association. The Cameron Station Civic Association is actively engaged in influencing City decision makers and others to ensure that its volunteer membership has a prominent voice in preserving our standard of living and property values in Cameron Station. To join the Civic Association, send cash or a check (made payable to the Cameron Station Civic Association) for $10 per person (ages 18 and older) with your name(s), address, phone number and email address to: Cameron Station Civic Association 200 Cameron Station Blvd, Alexandria, VA 22304. To contact the Civic Association please email cameronstacivic@gmail.com.
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