We have a big announcement! Astronaut Leland Melvin has pledged $50,000 to the Tools for Change Capital Campaign as a STEM Challenge Match in memory of his parents, Deems and Grace Melvin!
Melvin said, “My parents, Deems and Grace Melvin, collectively taught in Lynchburg City Schools for 60 years, building up students to believe in what is possible. Dr. Sterling Wilder reminded me of a time when my parents intervened with the court to help a Jubilee family stay together. That is why I want to honor them with this donation, which will name one of the new classrooms in their memory, and continue their legacy of love for people, God, and service to our Jubilee community. “
Every new donation or pledge, no matter how small or large, will be matched by Astronaut Leland Melvin, dollar for dollar, up to $50,000. The match will be met once we reach $840,000!
The Tools for Change Capital Campaign will add five new classrooms, a patio, and a ramp for all-access to the Astronaut Leland Melvin STEM Center. Every donation to the capital campaign makes a difference! Please donate now, and your gift will be matched. Thank you!
About the Tools for Change Capital Campaign:
Jubilee is taking the next big step towards fighting poverty in our community and helping the entire family build a brighter future. The Tools for Change Capital Campaign will raise $1 Million to expand the Astronaut Leland Melvin STEM Center!
During COVID, Jubilee renovated an old car wash on its property into the Astronaut Leland Melvin STEM Center. Over the past three years, demand has exceeded classroom space. Jubilee's educational partners, Central Virginia Community College (CVCC) and Adult & Career Education (ACE) of Central Virginia, have committed to filling additional, larger classrooms with more students and classes if the space is created to house them.
The Astronaut Leland Melvin STEM Center offers college classes and certification training for adults, including cybersecurity, building trades, Certified Nursing Assistant, and more! Jubilee's Life Coach guides adult students through academic enrichment, career planning, and job training programs that enable them to enter the skilled-labor workforce, increase their income, and help stabilize their families.
With this expansion, Jubilee will add five new classrooms, a patio, and a ramp for all-access to the Astronaut Leland Melvin STEM Center!
The Astronaut Leland Melvin STEM Center is not just for adults - it's also for children! We're happy to share that a new Media Center, which will be located in one of the new classrooms in the expanded STEM Center, will be named the Mark Spain Media Center in memory of Jubilee's good friend, ABC 13 WSET News Anchor, Mark Spain. In 2024, Mark chose Jubilee as his WSET Community Counts Partner. Through this partnership, our community raised $75,000 in only two months to outfit a new Media Center for youth at Jubilee, where they will learn the skills necessary for careers in digital media, including photography, videography, podcasting, graphic design, film/audio/photo editing, and journalism. This remarkable accomplishment would not have been possible without Mark Spain, and Jubilee is humbled to be able to honor Mark's memory for decades to come through the Mark Spain Media Center at Jubilee.
Thank you for being a friend to Jubilee Family Development Center!
We have a big announcement! Astronaut Leland Melvin has pledged $50,000 to the Tools for Change Capital Campaign as a STEM Challenge Match in memory of his parents, Deems and Grace Melvin!
Melvin said, “My parents, Deems and Grace Melvin, collectively taught in Lynchburg City Schools for 60 years, building up students to believe in what is possible. Dr. Sterling Wilder reminded me of a time when my parents intervened with the court to help a Jubilee family stay together. That is why I want to honor them with this donation, which will name one of the new classrooms in their memory, and continue their legacy of love for people, God, and service to our Jubilee community. “
Every new donation or pledge, no matter how small or large, will be matched by Astronaut Leland Melvin, dollar for dollar, up to $50,000. The match will be met once we reach $840,000!
The Tools for Change Capital Campaign will add five new classrooms, a patio, and a ramp for all-access to the Astronaut Leland Melvin STEM Center. Every donation to the capital campaign makes a difference! Please donate now, and your gift will be matched. Thank you!
17 days ago by Shannon L. Watts
What a great way to start the weekend! Jubilee is over the moon because we've received a new $60,000 gift for the Tools for Change Capital Campaign to expand the Astronaut Leland Melvin STEM Center! Thank you to our anonymous friends who made this amazing gift! We can't wait to change lives through your generosity!
We have now raised over $787,000 of our $1 Million goal!
Thank you again to our anonymous friends!
23 days ago by Shannon L. Watts
We're thrilled to share that the Tools for Change Capital Campaign has received a new $50,000 gift from an anonymous friend! Thank you to this friend for believing in Jubilee and our goal of improving the lives of the entire family through STEM education and career pathways!
We have now raised over $727,000 of our $1 Million goal! The $700,000 stickers will be added to our thermometer signs at Jubilee, Bank of the James, Fleet, Genworth, and OrthoVirginia over the next few days, and the rocket will continue its climb up the thermometer!
Thank you again to our anonymous friend!
February 11, 2026: Special Announcement! Thanks to a $50,000 donation from Jubilee's friends, Candace and Pete Caprise, Classroom #4 in the Astronaut Leland Melvin STEM Center Expansion will be named in honor of OrthoVirginia!
Thank you to the Caprise family for their generosity and for supporting Jubilee's Tools for Change Capital Campaign! We are excited that one of the five new classrooms to be added to the Astronaut Leland Melvin STEM Center will be named in honor of OrthoVirginia!
January 22, 2026: Thank you to The Al Stroobants Foundation for supporting the Tools for Change Capital Campaign to expand the Astronaut Leland Melvin STEM Center at Jubilee with a new $25,000 grant!
The Al Stroobants Foundation has now contributed a total of $50,000 to the Tools for Change Capital Campaign, and we're thrilled to share that one of the five new classrooms in the expansion will be named in honor of The Al Stroobants Foundation!
We have now raised 607,000 of our $1 Million goal! The $600,000 stickers will be added to our thermometer signs at Jubilee, Bank of the James Fleet, Genworth, and OrthoVirginia over the next few days, and the rocket will continue its climb up the thermometer!
Thank you again to The Al Stroobants Foundation for being a loyal friend to Jubilee and an amazing partner in this campaign!
January 16, 2026: Thank you to the Schewel Charitable Foundation for supporting the Tools for Change Capital Campaign to expand the Astronaut Leland Melvin STEM Center at Jubilee with a generous $10,000 grant! The Schewel Charitable Foundation's and the Schewel Family's longtime support of Jubilee, our children, and our programs is sincerely appreciated.
We have now raised $581,000 of our $1 Million goal! Thank you again to the Schewel Charitable Foundation for being a special part of this journey with Jubilee!
January 7, 2026: Jubilee’s Tools for Change Capital Campaign thermometer signs are going up around town! Here is the sign at Jubilee. We’re so excited to have raised $571,000 towards our $1 million goal to expand the Astronaut Leland Melvin STEM Center at Jubilee! Thank you to everyone who has donated towards the campaign so far!
December 22, 2025: We Did It! Together, our community has raised $50,000 in new donations and pledges for the Tools for Change Capital Campaign to expand the Astronaut Leland Melvin STEM Center at Jubilee! These gifts have been matched dollar-for-dollar by the Easley Foundation, bringing $100,000 in new donations and pledges to the campaign. We are now over halfway to accomplishing our $1 Million goal.
A generous gift of $50,000 from Watt and Jennifer Foster took Jubilee over the finish line of the Easley Challenge Match! We're pleased to share that the new patio at the Astronaut Leland Melvin STEM Center will be named in their honor. Thank you to the Fosters for their generosity and community spirit!
Thank you to everyone who supported the Easley Challenge Match Campaign, and to the Easley Foundation for matching these donations and pledges!
