October 19, 2009

Nearly 600 people from 33 congregations local congregations gathered at St. Thomas Aquinas Church in Charlottesville Monday night. They gathered for the fourth annual IMPACT meeting. Local churches come together to solve a problem in the community. Past years have included issues like affordable housing, access to dental care, transportation and education. After voting on three issues, this year, the group is tackling interpretation services for non-english speakers.

"The goal tonight is to bring people together, hear about these concerns," said Rhonda Miska, an IMPACT leader. "Get an update on where the ground work is on them and then decide collectively where we want to focus our efforts this year."

IMPACT will present their recommendations to city and county leaders on how to tackle that issue early next year.