This is the fifth and final story in a special holiday series celebrating altruists in our midst. Portia Clark has lived in Arlington all her life, and has spent that lifetime helping others—most notably in her historically Black neighborhood. She’s not done yet.
Over time, Clark has received numerous accolades for her volunteerism, mostly for her work with youth, but recently also for helping seniors age in place in her Green Valley neighborhood (formerly known as Nauck).
“My focus when I started initially was working with youth and teens—and then parents,” she says, “but these days, as I age, I see more of the need for the senior portion.” says Clark.
Clark is the creator of Nauck Village, a grassroots effort that ran from 2012 to 2017 to help seniors to stay in their homes. The program was originally run through her nonprofit, C.A.R.E., Inc., which she founded in 1996 to help disadvantaged members of her neighborhood, and connected seniors to Arlington Neighborhood Village (ANV), a larger organization serving the needs of elders in Arlington County. ANV members pay a yearly fee for assistance with things like running errands and transportation to and from appointments, as well as household tasks, such as decluttering or changing light bulbs and smoke detector batteries.
As an extension of that mission, Nauck Village mobilized volunteers to connect seniors in the neighborhood with ANV, while also providing direct assistance with tasks like yard maintenance and shoveling snow. The Nauck Village program later evolved into a program called Family Matters, which continued to educate seniors about available services. Local churches have since taken over most of that work.
Green Valley is one of three historically Black neighborhoods in Arlington County. However, rising housing prices and gentrification have changed the face of the neighborhood, which is now minority African American.
Clark says the change has been hard on older residents who grew up in a close-knit neighborhood where everyone knew and relied on each other. Many established roots in Green Valley at a time when other Arlington businesses still refused to serve Black residents. For instance, when Clark was born in 1959, her mother could not give birth at the hospital in Arlington. Back then, African Americans had to go to Freedmen’s Hospital in D.C. (now a part of Howard University Hospital). In response, one Green Valley resident started a taxi cab business, Friendly Cab Stand, to support mothers who didn’t have transportation to the hospital.
Other local businesses, like the Green Valley Pharmacy, which Leonard “Doc” Muse opened in 1952, were established out of a similar need during segregation.
Today, Clark says, many of the neighborhood’s original homeowners have gone and children have moved away. That’s changed the dynamic for seniors who were accustomed to relying on neighbors for help.
“They just didn’t have the support within the community like they had in the past,” she says.
Additionally, a senior program previously housed at Drew Elementary school was relocated when the school was remodeled in 2000. When that program left the neighborhood, Clark says seniors didn’t know where to turn for help, and they were wary of other programs that could have helped them. She says many were afraid to sign up for the Arlington County Real Estate Tax Relief program because they thought the county was trying to take their homes away.
“It was more difficult to get information into their hands,” Clark says. “There’s that trust factor—they didn’t trust everybody.”
In 2022, Clark received an Arlington Community Foundation (ACF) Spirit of Community award in recognition of her work with seniors and as an advocate for local youth.
Clark founded C.A.R.E. (Community Association of Resources for Education, Enrichment and Economics) nearly two decades ago to serve disadvantaged youth. One of the organization’s first initiatives was a teenage pregnancy prevention program—FIT for PEP (Families Involved Together for Preventing Early Pregnancy). It’s one of the efforts Clark says she is the most proud of.
“A lot of those kids ended up going on to college and graduating and starting their careers,” she says.
Shari Morris, who serves on C.A.R.E.’s board of directors, says it was one of the most impactful programs for the community.
“The program brought youth together from the neighborhood, providing mentorship opportunities, a safe space, dinner, and required participation from parents and families,” says Morris. “The program provided positive mentors, taught life skills, public speaking skills, the importance of philanthropy and community outreach, as well as sex education.”
Other programs soon emerged to meet the needs of the community. C.A.R.E. went on to offer low-cost summer camps and after-school care to help working parents.
“Back then, my kids were the driving factor,” Clark says. “When I looked for programs for them, there was nothing available. And their friends and other families couldn’t afford what was available.”
Today, C.A.R.E continues to fill that gap. As a 501c3 organization, it is able to make connections and procure financing for youth programs that would not otherwise be accessible to some families.
At Dr. Charles R. Drew Elementary School, C.A.R.E. funds a variety of after school programs, including an urban gardening class, Encore Stage and Studio theater programs and soccer.
The nonprofit also runs summer camps (Clark is currently scouting for locations for a low-cost camp this summer). It funds an annual neighborhood cleanup and a community garden program launched in 2021 to engage youth in gardening. The garden is maintained by volunteers and the harvest is given to those in need. Clark notifies the community about the free produce via her electronic distribution list and works closely with the ministry at the Macedonia Baptist Church, which adds the food to its free pantry.
“It’s kind of difficult sometimes for [larger] nonprofits with these billion dollar budgets to really see into the neighborhood and understand what those grassroot needs are,” Clark says. She also helps fellow nonprofits by helping them apply for grants and access financing for the community.
Clark also serves as president of the Green Valley Civic Association. She was instrumental in her neighborhood’s effort to reclaim its original name to better reflect its African American legacy. (For much of the 20th century, the area was called “Nauck” after John D. Nauck, a Confederate Army soldier.) She hopes that one day in the future she can find a space to put Green Valley history on display.
Morris says Clark’s contributions have been invaluable to the neighborhood.
“Portia Clark has been the backbone of providing community fellowship and enrichment to the Green Valley Community,” Morris says. “Her roots are deeply planted, and she has made a tremendous impact.”