Organizations support educational, environmental, social equity, and community advancement initiatives
From Yahoo Finance
ATLANTA, — Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE: NSC) will award $1 million in grants to a diverse group of fifty-seven Hampton Roads nonprofit organizations. The grants further Norfolk Southern’s legacy of supporting people and families in the communities it serves. The organizations are committed to positive change in areas such as homelessness, filling gaps in K-12 education, food insecurity, arts and culture, as well as environmental preservation and restoration.
In 2021, Norfolk Southern announced that it would contribute $5 million to the Hampton Roadscommunity. The company will distribute $1 million each year for five years through the Hampton Roads Community Foundation to nonprofits that support education, the environment, social equity, and community advancement.
“Generations of Norfolk Southern employees have lived, worked, and raised their families in the Hampton Roadscommunity. Today, our railroaders and retirees continue to be engaged in the region and invested in its future,” said Norfolk Southern President and CEO Alan H. Shaw. “We are partnering with the Hampton Roads Community Foundation to award the first tranche of this $5 millionfund and continue our support for a community that means so much to us.”
A selection committee of Norfolk Southern railroaders who live and work in the Hampton Roads area reviewed more than 120 applications — the most that the Hampton Roads Community Foundation has ever received in a single grant program — and selected 57 nonprofits to receive grants.
“These grants continue Norfolk Southern’s longtime, kindhearted support of the nonprofit community in Hampton Roads, making life better through philanthropy,” said Deborah M. DiCroce, president and CEO of the community foundation. “We are honored to be stewards of Norfolk Southern’s generous gift as we work together to create a thriving, inclusive community with opportunity for all.”
The organizations receiving grants will be recognized at a luncheon on Monday, December 12 at 11:30 a.m. ET at the Hilton Norfolk the Main. More than 100 people are expected to attend, including Annie Adams, Norfolk Southern’s Executive Vice President & Chief Transformation Officer, and Dr. Deborah M. DiCroce, President and CEO of the Hampton Roads Community Foundation. Organizations that will receive grants include:
| Organization | Cause |
| 757 Accelerate | Social Equity |
| Access College Foundation | Education Gaps for K-12 Students |
| Access Virginia | Arts and Culture |
| An Achievable Dream Virginia Beach | Education Gaps for K-12 Students |
| Blakey Weaver Counseling Center Inc | Dropout Prevention |
| Chrysler Museum of Art | Arts and Culture |
| Clever Communities In Action | Education Gaps for K-12 Students |
| Communities In Schools of Hampton Roads | Dropout Prevention |
| Community Outreach Coalition | Education Gaps for K-12 Students |
| Connect With a Wish | Social Equity |
| Cover 3 Football INC DBA Cover 3 Foundation | Food Insecurity |
| Elizabeth River Trail Foundation | Environmental Preservation and Restoration |
| Empowerment Center for Children Youth and Families | Social Equity |
| Envision Lead Grow, Inc. | Education Gaps for K-12 Students |
| EQUI-KIDS Therapeutic Riding Program | Social Equity |
| Families of Autistic Children Of Tidewater | Social Equity |
| G.I.R.L.S. Club | Dropout Prevention |
| Habitat for Humanity South Hampton Roads | Homelessness and Housing Instability Services |
| Hampton Roads Workforce Foundation | Social Equity |
| Healthy Chesapeake | Social Equity |
| Hope House Foundation, Inc. | Social Equity |
| Horizons Hampton Roads, Inc. | Education Gaps for K-12 Students |
| I. Sherman Greene Chorale, Inc. | Arts and Culture |
| The Barry Robinson Center | Dropout Prevention |
| LGBT Life Center | Social Equity |
| Lynnhaven River NOW | Environmental Preservation and Restoration |
| New Vision Youth Services, Inc. | Homelessness and Housing Instability Services |
| Norfolk Botanical Garden, Inc. | Arts and Culture |
| Norfolk Senior Center | Food Insecurity |
| Nursing CAP, Inc. | Social Equity |
| Regent University | Social Equity |
| Samaritan House, Inc. | Homelessness and Housing Instability Services |
| Seton Youth Shelters | Homelessness and Housing Instability Services |
| Southeastern Virginia Areawide Model Program | Food Insecurity |
| St. Mary’s Home for Disabled Children | Social Equity |
| Suffolk Meals on Wheels, Inc. | Food Insecurity |
| The Four Rivers Project | Social Equity |
| The Genieve Shelter | Social Equity |
| Tidewater African Cultural Alliance | Arts and Culture |
| Trails of Purpose | Social Equity |
| USTA Mid-Atlantic Section, Inc. | Social Equity |
| Village Family | Food Insecurity |
| Virginia African American Cultural Center, Inc. | Social Equity |
| Virginia Arts Festival | Arts and Culture |
| Virginia Beach CASA | Social Equity |
| Virginia Beach GrowSmart Foundation | Early Childhood Care and Education |
| Virginia Children’s Chorus | Arts and Culture |
| Virginia Opera Association, Inc. | Arts and Culture |
| Virginia Stage Company | Arts and Culture |
| Virginia Symphony Orchestra | Arts and Culture |
| Virginia Zoological Society | Arts and Culture |
| Walk In It Inc. | Education Gaps for K-12 Students |
| Western Tidewater Free Clinic, Inc. | Social Equity |
| YMCA of South Hampton Roads | Social Equity |
| Young Investors Group | Homelessness and Housing Instability Services |
| Youth Outreach Urban Resources & Services | Dropout Prevention |
| YWCA South Hampton Roads | Homelessness and Housing Instability Services |
About Norfolk Southern
Since 1827, Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE: NSC) and its predecessor companies have safely moved the goods and materials that drive the U.S. economy. Today, it operates a customer-centric and operations-driven freight transportation network. Committed to furthering sustainability, Norfolk Southern helps its customers avoid 15 million tons of yearly carbon emissions by shipping via rail. Its dedicated team members deliver more than 7 million carloads annually, from agriculture to consumer goods, and is the largest rail shipper of auto products and metals in North America. Norfolk Southern also has the most extensive intermodal network in the eastern U.S., serving a majority of the country’s population and manufacturing base, with connections to every major container port on the Atlantic coast as well as the Gulf of Mexico and Great Lakes. Learn more by visiting www.NorfolkSouthern.com.
About the Hampton Roads Community Foundation
With roots dating back to 1950, the Hampton Roads Community Foundation is a permanent charitable endowment with over $500 million in assets. It has awarded over $344 million in grants and scholarships since its founding. The Foundation also plays a critical role in community leadership, tackling such regional issues as early childcare and education, homelessness and affordable housing, climate change and disaster responsiveness, and regional economic competitiveness. The Foundation’s mission is to make life better in Hampton Roads through grantmaking, philanthropy, and civic engagement. Its vision is a thriving community with opportunity for all.
