Arts Come Alive in Norfolk's New NEON District

It has only been two years since Team Better Block showcased the potential for a downtrodden

Governor's School for the Arts students lit this alley.

section of Granby Street near downtown Norfolk, Virginia. Pop-up performance venues, galleries, cafes and coffee shops gave a glimpse of how this rundown, nondescript commercial district could be revived.

Since then visionaries, activists, artists and funders have worked together to bring to life the NEON District right where the pop-up Better Block event took place. NEON stands for the New Energy of Norfolk, but it also represents the colorful nature of Norfolk's new arts district. 

Last week the two-night Neon Festival drew thousands of people from throughout Hampton Roads to wander the streets and enjoy visual art, music, dance, comedy and food as part of Norfolk's Visual Arts Week. 

Yes, there was plenty of neon art along with new giant wall murals to add to the magic. The Business Consortium for Arts Support, whose funders include the Hampton Roads Community Foundation, helped underwrite this fun festival for arts lovers of all ages. 

The Downtown Norfolk Council, Chrysler Museum of Art, Governor's School for the Arts, Virginia Opera, Virginia Arts Festival and Virginia Stage Company were among the many organizations giving the NEON District a great vibe.Thanks to everyone who is helping breathe new life into this district. 

 (The Hampton Roads Community Foundation is a regional community foundation started in 1950 as the first community foundation in Virginia. It is among nearly 750 community foundation around the country serving specific geographic regions. It is the largest grant and scholarship provider in southeastern Virginia and manages more than 400 charitable funds created by donors from all walks of life. Over the decades it has provided more than $210 million to improve life for residents living in the Hampton Roads region of Virginia, including the cities of Chesapeake, Franklin, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Smithfield, Suffolk and Virginia Beach. It also serves people in Isle of Wight and Southampton counties and the Eastern Shore of Virginia, including Accomack and Northampton counties. Learn more at hamptonroadscf.org. You can click here to locate a community foundation near you. )

Community Foundation Donors Help 391 Students Go to College in 2015-16

We are excited about the 391 students who are in college right now with help from Hampton Roads Community Foundation Scholarships. Here is a snapshot of this year's scholarship program made possible by our generous donors who value education and love helping students.

(The Hampton Roads Community Foundation is a regional community foundation started in 1950 as the first community foundation in Virginia. It is among nearly 750 community foundation around the country serving specific geographic regions. It is the largest grant and scholarship provider in southeastern Virginia and manages more than 400 charitable funds created by donors from all walks of life. Over the decades it has provided more than $210 million to improve life for residents living in the Hampton Roads region of Virginia, including the cities of Chesapeake, Franklin, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Smithfield, Suffolk and Virginia Beach. It also serves people in Isle of Wight and Southampton counties and the Eastern Shore of Virginia, including Accomack and Northampton counties. Learn more at hamptonroadscf.org. You can click here to locate a community foundation near you. )

Meet the National Philanthropists of the Year

Philanthropists Joan and Macon Brock of Virginia Beach, Virginia have long been some of Hampton

Joan & Macon Brock (Glen McClure photo)

Roads' most generous citizens. They enjoy funding arts, education, environmental and social action causes "where we can make something happen," Macon says.
Now the couple's  generosity is getting national attention with the recent announcement that the Brocks will be honored in New York City on National Philanthropy Day in November 2015. They will receive  the national Outstanding Philanthropist award presented by the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP). Among those keeping company with them on November 12, 2015 at a celebration dinner at the 92nd Street Y will be representatives of the Coca-Cola Company of Atlanta, which will be honored as the country's Outstanding Corporation.

"We are surprised and pleased," Macon Brock says of the philanthropy award. He and Joan were honored regionally in 2013 as Outstanding Philanthropists by the Hampton Roads AFP chapter, which nominated them for the national award. The couple also will be honored in November with the Darden Award for Regional Leadership presented by the CIVIC Leadership Institute.

"We've been lucky and blessed with the success of our company (Dollar Tree Inc.)," Macon says. "With that comes the obligation of doing something for others."

Macon is a member of the Hampton Roads Community Foundation board of directors. He and Joan, who both grew up in Norfolk and met in the eighth grade, have endowed a scholarship fund at the community foundation that benefits students at Randolph-Macon College in Ashland, his alma mater. They also have an unrestricted fund.  In addition, Dollar Tree also has two corporate donor-advised funds administered by the community foundation.

Over the years the Brocks have donated more than $40 million to numerous organizations around the globe, including at a school in Africa and at Randolph-Macon College and Longwood University, Joan's alma mater. Among the causes in Hampton Roads they are known for supporting are:

• The new Chesapeake Bay Foundation's Brock Environmental Center, one of the greenest buildings in the world.
• The M. Foscue Brock Institute for Community and Global Health at Eastern Virginia Medical School.
• The endowed curator of American art position at the Chrysler Museum of Art.
•  ACCESS College Foundation programs.
• The new Brock Commons outdoor amphitheater at Old Dominion University.
• United Way of South Hampton Roads' United for Children program.
• Virginia Wesleyan College's Center for the Study of Religious Freedom.

Learn more about AFP's National Philanthropy Day celebration and its honorees.  Watch the video below to hear the Brocks' philosophy of generosity.

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(The Hampton Roads Community Foundation is a regional community foundation started in 1950 as the first community foundation in Virginia. It is among nearly 750 community foundation around the country serving specific geographic regions. It is the largest grant and scholarship provider in southeastern Virginia and manages more than 400 charitable funds created by donors from all walks of life. Over the decades it has provided more than $210 million to improve life for residents living in the Hampton Roads region of Virginia, including the cities of Chesapeake, Franklin, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Smithfield, Suffolk and Virginia Beach. It also serves people in Isle of Wight and Southampton counties and the Eastern Shore of Virginia, including Accomack and Northampton counties. Learn more at hamptonroadscf.org. You can click here to locate a community foundation near you.)

What Is Our Foundation's Greatest Success Story?

What is the Hampton Roads Community Foundation's biggest success story,  a new board

Coley Stone at Granby High, his alma mater.

member asked the other day. There are lots of great stories we could share related to big community initiatives incubated here and nonprofits whose clients and audiences benefit from our grants.

But, perhaps our best successes revolve around the 4,000-plus individuals helped by college scholarships made possible by our donors since 1951.

Just the other day we spotted a Facebook post from our former scholarship recipient Coley Stone. Today Coley works in Rotterdam, The Netherlands as a customer care and logistics specialists for Galderama, a global dermatology company. He is fluent in English, French and Dutch and also can converse comfortably with clients in Portuguese, Spanish, Italian and Mandarin Chinese.

Robert & Ettie Cunningham -- Coley's benefactors

Not bad for someone who in 1998 was expelled from his Norfolk middle school and never took any foreign language classes until college. 

A second chance came Coley's way after attending a Norfolk alternative school. He returned to middle school and went on to graduate on time in 2001 from Norfolk's Granby High School where he was elected prom king. In high school he overcame family issues, held down a restaurant job to support himself, lived in a group home and was homeless his senior year before moving in with the school office manager and her family. His ACCESS College Foundation advisor helped him prepare for college and find the resources to pay for it.

Coley went to Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond with help from our J. Robert and Ettie Fearing Cunningham Memorial Scholarship and a Lincoln-Lane Foundation scholarship. During the four years Coley was on scholarship at college he discovered his gift for languages and excelled. In 2006 he was selected to carry the processional banner for VCU students at graduation. 

Armed with his degree in French and history and an adventuresome spirit Coley  headed to Europe after college graduation. He has lived and worked in The Netherlands since 2007. A post on Coley's Facebook page this week featured his 1998 report card from a Norfolk alternative school he attended in eighth grade. The comments section recommended his reinstatement in school and mentioned his "seriousness of purpose."

Coley's 2015 Facebook comment of "God knows I've come a long way" led us to tell him how proud his community foundation family is of him.

His reply:  "And you and the foundation made it all happen. For that I am forever grateful." 

We think the Cunninghams, a Norfolk couple who died decades ago, would be proud of Coley and the hundreds of other students their endowed scholarship at the community foundation has helped have better lives. Ettie Cunningham's 1992 estate gift created the permanent scholarship fund for Norfolk students or those from Hampton Roads who want to be teachers. There are more than 15 Cunningham Scholars in college right now and an endless procession of them will follow in years to come.

As Coley Stone says: "Despite the obstacles, I believe that everyone can achieve their goals if they keep a positive attitude and have support from the community. It has changed my life and I'll never forget."


 (The Hampton Roads Community Foundation is a regional community foundation started in 1950 as the first community foundation in Virginia. It is among nearly 750 community foundation around the country serving specific geographic regions. It is the largest grant and scholarship provider in southeastern Virginia and manages more than 400 charitable funds created by donors from all walks of life. Over the decades it has provided more than $210 million to improve life for residents living in the Hampton Roads region of Virginia, including the cities of Chesapeake, Franklin, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Smithfield, Suffolk and Virginia Beach. It also serves people in Isle of Wight and Southampton counties and the Eastern Shore of Virginia, including Accomack and Northampton counties. Learn more at hamptonroadscf.org. You can click here to locate a community foundation near you. )

Veteran's Foresight Leads to New Scholarship Fund

Gertrude "Betty" Ward taught English at Princess Anne High School in Virginia Beach for 19

Fred & Betty Ward in 1941

years. 

Although she died in 1996, Betty is helping send in the fall of 2015 two Virginia Beach Public School new graduates to follow in her footsteps.

The new Gertrude Ward Scholarship Fund at the Hampton Roads Community Foundation is thanks to Betty's husband Fred's foresight. A few years ago he was crafting a will with his attorney John Midgett of Midgett Preti Alperin PC of Virginia Beach. 

John asked Fred the question he asks all clients making wills: "If no one you have named is living, are there charities, causes or schools you would want to benefit?"

At the time the former World War II  sailor living in a Virginia Beach retirement center had a daughter and grandson to name as beneficiaries. But, Fred heeded his attorney's advice and put the community foundation in as a contingent beneficiary to administer an endowed scholarship in his late wife's name for Virginia Beach students. He expressed a preference for Princess Anne High graduates or Virginia Beach students majoring in English never expecting the scholarship to be activated.

Sarah Burk

Daja Askew

It is sad to think that Fred's only daughter and grandchild passed away before he did in 2011 at age 92. But it is satisfying to know that this fall Sarah Burk, a Princess Anne high graduate, will be studying English at the University of North Carolina and Daja Askew, a Bayside High School graduate will be studying English at Virginia Tech. 

Sarah says: "UNC has some of the best options to give me a diverse education in preparation to enter the publishing industry, so I was extremely glad to receive this scholarship to help me attend."

Daja says: "This scholarship has allowed me the opportunity to attend my dream school and pursue a degree in English. With my English degree, I plan on pursuing the education track and hope to become a high school English teacher in the future."

We can only imagine how pleased Fred and Betty Ward would be to know they are helping shape Sarah and Daja's futures along with the many other Ward Scholars who will follow them.

Warner Fund Celebrates Submarine Commissioning

The Warners with the sub. (L. Todd Spencer photo for The Virginian-Pilot)

 

 

 

 

August 1, 2015 was a thrilling day for retired U.S. Senator John Warner. That was when the Navy commissioned in Norfolk, Virginia the country's newest submarine -- the USS John Warner. 

Warner and his wife Jeanne, the ship's sponsor, enjoyed days of official events in Norfolk related to the commissioning of the submarine that was built in Newport News, Virginia.

Although all the ceremonies are over, the Alexandria couple maintains strong ties to the new submarine and its Norfolk-based crew through the new $100,000 Warner Family Fund they and other family members started at the Hampton Roads Community Foundation.

The new designated fund will "provide for modest awards to sailors recognized publicly for outstanding achievements each year," says Warner, who was a Navy petty officer in World War II, a Marine in the Korean War and Secretary of the Navy before serving in the senate for 30 years. In addition to supporting meritorious service awards, the Warner Fund will help the submarine's morale, welfare and recreation programs over the next 35 years, which is the expected life of the sub. 

The Warners were introduced to the community foundation by Norfolk Mayor Paul Fraim about a month before the commissioning. "The Warners wanted to make sure funds would be available for the life of the submarine," Fraim says. "I suggested the community foundation because of the great work it does and that it could manage the money and comply with their wishes."

"Our family has a deep sense of humility and gratitude to our nation ... and for the sailors and the shipyard workers," Warner says. He also appreciates President George W. Bush and his administration for honoring him upon his 2009 retirement from the senate by naming the next submarine to be constructed for him. 

The USS John Warner, the most technologically advanced submarine in the fleet, is the first of 12 Virginia-class subs to be named for a person. The others are all named for states.

(The Hampton Roads Community Foundation is a regional community foundation started in 1950 as the first community foundation in Virginia. It is among nearly 750 community foundation around the country serving specific geographic regions. It is the largest grant and scholarship provider in southeastern Virginia and manages more than 400 charitable funds created by donors from all walks of life. Over the decades it has provided more than $210 million to improve life for residents living in the Hampton Roads region of Virginia, including the cities of Chesapeake, Franklin, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Smithfield, Suffolk and Virginia Beach. It also serves people in Isle of Wight and Southampton counties and the Eastern Shore of Virginia, including Accomack and Northampton counties. Learn more at hamptonroadscf.org. You can click here to locate a community foundation near you. ) 

 

Scholarship Recipient Pays It Forward

Matt Elliott is the youngest person to start a foundation fund.
Photo by Glen McClure

At age 26, Matt Elliott of Norfolk, Virginia is the youngest philanthropist at the Hampton Roads Community Foundation. Last month, he created the endowed Dean-Callahan Scholarship Fund in memory of two younger swimmers at his Norfolk alma mater Maury High School  -- Carlton Dean.and Joey Callahan.

It has only been three years since Matt graduated from Virginia Military Institute with a biology degree. During his four years of study there, he was helped by a Col. J. Addison Hagan Memorial Scholarship administered by the community foundation. Today he works for the Hampton Roads Sanitation District and is studying for a masters degree in civil and environmental engineering at Old Dominion University.

In June 2015 Matt presented the community foundation a  $26,000 check to start the permanent Dean-Callahan Scholarship Fund at the community foundation. The college scholarship, which will be awarded for the first time next spring, is for Norfolk Public School athletes with a preference for swimmers. Matt raised most of the money last summer with a one-night swim off, volleyball tournament, barbecue and auction at the Mallory Country Club. The new event drew hundreds of people of all ages.

Even though Carlton and Joey were several years younger, Matt knew them through sports -- primarily swimming. All three were on the Maury High swim team but not all at the same time. Matt went on to be captain of the VMI swim team and to coach several Hampton Roads youth swim teams.

After Carlton passed away in 2012 at age 19 and Joey in 2013 at age 21, Matt started thinking of a way to honor these outstanding high school swimmers. He decided a permanent scholarship for athletes would be the best tribute to Carlton and Joey..At swim meets Carlton Dean excelled at butterfly, breaststroke and freestyle. He was named Most Valuable Player on the Maury High swim team as well as on the Pembroke Meadows Marlin and Tri City Aquatic Club swim teams. As a swimmer, Joey Callahan was known for his freestyle sprints and often anchored winning relay teams. He also was an outstanding volleyball and soccer player at Maury who earned 12 varsity letters and was co-MVP for volleyball his senior year. 

"I knew how much both Joey and Carlton meant to the community and how big they were in athletics. And, I knew how much the foundation scholarship helped me, This was perfect," Matt says of the scholarship fund.

Matt is busy planning the Second Annual Dean-Callahan Swim-off and Volleyball Tournament on Friday, August 14. Click here to learn more about the amazing lives of Carlton and Joey and the fun event Matt is planning.

If you would like to donate to the Dean-Callahan Scholarship Fund at the Hampton Roads Community Foundation click here.
 
(The Hampton Roads Community Foundation is a regional community foundation started in 1950 as the first community foundation in Virginia. It is among nearly 750 community foundation around the country serving specific geographic regions. It is the largest grant and scholarship provider in southeastern Virginia and manages more than 400 charitable funds created by donors from all walks of life. Over the decades it has provided more than $210 million to improve life for residents living in the Hampton Roads region of Virginia, including the cities of Chesapeake, Franklin, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Smithfield, Suffolk and Virginia Beach. It also serves people in Isle of Wight and Southampton counties and the Eastern Shore of Virginia, including Accomack and Northampton counties. Learn more at hamptonroadscf.org. You can click here to locate a community foundation near you. )