Every year, Norfolk Rotary Charities, the giving arm of our club, offers grants to 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations working in the community. The Charities board continued the club’s recent practice of focusing awards on supporting literacy, food insecurity, and mental health. After receiving more than 30 grant applications, representing more than $364,000 in requests, the Rotary Charities Committee awarded $40,000 in available funding to the organizations below.
Literacy
- Joy Education Foundation – $5,000 to fund its “Mobile Reading Hub” Tech Kits to expand summer literacy programming capacity in Norfolk from 250 to 500 students per day. Demetrius Lancaster, the nonprofit’s founder, became aware of Rotary while attending Booker T. Washington High School, where he participated in Career Day.
Food Insecurity
- ForKids: $2,625 to help cover food costs for families staying in emergency shelters.
- Primeplus Senior Center: $2,625 to support bulk purchases of essential nonperishable food staples for older adults.
- Salvation Army Hampton Roads Area Command: $2,625 to strengthen its Feeding Program, expanding access through community distribution models (food pantry, mobile distribution, community feeding, and street outreach).
- YELLOW: $2,625 to support its Summer Food Access program, providing meals when school is out of session.
- Communities in Schools of Hampton Roads: $2,000 to fund food distribution supplies, packaging, logistics materials, and family food access event supplies.
Mental Health
- Child & Family Services of Eastern Virginia, Inc. (The Up Center): $22,500 to fund TEAM UP THRIVE, an innovative mental health initiative integrated into youth mentoring to build prevention and resilience.
LauraBeth DeHority, president of Norfolk Rotary Charities, thanked the Norfolk Rotary Charities Board for its support and leadership throughout the process. The board includes: John Ehehalt, Jeff Ryder, Gary Bonnewell, Marty Raiss, Sigur Whitaker, Chick Robison, Ed Ware, John Searing, Tom Ambler, and Lorna Cochrane.
She also thanked the Charities Committee for the time and thoughtful discussion required to make these difficult decisions. The committee includes: Tom Ambler, Sigur Whitaker, Bobby Hoeft, Kay Stine, Sally Hartman, Marty Gowan, Jeff Ryder, and Marty Raiss.
Thanks to everyone who has contributed Happy Bucks, paid fines, and attended our fundraisers like Suds and Buds as all of these help build our endowment and provide the funds that we have available to award.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
April 28th – Next Companion Club Meeting - Speaker, Ralph Peter
April 28th - District Day of Giving – District will match your contributions with points up to $500, giving the option to give to Sigur directly with a check. All contributions have to go to the Annual Fund.
May 7th – Suds & Buds – Tom Koller announced the auction is fabulous, so bid high! Sponsorships are nearly $50k, a record for the event. We need volunteers, so all Rotarians are asked to be on deck. Wine pull needs donations (make donations to the charity, not the club). Representatives of the Sarah Michelle Peterson Foundation, our 3rd party partner, showed us how to make the Rotary Facebook page more popular by going to Rotary Club of Norfolk VA and “following” it. Karen has tickets for sale or you can purchase on sudsandbuds.org.
Raffle – Gary Bonnewell presented an Apple and Cherry pie from Nas Bakery that were won by Lynwood Beckner.
Clean the Bay Day May 2, 9:00 a.m. - Jim Kitz said our site may be near the Chrysler Museum (he is awaiting final confirmation). Please email Jim Kitz if you’re planning to attend. Hoping for a great turnout, bring family and friends.
