Norfolk Southern awards $1 million to 57 Hampton Roads nonprofits

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Dec 12, 2022, 09:00 ET

Organizations support educational, environmental, social equity, and community advancement initiatives

ATLANTA, Dec. 12, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- 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 Roads community. 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 Roads community. 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 million fund 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.

SOURCE Norfolk Southern Corporation