The Transgender Assistance Project (TAP VA) and Samaritan House are among nine Hampton Roads area non-profit organizations awarded community grants by the TEGNA Foundation, the charitable foundation sponsored by TEGNA Inc., and 13News Now (WVEC).
The nine area nonprofit organizations community were awarded grants totaling $34,000. The community grants in Hampton Roads address pressing community needs, including assisting victims of human trafficking, discrimination and sexual abuse, mentorship and education opportunities for children, animal welfare, and are intended to make a difference in communities in the region.
Among the grant recipients are:
- Access Virginia for a project to bring a theater sensory workshop for students with vision impairments.
- Chesapeake Humane Society for a project to provide microchipping services to stray animals and offer a walk-in clinic for cats.
- Clever Communities in Action, a group running a barber shop-based literacy program called Razor Sharp Readers focusing on education and mentorship for African American youth.
- Fear 2 Freedom based out of Newport News to provide aftercare kits to victims of sexual assault, domestic violence, and child abuse.
- Maxstrong Memorial Fund that will teach hundreds of children to swim in our area.
- Samaritan House for their human trafficking initiative that is needed right here in Hampton Roads.
- Stop Abuse, an award-winning education program aimed to teach elementary school child how to recognize, prevent, and disclose sexual abuse.
- Transgender Assistance Program to provide emergency assistance to homeless transgender adults in our community.
- Wildlife Response who place injured and orphaned wildlife into licensed rehab care with the goal of releasing them back into their natural habitat.
“These grants will make an impact by providing support for these nonprofit groups in Hampton Roads,” said Dave Lougee, president and CEO, TEGNA. “We are proud to partner with these exceptional organizations and, alongside 13News Now (WVEC), look forward to working with them to serve the greater good of Hampton Roads.”
“13News Now has the honor of supporting so many worthy organizations with news coverage and sponsorship throughout the year. We are excited to take that local support one step further through the TEGNA Foundation Grant program. We sincerely appreciate every organization that submitted applications and are proud to say we had a record year with over 115 local submissions,” said Kari Jacobs, President and General Manager, 13News Now (WVEC).
This month, the TEGNA Foundation is awarding 236 community grants to help support multiple nonprofit organizations across TEGNA’s 39 markets. This is the second round of community grants this year. In 2018, the TEGNA Foundation has awarded 336 grants.
Over the past three years, TEGNA Foundation Community Grants have supported more than 1,000 organizations based in the local markets served by TEGNA-owned stations across the U.S. During that time, more than $5,000,000 has been invested in community nonprofits where TEGNA does business and where its employees live.
Community grants are determined by each TEGNA station and approved by the station’s general manager and the TEGNA Foundation Board of Directors. The donation amounts and nonprofit recipients vary depending on the unique needs and local priorities of that community.
For more information on all of the TEGNA Foundation grantmaking programs, go to TEGNAFoundation.org.
