Community Leadership Partners Award $200K To Aid Youth

NORFOLK
The Community Leadership Partners giving group recently awarded $200,000 in grants to 15 area nonprofits focused on helping “opportunity youth.” These organizations serve young people ages 16-24 who may be in middle or high school, or are neither working, nor in school, nor serving in the military. They need help finding jobs, getting an education, and developing life skills.

The Community Leadership Partners are members of a philanthropy group at the Hampton Roads Community Foundation who combine resources to tackle community needs. “Since 2010, the Partners have awarded more than $2.3 million to organizations helping youth in Hampton Roads, said Kate Hofheimer Wilson, associate vice president for development. “We are excited to support these groups that advocate for and provide vital support to our region’s young people.”

The 2021 grant recipients are:

Big Brothers Big Sisters Services, Inc., $5,000 for a one-on-one mentoring program for military dependent youth ages 16-18 in South Hampton Roads

Children’s Hospital of The King’s Daughters, $15,000 to provide essential services via CHKD’s Child Advocacy Center to children ages 16-24 from across Hampton Roads who have experienced maltreatment, including victims of commercial sexual exploitation

Communities in Schools of Hampton Roads, $20,000 for site coordinators assisting students ages 16-24 at risk of disconnection who attend Booker T. Washington and Granby High schools in Norfolk

Community Harvest Outreach, $2,000 for support services and job readiness training to youth ages 16-24 from Suffolk, Chesapeake, Portsmouth, Norfolk, or Virginia Beach to assist them with securing gainful employment

ForKids, Inc., $15,000 to provide housing stabilization and support services to South Hampton Roads-area parenting youth ages 18-24

Hampton Roads Workforce Foundation, $20,000 for the NextGen Regional Internship Program, a paid internship program providing workforce development and career counseling services to youth ages 16-21 who have become or are at risk of becoming disconnected

Neighborhood, $12,000 to provide workforce training, job placement assistance, and support services to opportunity youth ages 18-24 in Chesapeake’s South Norfolk community

New Vision Youth Services, Inc., $2,500 to provide education support and ABE/GED classes to youth ages 16-24 living in Chesapeake, Norfolk, or Portsmouth who have become or are at risk of becoming disconnected

StandUP for Kids Hampton Roads, $17,000 to provide dental care to homeless and opportunity youth ages 16-24 in Virginia Beach

The Literacy Lab, $8,000 to provide paid training, employment, and mentoring to young men of color ages 16-24 in Portsmouth, who will provide literacy intervention to pre-K students.

Tidewater Friends of Foster Care, Inc., $24,000 to provide weekly tutoring services to help South Hampton Roads foster youth ages 16 and up bridge academic gaps.

Tidewater Youth Services Foundation, $15,000 to provide basic needs, medical needs, and support services to Hampton Roads court-involved youth and families with children at risk for disconnection; and to support independent living skills education for youth living in TYSF’s residential group homes.

Together We Can Foundation, $17,500 for the Smart Transitions Life-Work Portfolio Program to help South Hampton Roads youth ages 16-24 to prepare for gainful employment.

Virginia Beach CASA, $20,000 for the Bridges to Success mentoring program to help Virginia Beach youth ages 16-24 in the child welfare system prepare for independence.

Wesley Community Service Center, Inc., $7,000 for educational support services for Portsmouth youth ages 16-24 to obtain their GED.

The Hampton Roads Community foundation is southeastern Virginia’s largest grant and scholarship provider. Since 1950 it has awarded more than $324 million in grants and scholarships to make life better in Hampton Roads. Details on applying for grants are available at www.hamptonroadscf.org.