Norfolk Southern awards $1 million to 57 Hampton Roads nonprofits

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

For further information: Norfolk Southern Media Inquiries: Media Relations, 404-420-4444; Norfolk Southern Investor Inquiries: Luke Nichols, 470-867-4807