Focus on Philanthropy

I could have answered my client’s question in the first two minutes of our call, if only she’d taken a breath. She was describing her property-line dispute with a level of detail only necessary if her hedge had been the site of a double homicide and I were the lead detective. Since she’d called just to ask about her trial date, and since I’d heard her story before, I was anxious to wrap things up. But the trial date wasn’t really why she called, as I concluded more than 15 minutes later. What she really craved was a listener. And I wasn’t being a very good one. It may be misguided to start a column by writing about a skill I haven’t yet mastered, especially when my years of trying cases, working in education, and teaching courses on, of all things, communication, should make me bett...

Girls Play House, Women Build Them Habitat for Humanity of South Hampton Roads to Hold Second Annual All-Women Build for a Deserving Family In 1988, a group of concerned Portsmouth citizens founded Habitat for Humanity of South Hampton Roads (Habitat SHR). Dedicated to making affordable housing a matter of conscience and action, Habitat SHR has since guided more than 230 families to homeownership.  Habitat SHR knows that the value of having a stable place to live reduces dependency on government subsidies, raises property values and teaches civic responsibility. Studies show that children of homeowners are twice as likely to graduate college and 60% more likely to own their own homes within 10 years of moving out of their parents’ household. “We know Habitat can chang...

Judeo Christian Outreach Center’s Community Dinner Helps Debi from Returning to Homelessness Debi celebrates her 63rd birthday this November. It is a bittersweet milestone because her sister passed away at the age of 62, and her mother at 63. Her dream is to move to Colorado and “live as long as I can live.” For now, she is grateful to be living in an apartment with her longtime boyfriend Kevin. Two years have passed since Debi’s 11-year journey with homelessness ended. She is determined not to return. Raised in Pittsburg, PA, Debi quit high school after she did not do well in special education classes. She has had a series of jobs over the years as a server, assistant manager and manager in restaurants. Debi hitchhiked to Virginia Beach over nine years ago to join Kevin and the...

By Al Midgett, Founder and CEO I founded The Noblemen in 1995 in order to pay it forward in thanks for the gift of a surviving child from extreme prematurity who was given a 2% chance of survival.  The medical expenses exceeded a half million dollars and the Hampton Roads community jumped in and supported me in countless ways.    I have enjoyed the platform of helping local kids for almost 25 years.  We meet monthly and prepare and serve dinner to 40 to 50 members (out of 100) who have the time each month to talk about our recent philanthropy and discuss possible fun and upbeat ways to raise money to support what we do. It is truly a “connect the dots” mentality as we hear from our members about current opportunities to support kids with special needs or who a...

Noblemen are presenting the 4th Annual Oktoberfest Event for all of Coastal Virginia  By Al Midgett, Founder and CEO I founded The Noblemen in 1995 in order to pay it forward in thanks for the gift of a surviving child from extreme prematurity who was given a 2% chance of survival.  The medical expenses exceeded a half million dollars and the Hampton Roads community jumped in and supported me in countless ways.    I have enjoyed the platform of helping local kids for almost 25 years.  We meet monthly and prepare and serve dinner to 40 to 50 members (out of 100) who have the time each month to talk about our recent philanthropy and discuss possible fun and upbeat ways to raise money to support what we do. It is truly a “connect the dots” mentality...

Volunteer Hampton Roads: Helping Enhance the Community Through Volunteerism By Stephanie Gorham, Executive Director I joined the Volunteer Hampton Roads team in June of 2018 as the Executive Director. I am thrilled to be part of an organization that is focused on connecting businesses with opportunities, which creates a positive impact on our community by equipping nonprofits with resources they need to achieve their mission; and mobilizing a community of volunteers to create change.   People often ask, what is it that Volunteer Hampton Roads does?  The best way to answer that question is to share with you what we did, what we do and what we will do to enhance the well-being of our community.   2018 was a wonderful year for Volunteer Hampton Roads!   ...

Judeo-Christian Outreach Center Helps Vincent Find a New Home By Kristin Ward The Judeo-Christian Outreach Center’s staff, partners and volunteers are celebrating 32 years of feeding the hungry and sheltering the homeless! People like Vincent. The week of Thanksgiving was an exciting time for Vincent. He signed a lease and was handed the key to a new apartment at the Housing Resource Center (HRC)! It was beginning to look like Christmas for him. The last ten months had been hard and long. The heavy equipment operator and former truck driver experienced a health crisis in February 2018. After missing too much work, Vincent lost his job and eventually his home. Never expecting to become homeless, he began living in his car in April. With the help of food stamp...

As a child at family gatherings, Mark remembers always checking the cake pan to see if his favorite cake were inside. Mark enthusiastically says, “My Grandmother’s triple chocolate cake was worth the effort to clean my dinner plate no matter how many vegetables were served”. Sharing this sweet indulgence has become a family tradition for the Rosenfields - Mark, Sharon, Hannah (16) and Hayley (14). Together they have baked as many as eighty cakes to give to friends, co-workers, teachers, and neighbors during the holidays. Each year they enjoy delivering these cakes to see the joy it brings. There’s now an additional reason for the Rosenfields to offer these cakes over the next several months. Hannah and Hayley have the opportunity visit France this summer to play soccer and watch the...