
                         THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
                 Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, June 16, 1994                    TAG: 9406160494 
SECTION: LOCAL                     PAGE: B5    EDITION: FINAL  
SOURCE: BY JEFF HOOTEN, STAFF WRITER 
DATELINE: 940616                                 LENGTH: Medium

NORFOLK FOUNDATIONS GIVES GRANT OF $1.2 MILLION TO UNITED WAY

{LEAD} Victims of domestic violence and their children will get a new shelter in Portsmouth thanks to a $1.2 million grant from The Norfolk Foundation to the United Way of South Hampton Roads.

Help and Emergency Response in Portsmouth is one of 15 charities that will benefit from the grant to United Way's 1994 Capital Campaign, which funds construction and renovation projects at United Way agencies.

{REST} The grant represents a high point for both the United Way and The Norfolk Foundation: It is the single largest gift ever received by the United Way of South Hampton Roads, and it's The Norfolk Foundation's largest award in its 44-year history.

``It feels great,'' Capital Campaign director Tim Lawrence said. ``They also supported our 1986 campaign to the level of almost $1 million. They are historically our lead gift, our biggest supporter.''

Other United Way agencies will also benefit:

Southside Boys and Girls Club in Norfolk will be able to add a room for more activities for children from high-crime and low-income areas.

Samaritan House in Virginia Beach will be able to purchase a transitional home for families who are getting off welfare.

Goodwill Industries of Tidewater in Norfolk will be able to make improvements to a new outlet.

The Norfolk Foundation announced the gift Wednesday.

``We chose the United Way because it represents a campaign to benefit a large number of very worthwhile agencies that need capital buildings or capital improvements . . . needs that in some cases have accumulated over a period of years,'' said Lee Kitchin, the Norfolk Foundation's executive director.

The organization, founded in 1950, is the oldest community foundation in Virginia. With assets of more than $44 million, it is also the largest.

In recent years, the foundation has distributed about $2 million in annual grants and scholarships. The grant to United Way will be paid over five years.

United Way hopes to raise $14 million for its 1994 Capital Campaign. Its current total - including the Norfolk Foundation award - stands at $4.7 million.

The Foundation also awarded nearly $330,000 in scholarships to 186 area students for the 1994-95 academic year.

It also gave: $25,000 to help the Virginia Beach Rescue Squad build a new headquarters; $10,000 to help transform Norfolk's Willoughby-Baylor House into an educational center.

by CNB