The Cameron Foundation awarded $800,000 in end-of-year grants to help complete a new Petersburg library building and to help build affordable family housing.
• The Better Housing Coalition received $500,000 for Phase II of its Claiborne Square project in the Halifax corridor of Petersburg. The first phase was a 47-unit affordable community residence for active adults 55 and older. The second phase calls for 40 garden apartments for families in the block south of Claiborne Square.
Cameron funds will be used for onsite improvements such as lighting, grading, curb cuts for handicapped ramps, a playground, rain gardens and landscaping.
“The Cameron Foundation invested in Phase I with grant funding, and we were pleased with the success that resulted from that collaborative effort,” said Larry C. Tucker, board chairman. “The Better Housing Coalition’s stewardship of those resources supported our decision to invest in Phase II,” he added.
Support from the local foundation will help the housing coalition compete for low-income housing tax credits, explained J. Todd Graham, Cameron president. The tax credits, if awarded, will provide most of the equity for the development.
• The Petersburg Library Foundation received $300,000 to help complete a $12.7 million capital campaign for the new city library. The year-end grant brings Cameron’s total funding for the project to more than $2.7 million.
When complete, the 45,000-square-foot facility will offer expanded programs, computer banks, community meeting spaces, dedicated areas for teens and children, a reading room, a café offering healthy foods and a drive-thru window providing easy access for patrons picking up materials they have checked out.
“The community has really rallied around this project with its financial support, underscoring just how important it is,” Graham noted. “We hope this additional grant helps Petersburg Library Foundation quickly wrap up the campaign, open the doors to the new library, and begin providing the many valued services to the community that it has planned.” The library foundation anticipates a grand opening in April.
Perdue Foundation makes $5,000 classroom donation
The Arthur W. Perdue Foundation has awarded $5,000 to Agriculture in the Classroom to help educate Virginia students about where their food originates and the importance of agriculture to Virginia’s economy.
The grant will help train educators and provide agriculturally-themed classroom resources.
MeadWestvaco makes scholarship donation
The KLM Scholarship Foundation received $1,000 from the MeadWestvaco Foundation for its program to help Virginia college students buy textbooks and supplies.
Since 2002, the organization has awarded $79,000 in book scholarships to 111 students attending 18 Virginia colleges and universities.
“Our scholars work very hard and make all the right moves toward their college degree. They deserve community support and the MeadWestvaco Foundation has risen to the occasion,” said Kimberley L. Martin, founder of the scholarship foundation.
Martin’s customers, associates donate $94,746
Martin’s Food Markets customers and associates donated $94,746 through the Share a Holiday Meal program to support Christmas Mother campaigns in central Virginia.
“Thank you to our customers and associates for your overwhelming generosity in assisting families in need throughout our community,” said Jim Scanlon, regional vice president for Martin’s. “Since Martin’s started participating in the Share a Holiday Meal campaign four years ago, more than $370,000 has been donated.”
In the 2013 campaign, the Chesterfield/Colonial Heights Christmas Mother received $28,103; Salvation Army Central Virginia Command (Richmond Christmas Mother), $26,000; Henrico Christmas Mother, $24,594; Hanover Christmas Mother, $12,418; and Salvation Army of Williamsburg, $3,631.
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