TowneBank receives 2023 VCCS Chancellor’s Award for Leadership in Philanthropy
TowneBank in Hampton Roads received the annual Virginia Community College System (VCCS) Chancellor’s Award for Leadership in Philanthropy. In its 17th year, the award recognizes individuals and organizations dedicated to the mission of Virginia’s Community Colleges.
TowneBank was nominated by Tidewater Community College President Marcia Conston for its continuing support of the college.
Tidewater Community College’s Educational Foundation received a $500,000 grant from TowneBank. The funds are supporting the development of the TCC Visual Arts and Design Center in downtown Norfolk. Set to open in 2024, the Center boasts 37,000 square feet for arts programming and will include a gallery space. The donation is also supporting TCC’s Regional Automotive Center in Chesapeake.
An additional $250,000 gift from TowneBank helped with the launch and operations of the Community Feed at TCC’s campuses in 2020. By working together, the college, TowneBank and Foodbank of Southeastern Virginia and the Eastern Shore are providing needed meals, staples and fresh produce for students and community members through on-site pantries on TCC’s campuses and MacArthur Center in downtown Norfolk.
“We are grateful to TowneBank for their unwavering commitment to TCC,” said President Conston. “They are a shining example of an organization dedicated to providing educational opportunities for families and individuals in our region. In addition, their financial contribution ensures that students in need have ongoing access to meals and fresh foods. We express our sincere thanks.”
TowneBank’s generosity will be marked by a named space in the new Visual Arts and Design Center in the coaching and critiquing room.
More than two dozen individuals, families, and organizations earned the 2023 Chancellor’s Award for Leadership in Philanthropy. The awards were presented at a luncheon ceremony in Richmond on April 18, 2023. The new VCCS Chancellor Dr. David Doré was the keynote speaker.
“It is a privilege and an honor to be in the company of such an esteemed group of philanthropists,” Doré observed. “Were it not for your generosity, some of our students would have to put their hopes and dreams on hold, while others might have to abandon them altogether. Thanks to you, however, our students will be able to work in an environment that is relatively free of the kind of financial pressures that can paralyze or even derail their forward progress, and for that, we are extremely grateful.”
The annual event, hosted by the Virginia Foundation for Community College Education (VFCCE), honors leading philanthropists from each of Virginia’s 23 community colleges as well as the statewide foundation. Recipients are nominated for their outstanding commitment to the growth and development of Virginia’s community colleges and their respective foundations.
This year’s class of distinguished philanthropy leaders has collectively contributed $14 million dollars to Virginia’s Community Colleges.