Sentara Health announced the allocation of an additional $6,650,878 in grants and microgrants through its Fall 2023 Sentara Cares grant cycle. The funding will support 174 partner organizations throughout Virginia and North Carolina.
These investments expand upon Sentara’s enduring commitment to addressing social drivers of health and fostering equitable access to care in historically underserved communities, totaling nearly $12 million in funding to 301 organizations in 2023. Sentara’s efforts are bolstered through its numerous partnerships with community and faith-based organizations.
For the Spring 2023 cycle, Sentara awarded nearly $5.3 million in funding to 130 partner organizations working to address social determinants of health throughout Virginia and North Carolina.
“Sentara is committed to working with partners to address the needs of the communities we serve,” said Sherry Norquist, Sentara’s executive director of community engagement and impact. “Through our ongoing collaboration with community organizations and faith-based leaders, we will continue to drive change that improves health equity for the individuals in the communities where we live, work, and play.”
Access to care and community engagement
In 2023, Sentara designated more than $2.4 million in funding for enhancing access to care and community engagement. Sentara’s partnership with Old Dominion University’s Community Care Clinic (CCC) will strengthen its ability to serve the needs of the region’s under-insured or uninsured residents living in both rural and urban areas around Norfolk, Va. Additionally, Sentara’s investment in the Halifax County Rescue Squad supports four ambulances with the personnel necessary to provide paramedic care to residents in Halifax County and South Boston, Va.
Behavioral health
Sentara provided more than $1.85 million for behavioral health in the Spring and Fall 2023 grant cycles. One example is Family Crisis Support Services, Inc. (FCSS) in Norton, Va. With Sentara’s support, the FCSS can increase the emergency assistance they provide to victims and their families inundated with crisis situations concerning poverty, homelessness, and domestic violence. Statewide, Sentara’s grant to the Virginia Health Care Foundation will allow them to increase access to primary health care and behavioral health services for uninsured and medically underserved Virginians.
Food security
Sentara contributed more than $1.1 million in grants to address food security in 2023. One of the grant recipients is the Federation of Virginia Food Banks based in Richmond, Va. The Federation facilitates collaboration among Virginia’s food banks, partners, and neighbors to improve nutrition security and empower strong, healthy communities. The Federation’s Food Pharmacy and SNAP/Unite Us programs remove physical and psychosocial barriers to food access and facilitate state-wide improvements in nutritious food provisioning.
Sentara prioritizes funding for community partners and initiatives that align with the organization’s primary areas of focus: access to care and community engagement, behavioral health, food security, housing, and workforce training and career development. The 84 Sentara Cares grants for Fall 2023 include the following:
Northeast North Carolina
• Albemarle Area United Way — Elizabeth City
• Albemarle Pregnancy Resource Center — Elizabeth City
Hampton Roads
• Ability Center of Virginia — Virginia Beach
• An Achievable Dream Virginia Beach, Inc. — Newport News
• Armed Services YMCA of Hampton Roads — Virginia Beach
• Biznet Incorporated — Virginia Beach
• Catholic Charities of Eastern Virginia — Norfolk
• Chesapeake Care — Chesapeake
• Child & Family Services of Eastern Virginia Inc. aka The Up Center — Norfolk
• Connect With a Wish — Virginia Beach
• FACT (Families of Autistic Children of Tidewater) — Virginia Beach
• Freekind — Hampton
• Hampton Roads Ecumenical Lodgings & Provisions, Inc. — Hampton
• Hampton Roads Workforce Foundation — Norfolk
• Joy Ministries — Virginia Beach
• Lake Taylor Transitional Hospital Foundation — Norfolk
• Nami Coastal VA — Virginia Beach
• New Vision Youth Services, Inc. — Chesapeake
• Nursing CAP, Inc. — Suffolk
• Old Dominion University — Norfolk
• Patient Advocate Foundation, Inc. — Hampton
• Portsmouth Redevelopment and Housing Authority — Portsmouth
• Revive Community — Norfolk
• Southeastern Virginia Areawide Model Program, Inc. (doing business as Senior Services of Southeastern Virginia) — Norfolk
• StandUp for Kids — Virginia Beach
• Tidewater EMS Council (doing business as Eastern Virginia Healthcare Coalition) — Chesapeake
• Village Family — Norfolk
Virginia Peninsula
• Boys & Girls Clubs of the Virginia Peninsula — Newport News
• Child Development Resources — Williamsburg
• Gloucester Mathews Care Clinic — Gloucester
• Habitat for Humanity Peninsula & Greater Williamsburg — Newport News
• Literacy for Life — Williamsburg
• Peninsula Agency on Aging — Newport News
• Peninsula Pastoral Counseling Center, Inc. — Newport News
• The City of Suffolk — Suffolk
• THRIVE Peninsula — Newport News
• United Way of the Virginia Peninsula — Yorktown
• Virginia Living Museum — Newport News
• What’s Next for Success Foundation — Newport News
• Williamsburg Human Services — Williamsburg
Central Virginia
• 100 Black Men of Central Virginia — Charlottesville
• All Blessings Flow, Inc. — Charlottesville
• Better Housing Coalition — Richmond
• Blue Ridge Department of Public Health — Charlottesville
• Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Virginia — Charlottesville
• Charlottesville Free Clinic — Charlottesville
• Commonwealth Catholic Charities — Richmond
• CrossOver Healthcare Ministry — Richmond
• Daily Planet Health Services — Richmond
• Downtown Churches United, Inc. — Petersburg
• Local Food Hub — Charlottesville
• Piedmont Housing Alliance — Charlottesville
• ReadyKids — Charlottesville
• River Street Education, Inc. — Petersburg
• Sacred Heart Center — Richmond
• YWCA Richmond — Richmond
Northern Virginia
• George Mason University Foundation, Inc. — Fairfax
• Literacy Volunteers of America — Prince William County, VA — Woodbridge
• Pathway Homes, Inc. — Fairfax
• PRS, Inc. — Oakton
Shenandoah Valley
• Adagio House — Harrisonburg
• AVA Care of Harrisonburg — Harrisonburg
• Blue Ridge Community College Educational Foundation, Inc. — Weyers Cave
• Blue Ridge Free Clinic — Harrisonburg
• Bridge of Hope, Inc. — Harrisonburg
• First Step: A Response to Domestic Violence, Inc. — Harrisonburg
• New Creation VA — Harrisonburg
• Shenandoah Housing Corporation — Harrisonburg
• Skyline Literacy — Harrisonburg
• Valley Interfaith Action — Harrisonburg
Southside Virginia
• Halifax County Rescue Squad, Inc. — South Boston
• North Halifax Volunteer Fire Department — Nathalie
• Organization to Provide Equal Access to Technology, Inc. — Burlington
• Southside Virginia Community College Foundation — Alberta
• Turbeville Volunteer Fire & Rescue — South Boston
Southwest Virginia
• Family Crisis Support Services Inc. — Norton
Virginia statewide
• American Diabetes Association — Chesapeake
• American Parkinson Disease Association — Virginia Beach
• Federation of Virginia Food Banks — Richmond
• Gateway Homes — Williamsburg
• Safe House Project — Alexandria
• Sentara College of Health Sciences — Chesapeake
• Virginia Health Care Foundation — Richmond
• Young Life Old Dominion Region — Newport News
For the Sentara Cares Fall 2023 microgrant cycle, Sentara contributed $690,000 to 90 local community organizations across Virginia and Northeast North Carolina.
Sentara Cares microgrants are designed specifically for the smaller local and grassroots organizations embedded within the communities they serve. Microgrants are for non-profit and faith-based organizations with gross receipts of $50,000 or less per year. Funding requests for microgrants are for $15,000 or less. Like the Sentara Cares grants, the Sentara Cares microgrants prioritize funding that targets Sentara’s primary areas of focus: access to care and community engagement, behavioral health, food security, housing, and workforce training and career development.
“Small community-based organizations are committed to partnerships that advance health equity and create meaningful impact in the communities we serve,” said Wendy Pierce, Sentara’s manager of community benefits and grants. “These smaller organizations are driven by the love of their communities and commitment to impact with often limited resources.”
In 2022, Sentara invested $10 million in grants and microgrants to support partner organizations in Virginia and North Carolina.
To learn more about the many ways that Sentara partners with the community, visit Sentara’s 2022 Community Engagement and Impact Report. Visit SentaraCares.com for additional information about partnership and funding opportunities with Sentara.
