Past District Governor Walter “Cap” Neilson presented the check to the club on behalf of the District.  Accepting the check is Club President Sharyn Fox, ACE committee chair Michael Shapiro, Club member Mayi Henriquez and ACE recipient Sabina O’ Halloran.

The Club established the Scholarship program in 2012 when they recognized that working adults who were not below the poverty line had no ability to qualify for educational assistance to upgrade their livelihoods.  Working with the Peninsula Council for Workforce Development, in their first year the club funded $15,000 for the program, and awarded seven individuals educational assistance towards certificates in welding, weather proofing, nursing assistant, and other programs which will enable them to get better jobs at higher wages, at Thomas Nelson Community College.  The club’s goal is to expand the program by over 50% in 2013.

The Newport News Rotary club was established in 1916, and is the third club formed in the State of Virginia.  With over 80 members the club has been responsible for community service projects for almost a century.  The Newport News Rotary Club is known for feeding foster families at the Foster Children’s Picnic for the last 38 years, teaching young people about fishing, the bay, and conservation practices at the Children’s Fishing Clinic for 18 years, a scholarship at Christopher Newport University, sponsoring Rotaract and Interact clubs at Christopher Newport University and the Achievable Dream Academy; and for being the home club to Bridges to Prosperity which has built almost 100 foot bridges in developing countries in South America and Africa.