Bonner Community Partners
Christopher Newport’s Center for Community Engagement has developed a special relationship with a key group of nonprofit organizations in the greater Newport News community. These select groups compromise our team of Bonner community partners that collectively address a multitude of issue areas, including: youth development and education, hunger and housing, environment and animals, refugee resettlement, and community health.
Our community partners value productive, knowledgeable, and committed volunteers. Bonners provide this by serving 1,200 hours with their Bonner partner over four years. In turn, our nonprofit partners commit to the development and growth of their Bonner students. This partnership provides Bonners with knowledge and skills far beyond what would be experienced in short-term service. The relationships built and level of engagement experience over this time will result in an exponentially deeper impact – both for you and the community.
Commonwealth Catholic Charities - Refugee Resettlement Services
For over 35 years, CCC has partnered with the community to assist refugees as they integrate into our country. Refugees are forced to flee their countries based on a well-founded fear of persecution and they come to the U.S. with very few belongings, often unprepared linguistically, culturally, and economically for their new life. CCC strives to help these newcomers as they transition into our society, while also fostering a community climate of acceptance for persons of different cultures.
Community Knights
Community Knights is a 501(c)(3) non-profit created to address deep budget cuts that hit our public schools and non-profits with the 2008 recession. Their work began with supporting public schools and the non-profit community on the Virginia Peninsula experiencing funding shortages. Their mission is to identify the needs of small local non-profit and public school organizations as well as the populations they serve and find innovative ways to help them meet these needs collaboratively.
Freekind
Freekind’s mission is to bring an end to sex trafficking by empowering the residents of Hampton Road’s cities and the surrounding region through education, awareness, advocacy, and prevention campaigns. They seek to initiate change by building a coalition of like-minded individuals and organizations that work together to (1) prevent the victimization of individuals and (2) create a comprehensive region-wide program to identify and then assist victims from the time of rescue through recovery and reintegration.
Mary M. Torggler Fine Arts Center
Serving the Christopher Newport community, Hampton Roads, and all of Virginia, the Mary M. Torggler Fine Arts Center cultivates extraordinary encounters with the visual arts. Whether viewing an exhibition, taking a class, or attending a lecture or gallery talk, the Torggler beckons you to explore compelling ideas through the transformative lens of visual art. The Mary M Torggler Fine Arts Center seeks to enrich the cultural landscape of the Commonwealth of Virginia by presenting exceptional visual arts programming that empowers creative expression, critical thinking, lifelong learning, and cultural dialogue
NATASHA House
NATASHA House is a safe place for homeless women and their children that allows the, to rebuild productive, thriving lives as they transition to permanent housing. Additionally, residents receive case management that teaches them how to live financially independent and how to maintain self-sufficient, stable households. The letters in “NATASHA” stand for: “New Alternative Toward A Secure Home Atmosphere”.
Riverside Regional Medical Center
Riverside is a 501c(3) tax exempt, nonprofit organization dedicated to improving health and saving lives. Their mission is to care for others as we would care for those we love, to enhance their well-being and improve their health. Riverside has been vital to the Virginia Peninsula since 1916, and they moved to their current location in 1963.
Serve the City Peninsula
We want to see lives, neighborhoods, and cities transformed because everyone is serving! We want to see the resources and the needs of the city and those who live there connected, through volunteer involvement that intentionally includes everyone. On the Peninsula, we want to see redeveloping communities transformed through partnerships between the police department, faith-based organizations, civic leagues, businesses, and schools by building trusting relationships that bring hope and health.
THRIVE Peninsula
Fueled by the Light of Christ and the dedicated support of partnering faith communities and other contributors, THRIVE Peninsula ministers to the physical, economic, educational, emotional, and spiritual needs of our neighbors. Addressing both essential living needs (e.g., food, housing, utilities) and the unique crises affecting each person, this volunteer-driven coalition helps coordinate community resources for a tailored, integrated response.
United Way of the Virginia Peninsula
The mission of the United Way of the Virginia Peninsula is to improve the quality of life for people in our community by helping them live their best possible lives. They fight for health, education, and financial stability for all within the community. They provide tools to parents and help them raise healthy children, they empower parents to support children’s education, and they help people better manage their money.
Virginia Living Museum
VLM opened in 1966 and was renamed the Virginia Living Museum in 1987. Their mission is to connect people to nature through educational experiences that promote conservation. The purpose of the VLM is to stimulate knowledge, awareness, and appreciation of the biological and physical world, and to develop an understanding of its relationship to the environment of the planet and the universe beyond.
Youth Volunteer Corps of Hampton Roads
Youth Volunteer Corps’ mission is to engage youth in service experiences that build life and work skills while inspiring a lifetime ethic of service. All projects are group-based, structured and supervised with embedded team-building and service-learning activities. Our model is designed to increase empathy, build leadership capacity, broaden awareness of community needs, and develop important career-readiness skills. Our youth (ages 11-18) serve diverse populations in a variety of settings, including veterans, seniors, children, individuals with disabilities, and those experiencing hunger and homelessness. Youth also participate in environmental preservation efforts and construction projects that benefit the community.