Capital Trees - $50,000 for Phase II construction of 14^th Street urban tree canopy restoration and water quality improvement project.

Challenge Discovery Projects - $65,000 for Say It With Heart bullying and violence prevention education in Richmond Public Schools.

ChildSavers of Richmond - $150,000 for expanded Trauma Response and Child Development Services.

Elk Hill - $25,000 for academic summer camp for East End children.

Friends Association for Children - $100,000 for their Major Funding Campaign.

Full Circle Grief Center - $23,820 for Hands On Healing groups.

J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College Education Foundation - $50,000 for their Middle College program designed to offer a college opportunity to individuals between 18 and 24 who have not completed high school.

Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) of Richmond, $40,000 for Neighborhoods Rising Initiatives in Battersea, Petersburg and Fulton, Richmond.

Maymont Foundation - $1,000,000 over three years for their Extraordinary Gifts Capital and Endowment Campaign.

Medical College of Virginia Foundation - $20,000 for Bridging the Gap: Youth Violence Reduction program.

Podium Foundation - $15,000 for operating support.  Podium provides Richmond’s youth the opportunity to express themselves in print, on the web, onstage, on the radio, and in their classrooms; and supports local educators in their efforts to teach quality writing with confidence while utilizing innovative techniques.

Virginia Early Childhood Foundation - $100,000 for their community awareness and education initiative.

Virginia Union University - $125,000 for institutional advancement capacity building.

YMCA of Greater Richmond - $50,000 for start-up of an after school program at Woodville Elementary School.

YWCA - $50,000 for their Child Development Center.

Todd Graham, Executive Director said, “Like our Maymont commitment, this group of grant recipients reflects the Foundation’s commitment to funding a broad range of innovative projects aimed at promoting a vibrant Richmond community.  We are pleased to provide support to these fine organizations.”

Better Housing Coalition – $40,000 for enhancement of the Northside community.

Capital Trees – $50,000 for Phase II construction of 14^th Street urban tree canopy restoration and water quality improvement project.

Challenge Discovery Projects – $65,000 for Say It With Heart bullying and violence prevention education in Richmond Public Schools.

ChildSavers of Richmond – $150,000 for expanded Trauma Response and Child Development Services.

Elk Hill – $25,000 for academic summer camp for East End children.

Friends Association for Children – $100,000 for their Major Funding Campaign.

Full Circle Grief Center – $23,820 for Hands On Healing groups.

J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College Education Foundation – $50,000 for their Middle College program designed to offer a college opportunity to individuals between 18 and 24 who have not completed high school.

Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) of Richmond, $40,000 for Neighborhoods Rising Initiatives in Battersea, Petersburg and Fulton, Richmond.

Maymont Foundation – $1,000,000 over three years for their Extraordinary Gifts Capital and Endowment Campaign.

Medical College of Virginia Foundation – $20,000 for Bridging the Gap: Youth Violence Reduction program.

Podium Foundation – $15,000 for operating support.  Podium provides Richmond’s youth the opportunity to express themselves in print, on the web, onstage, on the radio, and in their classrooms; and supports local educators in their efforts to teach quality writing with confidence while utilizing innovative techniques.

Virginia Early Childhood Foundation – $100,000 for their community awareness and education initiative.

Virginia Union University – $125,000 for institutional advancement capacity building.

YMCA of Greater Richmond – $50,000 for start-up of an after school program at Woodville Elementary School.

YWCA – $50,000 for their Child Development Center.

“We are delighted to have found someone with Todd Graham’s experience and considerable skills, as well as strong Richmond ties,” said Betty Robins Porter, the Foundation’s president and board chair. “Our search committee was determined to find someone who would maintain the momentum that the Foundation developed under Bill Roberts and we are confident that Todd Graham will provide strong leadership for the next phase in the Foundation’s service to the community.”

Graham has been president and CEO of the Iowa West Foundation in Council Bluffs, Iowa, since 2003, overseeing an annual grants budget of $20 million. Before taking his current position in Council Bluffs, he was executive director of the South Downtown Foundation in Seattle, Washington, and The Quadrangle Inc. in Cleveland, Ohio. He is a graduate of Wake Forest University and the Harvard Graduate School of Design.

“I grew up in the Richmond area and I am delighted to have this opportunity to return,” said Graham. “The Robins Foundation has created a distinctive role in the community, with its emphasis on field-building and organization-building strategies, and I look forward to expanding and intensifying those efforts.”

The Robins Foundation was created by E. Claiborne Robins in 1957. Mr. Robins was chief executive officer of the A.H. Robins Company for 39 years. Since his death in 1995, the Foundation has provided more than $70 million in funding for nonprofit organizations in the Richmond region, with a special emphasis on early childhood development.

In 2004, Robins Foundation became the founding investor in the Partnership for Families Northside (PFFN). PFFN organizes and supports agencies working to improve the prospects of Northside’s youngest residents. Through the generosity of a $500,000 personal gift from the late Lora Robins, and the investment of the Robins Foundation, the new $6.5 million Family Learning Center was completed in the summer of 2010.

“It was important to us that this building be constructed using environmentally supportive principles. I am so pleased and proud that it has received LEED’s stringent Gold certification,” says Betty Porter, president of Robins Foundation.

The Center sits in the heart of Richmond’s Northside, just off Chamberlayne Avenue on Graham Road, readily accessible by public transportation. It is a platform for the broad range of services provided by the Partnership for Families Northside.

The innovative facility includes a childcare center, adult education classrooms and office hotelling for the nonprofit partners who serve the children and their families. It replaced a large asphalt-surfaced parking lot, bordered by broken sidewalks.

Surrounded by delightful and environmentally educational playgrounds, the 20,100 square-foot, two-story building employs styling to blend comfortably into the neighborhood. Many features and practices were used to obtain the coveted LEED Gold status. Among them, the circular entry drive supports a designated car pool area. Radiant heated floors circulate water heated by the solar panels on the roof while keeping toddlers warm.

The building boasts variable refrigerant HVAC, solar hot water systems, and solar electrical systems. Bike racks and showers, designated parking for fuel-efficient vehicles and the strategic use of daylight complete the picture. Educational displays allow the children to monitor solar energy generation, the rain collection system and the rain garden.

Stan Southworth, PFFN executive director says, “The need for a child to have an intimate and robust relationship with the natural world has never been greater than today.  At the Learning Center, we use nature to provide children and their families with the tools and opportunities to learn, grow and find their place in the community. We do this in the classroom by teaching them how to read the sun’s energy, share the earth’s resources and learn about their place in the environment. LEED certification standards helped us by awarding points for these environmental learning components.”

The project team consisted of early childhood consultant, Beverly Jennette; architect, Smith + McClane Architects; civil engineer & LEED coordinator, Draper Aden Associates; MEP Engineers, CCRD Partners; structural engineers, Dunbar Milby Williams Pittman & Vaughan; developer, Better Housing Coalition; interiors, Creative, Inc., and general contractor, RVA Construction, Inc.

LEED certified buildings save money for families, businesses and taxpayers; reduce greenhouse gas emissions; and contribute to a healthier environment for residents, workers and the larger community.

“Buildings are a prime example of how human systems integrate with natural systems,” said Rick Fedrizzi, President, CEO & Founding Chair, U.S. Green Building Council. “The PFFN Northside Family Learning Center efficiently uses our natural resources and makes an immediate, positive impact on our planet, which will tremendously benefit future generations to come.”

Porter says, “This work has taken patience and much trial and error along the way, but the Partnership for Families Northside will nurture and strengthen children and empower families. It will create a brighter future for our community.”

*Note: Professional photos available upon request.