The Noblemen - Noble News

January 2013 Philanthropy Blog

01 Feb 2013 11:55 AM | Pete Hansen (Administrator)

The Noblemen welcomed the New Year by performing a very Noble Deed for a great local family! We leaned about a mother and her children who were living in a local homeless shelter after being abandoned by the father. The mother was doing everything in her power to keep the family together and transition into being the only breadwinner and providing for her children. She was/is holding down a steady job and was getting ready to move her family out of the shelter and into an apartment. There was one obstacle in the way and that was having reliable and consistent transportation to and from work. She was very concerned that if she could not obtain a vehicle that she would be in jeopardy of losing her job and her ability to provide for her children. The Brake King of Newport News, a valued Community Partner of The Noblemen, was able to provide a great minivan at a very low cost which The Noblemen purchased and gifted to the family. The family was extremely grateful for this wonderful gift and we are happy to report that they are doing very well with their new car and new apartment!

Every year The Noblemen support a wonderful local program called RAPS. or "Really Awesome People Swimming". The purpose of RAPS is to provide swim lessons to as many needy children as possible in order to keep them safe in and around the water, which in turn will help lower the drowning rate of these children. This includes teaching swimming, safety skills, and swimmer's confidence to those who participate in the RAPS program free of charge. It is also the mission of RAPS to educate the general public as the high rate of drowning among minorities and make the change where no child is left out of learning to swim due to race, economic levels, or lack of pool facilities. The Noblemen were delighted to give $2000 to this wonderful program that saves the lives of local kids!

The Noblemen are sponsoring five children to attend "Mikey's Camp" this summer. Mikey's Camp is designed to help children who have lost a sibling navigate through the grieving process. The Camp provides a supportive environment where children/teens can explore the normal process of grief, and where their self-expression is heard, valued, and honored. The camp is staffed by professional grief facilitators and trained volunteers. This is a wonderful camp that truly makes a positive impact on local children who are facing some very tough times.

Angela West, a longtime friend of The Noblemen, is competing for the title of Miss Wheelchair Virginia. Each year a female wheelchair user is selected as "titleholder" through a weekend of educational workshops, judging interviews, platform speech and onstage interview questions. The titleholder spends the next year representing the organization and Virginians with disabilities, as well as ALL people as a role model of courage and hope. The wonderful women who compete for the title bring a positive, heartwarming and inspiring attitude toward life and show what can be done when faced with life's obstacles. The Noblemen have committed to paying any fees that arise during Angela's quest in being crowned the next Miss Wheelchair Virginia. Good luck Angela, we love you!

JANUARY WAS ANOTHER AWESOME MONTH IN PHILANTHROPY FOR THE NOBLEMEN! THANKS SO MUCH FOR CHECKING IN ON THIS MONTH'S PHILANTHROPY BLOG! DON'T FORGET TO CHECK BACK NEXT MONTH TO READ MORE ABOUT HOW THE NOBLEMEN, NOBLEWOMEN AND NOBLETEENS ARE CHANGING LIVES BY HELPING KIDS RIGHT HERE IN HAMPTON ROADS!!!

December 2012 Philanthropy Blog

31 Dec 2012 11:24 PM | Pete Hansen (Administrator)

December is truly a magical month for the Noblemen. We touch the lives of thousands of local families in Hampton Roads through our annual Toy Drive and our Trolley Ride.

The Noblemen Toy Drive provides gifts to over 3000 less fortunate children in Hampton Roads. We place our Noblemen Toy boxes in hundreds of local businesses and collect thousands and thousands of new and unwrapped gifts. We then partner with numerous local organizations and non-profits who connect us with local children who truly need help at Christmas and we make sure they have one great holiday! The best part of our toy drive? We set up large gifting events to present the toys to their new owners and it is the children of The Noblemen and NobleWomen who give the toys away. Check out our video (below) to see some of the holiday bliss that we created this year!

The original "Noble Deed" that was performed by The Noblemen (known as the "Robin Hoods of Virginia Beach" at the time) was our Trolley Ride. The Noblemen raised $5000 in 1995 and after reading a newspaper article our founder and CEO, Al Midgett decided to use that money to provide Christmas to local families who had a child in hospice care through Edmarc Hospice for Children. The Trolley Ride is now our longest running annual event and we continue to spread holiday joy to families who have a child who is facing their last Christmas. It is a wonderful evening that is filled with a lot of different emotions. The families that we visit are always touched by the fact that there is a big group of people who just want to come to their home and share some love with their family during difficult times. It is us who receive the greatest gift of all though. All of our lives are changed as a result of this wonderful evening. Check out come pictures below.

DECEMBER WAS ANOTHER AWESOME MONTH IN PHILANTHROPY FOR THE NOBLEMEN! THANKS SO MUCH FOR CHECKING IN ON THIS MONTH'S PHILANTHROPY BLOG! DON'T FORGET TO CHECK BACK NEXT MONTH TO READ MORE ABOUT HOW THE NOBLEMEN, NOBLEWOMEN AND NOBLETEENS ARE CHANGING LIVES BY HELPING KIDS RIGHT HERE IN HAMPTON ROADS!!!

November 2012 Philanthropy Blog

30 Nov 2012 11:21 PM | Pete Hansen (Administrator)

November was a great month for The Noblemen organization and we truly kicked the holiday season off in true Noble-fashion! We were introduced to a single mother in Virginia Beach and stepped in to help her through a difficult time. She is a single mother with four children and they are homeless. The family had been living in a motel room at the oceanfront for several months when we met them. The mother was working with a city social worker and doing everything she could to find a good job. She was accepted into a program through the city that would help get the family into a rental property and things were starting to look up. Her biggest problem was that pretty much all of the family's possessions had been in a storage facility for months and she was very delinquent on the storage fees. The storage facility had issued her a deadline to either pay the delinquent fees or lose all of the belongings. The Noblemen were delighted to step in and pay the fees for the family!
The Noblemen gave a very special early Christmas gift to a great local kid. We learned about a local 14 year old boy who is battling cancer. The treatment of his illness is very expensive and his family does not have a lot of discretionary funds to work with. This year on his Christmas wish list he put that the thing he wanted to do most was go on a camping trip in the Blue Ridge Mountains with Young Life. His family was simply devastated knowing that they would not be able to afford to send him to the camp. Ho, Ho, Ho, here come The Noblemen! The Noblemen were very happy to pay all the costs for him to attend the camp!
The Noblemen met another local man who was very down on his luck and needed some help. This man is a single father with two sons who had been desperately looking for a job, he finally found a great opportunity in November and was hired for full time employment. His only problem was finding transportation to commute back and forth to work. A friend of his was lending him a car for several weeks but that opportunity was coming to an end and he did not know what he was going to do and feared he would lose his new job. The Noblemen learned about his dilemma and worked with a great Community Partner of our organization, Brake King located in Newport News to solve the problem. Brake King was able to put this gentlemen in a great vehicle at a very very low price. When he picked the car up he asked the owner of Brake King what type of payments he needed to make on the vehicle and he was told, "Here are the keys, The Noblemen bought you this car!" Does it get any better than that!?!?
The Noblemen gave several gifts to some great local non-profits that we love to support during the month of November! We donated $1000 to "KelsKids", a really cool organization that takes special needs kids into the water to learn stand up paddle boarding, swimming, water safety and many other great aqua-therapeutic activities.
We also donated $1000 to the "Protecting Children Foundation", a local organization that provides support to children who are the victims of sexual abuse. There are many efforts that focus on catching and prosecuting the perpetrators of sexual crimes. The Protecting Children Foundation focuses on the victims and helping them receive the therapy and support they need to help them readjust after suffering from abuse.
We also..... - provided Thanksgiving dinners to hundreds of local families through Tidewater Friends of the Elderly! - gave a $1000 gift to Joshua's journey to support the efforts of a local boy who was paralyzed from the neck down. His family is trying to raise funds to buy him a very cutting edge therapeutic chair to use at home that will hopefully get his body moving again! - donated $500 to help send less fortunate kids who are members of the Oscar Smith High School marching band on their annual field trip to New York and Carnegie Hall!

NOVEMBER WAS ANOTHER AWESOME MONTH IN PHILANTHROPY FOR THE NOBLEMEN!THANKS SO MUCH FOR CHECKING IN ON THIS MONTH'S PHILANTHROPY BLOG! DON'T FORGET TO CHECK BACK NEXT MONTH TO READ MORE ABOUT HOW THE NOBLEMEN, NOBLEWOMEN AND NOBLETEENS ARE CHANGING LIVES BY HELPING KIDS RIGHT HERE IN HAMPTON ROADS!!!

October 2012 Philanthropy Blog

15 Nov 2012 12:21 PM | Pete Hansen (Administrator)

The Peninsula Noblemen did a very "Noble Deed" for the Peninsula "Little League Challenger" in October. Little League Challenger is a baseball program just for special needs children. The Peninsula division has been sharing a storage shed with other little league programs and were regularly coming up with missing equipment as a result. The Peninsula Noblemen learned about their need for a shed and donated $2500 to have a brand new shed built just for the Challenger program. The folks at Little League Challenger could not have been any more excited to receive this gift. The Noblemen knock another one out of the park!

The Noblemen were delighted to join the students from the Tallwood High School special needs program on their annual field trip to Back Bay Farms (a great Noblemen Community Partner). We had a great time checking out the farm and hanging out with the kids before treating everybody to lunch at Pungo Pizza.

A BIG congratulations goes out to the NobleTeens at Princess Anne High School for hosting the first annual "West Fest". West Fest was a daylong party/celebration just for children who attend Princess Anne's "West Wing" facility for special needs children. The NobleTeens hosted a bunch of activities for the West Wing kids including games, face painting, movies, a pizza party and more. The West Fest celebration coincided with the Princess Anne homecoming and for the first time ever the West Wing kids marched in the homecoming parade and presented their own Homecoming King and Queen. This was a magical day for all of the kids in the West Wing and The Noblemen organization could not be any more proud of the Princess Anne Nobleteens for hosting this event!!! Special thanks to Jason Barefoot for working with the NobleTeens and also to Bill DeSteph for lending the NobleTeens his Bentley to use in the homecoming parade. You guys rock!

Earlier this year the Noblemen were able to help a local special needs boy acquire a new computer so he could use specialized software provided by the public school system. The Noblemen learned that this young man's family had fallen on some very hard times and were facing some very difficult circumstances. The Noblemen were able to provide some much needed relief to the family in October and hope that things start looking up for this great local family!

The Noblemen met a wonderful lady named Mimi in Portsmouth about six years ago. Mimi had just taken legal custody of four grandchildren and one week later had her home condemned by the city of Portsmouth. The Noblemen came in and did a big remodeling job on her home to add additional room for her grandchildren and save the home. She also received a donated van to help her transport her grandchildren around. Last month a storm knocked a tree onto Mimi's van and destroyed it and also knocked a fence over in her backyard. Noblemen to the rescue! Mike Plunkett, a Noblemen member and his family donated a Suburban to The Noblemen so that we could give it to Mimi to replace her van and Mike Reff (pictured to the right, with Mimi) assembled a team of workers and rebuilt her fence. Mimi could was extremely excited and grateful for these awesome Noble Deeds!

Congratulations to the Salem High School NobleTeens. They hosted an awesome Halloween celebration for Glenwood Elementary School complete with a haunted house, face painting, Halloween games and more. Great job NobleTeens!

THANKS SO MUCH FOR CHECKING IN ON THIS MONTH'S PHILANTHROPY BLOG! DON'T FORGET TO CHECK BACK NEXT MONTH TO READ MORE ABOUT HOW THE NOBLEMEN, NOBLEWOMEN AND NOBLETEENS ARE CHANGING LIVES BY HELPING KIDS RIGHT HERE IN HAMPTON ROADS!!!

September 2012 Philanthropy Blog

01 Oct 2012 12:55 PM | Pete Hansen (Administrator)

Every September marks one of the the most wonderful annual "Noble Deeds" that The Noblemen host in our "Special Needs Air Show"! Every year the great folks at Naval Air Station Oceana allow The Noblemen to host a group of special needs children and their families to enjoy the Oceana Air Show. This year we had over 300 people attend and it was an amazing day. Airshow pilots visited our tent throughout the day and interacted with the kids, even allowing them to try on their flight gear. All the children received super cool airshow goodie bags that were a big hit and were treated to a special lunch. This was one magical day for everybody that attended! "Tower, this is Ghost Rider requesting a flyby!"

Every year The Noblemen support a great organization called "Sports SuperKids" which is run by a local hero named Bob Lane. Bob has been taking sick children and special needs children to Washington Redskins games for the past 20 years. Bob has unprecedented access to the team and the stadium and is able to take the children into the locker room after each home game to meet the players and receive autographs. The Noblemen help to pay the travel and accommodation expenses for the families and also pitch in to purchase footballs on which the kids can get player's autographs. The Noblemen are truly grateful to Bob for all of the joy he has provided to great local kids and we are honored to support this Noble cause!

The Noblemen are excited to send a good friend of ours to a Redskins game along with Bob Lane and the Sports SuperKids program. Chaz Floyd has become a good friend of The Noblemen over the past several years and now attends our "Special Needs Air Show" every year. Chaz also happens to be a die hard Redskins fan. We got word at the airshow this year that Chaz and his family will attend the Redskins / Eagles game on November 18th. This is a dream come true for Chaz and he can't wait to get to the game. Congratulations Chaz! Hail to the Redskins!

The Noblemen and NobleWomen are delighted to welcome Kellie Maier to our membership ranks. Kellie runs a local organization here in Hampton Roads called "KellsKids" whose mission is to work with special needs children in the water. One of the primary activities of KelsKids is to take special needs children on stand up paddle boards. KellsKids held an SUP race in September and had a great turn out of Noblemen and NobleWomen who participated as both volunteers and racers. The Noblemen organization is excited to continue to work with and support KellsKids!

THANKS SO MUCH FOR CHECKING IN ON THIS MONTH'S PHILANTHROPY BLOG! DON'T FORGET TO CHECK BACK NEXT MONTH TO READ MORE ABOUT HOW THE NOBLEMEN, NOBLEWOMEN AND NOBLETEENS ARE BEING "A PART OF THE SOLUTION" RIGHT HERE IN HAMPTON ROADS!!!

August 2012 Philanthropy Blog

01 Sep 2012 12:19 PM | Pete Hansen (Administrator)

The Noblemen hosted our "Kids Fishing Tournament" during the month of August, one of the longest running annual events that we hold for great local kids. This was truly a wonderful day for all of the children and families that attended. Many of the children (and parents) who came on the trip had never been on a boat before and had never caught a fish so there was a lot of excitement in the air when the excursion got under way! This year we were treated to a wonderful interaction with several pods of dolphins that swam next to the boat and surfed in our wake as we headed out to fish. This was a huge hit with everyone on board as you can imagine! After a good boat ride the crew put out fifty fishing poles and bait for everyone and the fishing was on! The crew of the "Bay Princess" really made the trip special for all of the kids who attended and the day did not end until EVERYBODY on board landed a fish. When we arrived back at port everyone was treated to a pool party at Marina Shores and an unbelievable BBQ cookout! Many of the children who attended the event were from local YMCA summer programs and it was truly the highlight of their summer. A special thanks goes out to Priority Automotive Group, a Noblemen Community Partner, for funding this special day for great local kids. Another big thanks goes out to Captain Randy Bregman, a fellow Noblemen member, for organizing and spearheading this event every year!

Thar she blows!

The Virginia Beach NobleWomen met with some great local kids at Birdneck Elementary School to provide them with a very special gift. Birdneck Elementary works with many children who come from less fortunate financial situations at home. Elementary schools send home a list of school supplies that they expect each student to bring in on the first day of school. There are a bunch of children at Birdneck whose families could not afford the supplies and many of these children did not even own a backpack. The Virginia Beach NobleWomen had a special meeting with these children on the very first day of school and gifted all of them with all of the supplies that they needed and each child received a brand new backpack. The Principal gave a special thanks that morning to all of the women for performing a very Noble Deed for the Birdneck kids. Kudos to you VB NobleWomen, what an awesome thing to do!

One of the biggest heroes in The Noblemen organization is Dr. Trey White. Trey helped found and currently spearheads the Virginia Beach chapter of Team Hoyt (you can learn more about Team Hoyt here). Trey and his Team Hoyt crew pushed 37 special needs kids in special racing wheelchairs in this year's Rock and Roll 1/2 marathon. Thanks for being a hero to local kids Trey. We love you man!

With the help of Wayne Johnson, owner and head veterinarian at Birdneck Animal Hospital, The Noblemen are proud to introduce......
NoblePets! That's right, now even your PET can be Noble! Seriously, this is going to be a really great program! With guidance from Dr. Johnson, the proceeds from NoblePets registrations will go to help fund service dogs for local children and military veterans. NoblePets is off and running and you can visit the pets at www.noblepets.org.
Our newest NoblePet is Roxy and you can see her picture to the right. Here is her awesome story:

K9 Roxy is the family dog of 1LT Joshua L. Booth, U.S.M.C. (K.I.A. 17 OCT 2006, Operation Iraqi Freedom). Roxy is now a Search and Rescue canine and part of Greater Atlantic Rescue Dogs, a volunteer K9 SAR team based in Hampton Roads. Roxy also visits the U.S.M.C. Wounded Warrior Regiment as a Therapy Dog bringing smiles and comfort to wounded, ill or injured Marines. This portrait of Roxy is used to raise funds for the children of Fallen Marines. She serves as a living affirmation of Josh’s life and to honor the Marines he fought alongside in combat.

How awesome is that?! Please check out our NoblePets page, tell your pet loving friends about it, sign your pet up and lets help out some great local people who are in need of a service animal!

THANKS SO MUCH FOR CHECKING IN ON THIS MONTH'S PHILANTHROPY BLOG! DON'T FORGET TO CHECK BACK NEXT MONTH TO READ MORE ABOUT HOW THE NOBLEMEN, NOBLEWOMEN AND NOBLETEENS ARE BEING "A PART OF THE SOLUTION" RIGHT HERE IN HAMPTON ROADS!!!

July 2012 Philanthropy Blog

01 Aug 2012 1:28 PM | Pete Hansen (Administrator)

The Noblemen were honored to sponsor a wonderful event in July that was very near and dear to our hearts. The "Surf, Hope, Love" event was a fundraiser to help out two local families dealing with terrible tragedies. The Normile Family (who have grown very close to The Noblemen through our toy drive) have lost two children in tragic accidents over the past year and the Fentress family whose son suffered a critical brain injury in a skateboarding accident earlier this year were the beneficiaries of the event. The event was put together by local buisnesswoman Margaret Schoch and raised a bunch of money to help these two local families. 10 local restaurants provided food, The Deloreans provided live music and there was a great silent auction. This was a really great time The Noblemen were delighted to write a $1000 check to support the cause!

The Noblemen and NobleWomen came out in force to volunteer at the annual "Allen Stone - Run, Swim, Run" which was held at the Virginia Beach oceanfront in July. There is a race which is part of the event dedicated especially to special needs children and The Noblemen and Women had a blast supporting it with right around 50 volunteers participating. Our volunteers helped assemble handicapped wheelchairs, helped push children in the race, helped tow children in inflatable rafts for the swim portion (in anything but calm surf conditions!) and administered good cheer and support throughout the day! This is exactly the kind of event that we love to support and we can't wait until next year!

The Virginia Beach Sheriff's department is and has always been a strong supporter of The Noblemen and our events. You can always find sheriffs at Noblemen events making sure that everyone is having a good time and staying safe. The Sheriffs are always volunteers at our events and come out free of charge. The Noblemen and Women are very grateful for the support that the Virginia Beach Sheriff's Office provide us and to reciprocate their kindness and generosity we have decided to become a sponsor of their D.A.R.E. Unit "Child ID Program". The ID program provides a card identification to parents that has their child's birth date, measurements, picture and a thumb print for use in case of an emergency. These cards help provide vital information about a child in case of an emergency. We are so grateful for our Sheriffs and are excited to support their efforts in keeping local kids safe!

A majority of the students at Birdneck Elementary School, a Title I school, will come to school on the first day empty handed. The Virginia Beach NobleWomen have met with the principal to try to resolve this problem and started the Repack the Backpack program. The NobleWomen have worked all summer to collect school supplies and new book bags for these children. Two car fulls of supplies were collected at Croc's Drag Yourself to Brunch on September 29th, Forbes Candies has collected supplies all summer and Ocean Breeze will be collecting supplies through August 26th. Funds are being raised through a cashola night on August 18th at Tropical Smoothie on Lynnhaven Blvd and a Stella and Dot show through the end of August. Each book bag will contain all of the supplies needed for each child for the entire year. The NobleWomen will be presenting these to the kids on September 4th at 1pm in true Noblemen fashion!

The Chesapeake NoblemWomen spent two days in July volunteering at the Foodbank of Southeastern Virginia with their children. They bagged pasta one day and bagged potatoes on the other. They said it was an awesome experience with their children and they cannot wait to go back and volunteer again! Every time someone volunteers with The Foodbank of Southeastern Virginia they leave knowing that they have helped put food on the table of their neighbors in need. For individuals and families –the young, elderly, and people of all ages; unemployed, working, homeless and struggling middle-class families – your contribution is making a difference. Great job Chesapeake NobleWomen!
THANKS SO MUCH FOR CHECKING IN ON THIS MONTH'S PHILANTHROPY BLOG! DON'T FORGET TO CHECK BACK NEXT MONTH TO READ MORE ABOUT HOW THE NOBLEMEN, NOBLEWOMEN AND NOBLETEENS ARE BEING "A PART OF THE SOLUTION" RIGHT HERE IN HAMPTON ROADS!!!

June 2012 Philanthropy Blog

01 Jul 2012 4:59 PM | Pete Hansen (Administrator)

The month of June could not have had a better start! The Noblemen were delighted to host a huge group of special needs children and their families (around 300 people all together!) to enjoy the Patriotic Festival air show featuring the one and only Blue Angles. Whisper Concerts provided our group with a private chalet on the beach complete with beverages and lunch. Everyone had a great time watching the airshow and the kids were given a really special treat when many of the pilots and ground crew personnel came and visited them in our chalet! All the children left with a smile on their faces and goodie bag filled with really cool air show accessories! This was truly an awesome day that the children and their families will not soon forget!
The Noblemen met Amber Robinson 6 years ago when she was a sophomore at Tallwood High School and serving as a member of the inaugural chapter of The NobleTeens. Amber's mother reached out to The Noblemen originally to see if we might be able to help with some dental bills. When we heard Amber's story it was clear that she needed much more than help paying bills. Amber was accidentally shot in the face by a large caliber pistol when she was two years old. The bullet destroyed her jaw and doctors did the best job they could putting her back together. As Amber was growing into a young woman and her bones were reaching their final stages of growth she was experiencing a lot of side effects and pain resulting from the accident. Trey White, a Virginia Beach Noblemen and a local dentist couldn't wait to take X-rays of Amber and see what was going on. Amber had bone fragments scattered throughout her face and needed extensive reconstructive work on her jaw. Trey recruited a team of dentists, lab technicians and orthodontists and took on Amber's case. After 6 years of surgeries Amber has a gift that she never thought she would receive, a smile! Trey and his team worked countless hours (he thinks that the cost of all of the work would have gone over $200,000) and performed numerous surgeries on Amber and all of it was pro bono. Not a penny exchanged hands and no checks were written. Amber has a new confidence in life and something else that she never thought she would have.... a Facebook page! THANKS SO MUCH TO TREY WHITE, HIS TEAM AND OCEANFRONT DENTISTRY!!! YOU ARE ALL HEROES!!!
The Princess Anne NobleTeens performed an awesome Noble Deed for a fellow student before the end of the school year. Princess Anne High School offers a wonderful special education program in their "West Building" that provides a wide variety of educational opportunities to special needs children from all over Virginia Beach. The PA NobleTeens learned that one of the boys in the West Building program was in a wheel chair that did not fit him correctly. The wheel chair also did not fit correctly on the handicapped accessible bus that picks him up and takes him home everyday. Every day John had to be removed from the chair and carried on and off of the bus and it was a very unsettling experience that he had to endure several times daily. The PA NobleTeens held a fundraiser and challenged all of the homerooms in the school to see which one could raise the most money. The NobleTeens put jars in all of the homerooms to collect the money with the goal of raising $1600 to purchase the wheelchair. They raised over $1700! John and his family were very excited and grateful to receive the new wheelchair. GREAT JOB PA NOBLETEENS! We can't wait to see you in the Fall!
A good friend of The Noblemen and faculty member at Cook Elementary (a Title I Virginia Beach Public School) called us in early June to let us know that she was concerned about a student. She let us know that the young man is a very gifted basketball player and would not be able to travel with his team to a national tournament over the summer because his family could not afford the expenses. The Noblemen were were excited to "be a part of the solution" and are sponsoring this young man so that he can travel with his team to South Carolina and compete. Slam dunk!
The Noblemen came to the aid of a local family through another organization called "Kids Priority One". Kids Priority One is a resource center where families can go if they need to be connected with local organizations that work with and help children. Kids Priority One called The Noblemen because they were working with a local family with an autistic child and a child with diabetes and whose power was going to be shut off. The family has fallen on hard times and as a result had become very delinquent on their power bill. The power company put them on a payment plan and the family was literally one hour late with a payment. The power company told them that their only option was to then pay the full balance or have their power shut off. They did not know where to turn. Then Noblemen paid the balance of the power bill for them which not only prevented the power being shut off but allowed them to focus some of their finances on other areas that needed attention.
A member of The Noblemen came to us in June because he had a close friend and co-worker who was in the middle of a significant crisis. The woman's husband had taken her children from her when they were very young and left town. She spent years trying to locate them and when she did find them she went through an extensive custody battle to regain custody of the children. Her daughter, who is now a teenager experienced significant mental and physical abuse from the father and it has taken a heavy toll. The daughter was admitted to a psychiatric facility in Staunton just before coming to Hampton Roads to live with her mother. The mother made countless trips back and forth to Staunton and was finally able to bring her daughter back to Virginia Beach. The daughter was just recently admitted into a local psychiatric facility. All of this has taken a heavy toll on the mother as well and it has exhausted her financially. The Noblmen helped to pay a number of medical expenses and other bills totaling $2700 to help her get back on her feet and hopefully re-establish a happy home for her children. We wish them all the best!

THANKS SO MUCH FOR CHECKING IN ON THIS MONTH'S PHILANTHROPY BLOG! DON'T FORGET TO CHECK BACK NEXT MONTH TO READ MORE ABOUT HOW THE NOBLEMEN, NOBLEWOMEN AND NOBLETEENS ARE BEING "A PART OF THE SOLUTION" RIGHT HERE IN HAMPTON ROADS!!!

May 2012 Philanthropy Blog

01 Jun 2012 9:45 PM | Pete Hansen (Administrator)

The Virginia Beach NobleWomen got May off to a terrific start by sponsoring and staffing a really great event designed just for kids called "Celebrating Children". The event included a 1.5 mile run/walk around Mt. Trashmore followed by live entertainment and children's games and activities. The NobleWomen staffed a crafts booth and helped children make and customize really cool paper hats and provided great snacks and cold juice! Celebrating Children was a huge success and attracted thousands of local kids and their families. KUDOS to The NobleWomen who played a big role in the success of the day!
One of the most wonderful events that takes place every year in our "Noble family" is The Tallwood NobleTeens "Friendable Prom". This year was the third year that The Tallwood NobleTeens have held a prom for special needs adults who are a part of the Mary F. Buckley Foundation, a local non-profit that works with individuals who have suffered traumatic brain injuries. This year over 300 special needs adults attended the prom and were treated to an unforgettable night of dancing and partying! The night included a great buffet dinner, prom photographs and dancing all night long. We cannot thank The Tallwood NobleTeens enough for hosting this unbelievable event. We are so proud of you!!!
The Noblemen were honored to write a $1000 check to support CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) in May. CASA is a group of volunteers who are assigned by judges to be an advocate and voice for children who are the victims of abuse and neglect and who have been (through no fault of their own) thrust into the juvenile and domestic relations court system, and often times into foster care. The Ultimate goal of CASA is to help these children into safe and permanent homes as soon as possible. CASA is a wonderful local organization that saves the lives of children right here in Hampton Roads.
Every year The Noblemen are delighted to support the "City Wide All Night Grad" program in Virginia Beach. All of the public high schools in the city sponsor an all night event on the night that seniors graduate. The goal of the program is to provide a fun and safe place for the seniors to celebrate their graduation. The students literally stay at their school ALL NIGHT LONG and participate in a lot of different fun activities before great prizes are given away at daybreak. This is a wonderful program that gives seniors a great and safe way to celebrate their graduation. The Noblemen wrote an $1100 check to support the "City Wide All Night Grad" program. 11 schools were given a $100 check on behalf of and in honor of their NobleTeens chapters. Congratulations Graduates!
Another wonderful local non-profit that The Noblemen support annually is R.A.P.S. or "Really Awesome People Swimming"! RAPS is run by our good friend and local hero Leslie Paul with the mission providing swim lessons to local minority and disadvantaged children. The program teaches children and teens between the ages of 5 and 14 how to swim and be safe while in, on, or around the water. This is a wonderful program that that truly makes a difference in the number of drownings that take place every year among local children who otherwise do not have a means to participate in swim lessons. There is a lot of water in Hampton Roads and we support RAPS in their mission to teach local kids to swim!
Another big thanks goes out to The Virginia Beach NobleWomen who just recently put together a wonderful effort called "Re-Pack the Backpack" to support children at Birdneck Elementary School. For a few months The VB NobleWomen gathered large quantities of school supplies and essential classroom supplies like hand sanitizer and kleenex and gifted all of them to local Birdneck Elementary School, a Title I school in Virginia Beach. This was a huge success and provided the classrooms and students at Birdneck with much needed supplies. AWESOME JOB NOBLEWOMEN!
The Noblemen were thrilled to attend the opening ceremonies of the International Little League Challenger World Jamboree and present a $5000 check! The jamboree is an annual baseball tournament that is held in Norfolk just for special needs kids and it attracts teams from all across the United Stated and beyond. This is such a great event that truly provides the participants with the biggest weekend of their year and perhaps even their lives!
THANKS SO MUCH FOR CHECKING IN ON THIS MONTH'S PHILANTHROPY BLOG! DON'T FORGET TO CHECK BACK NEXT MONTH TO READ MORE ABOUT HOW THE NOBLEMEN, NOBLEWOMEN AND NOBLETEENS ARE BEING "A PART OF THE SOLUTION" RIGHT HERE IN HAMPTON ROADS!!!

April 2012 Philanthropy Blog

01 May 2012 4:03 PM | Pete Hansen (Administrator)

April proved to be another month full of wonderful philanthropy for The Noblemen organization. The Chesapeake Noblemen really got the month off to a great start by delivering Easter baskets to children who are involved with Edmarc Hospice for Children. The Noblemen visited 14 different homes and succeeded in delivering some real joy, excitement and Easter goodies to some very sick children. Kudos to Dan Krapf of The Chesapeake Noblemen who really did a great job organizing this event. This was truly an AWESOME day!

The Noblemen were delighted to write a $500 check to the "Tidewater Friends of the Elderly" organization so that they could purchase Easter baskets for the many needy children whose families they assist! Thanks F.o.t.E. for everything that you do!

The Noblemen were also very pleased to be a sponsor of the Virginia Beach Police Department's annual "Bicycle Rodeo"! Every year the VB Police host this great event that focuses on teaching local children bike awareness and safety. All of the participants receive a new bicycle helmet and a complimentary bicycle safety check administered by one of Virginia Beach's finest! Participants also ride through an obstacle course under the watchful eye of an officer and are entered into a raffle to win brand new bikes! What a fun day for local kids!

Noblelympics II was held in April and was once again another great fundraiser to support the International Little League Challenger World Jamboree! The Little League Jamboree is a baseball tournament held every year in Norfolk just for special needs children. Teams come from across the United States and from far away as Canada and Puerto Rico just to participate in this unbelievable event. The final numbers from the Noblelympics event are not all in but it looks like we will be able to write a check for several thousand dollars to the Little League Jamboree to support their outstanding tournament. AWESOME!

We were overjoyed to have the opportunity to help a great local kid suffering from Asperger's Syndrome this past month. This boy is getting ready to enter the first grade after the summer and his soon-to-be school wanted to provide him with software designed specifically for children suffering from Autism or Asperger's Syndrome to help them prepare for 1st grade and beyond. Unfortunately the family did not have a computer or enough money to consider buying one. The Noblemen were able to acquire a brand new laptop for this young man and he truly could not have been anymore excited about the gift! Special thanks go out to Joe Thatcher, Sam Corey and CSC Leasing Company for helping make this gift possible!

Thank you for checking in with The Noblemen and reading this month's edition of our "Philanthropy Blog"! Please check back next month to learn more about the awesome impact that we are having everyday by helping great local kids in Hampton Roads!