NORFOLK, Va. — A Chesapeake church made a significant contribution to Norfolk State University at the football game Saturday, donating $45,000 to help graduating seniors complete their education.
The First Baptist Church South Hill presented the donation during NSU's game, targeting students with outstanding tuition balances that could prevent them from graduating. This church has been donating to NSU in different capacities for decades, but this year, they wanted to do something extra special.
"We as a church, are just imagining how we can think bigger, bolder, and broader about what's possible through our church. And one of the ideas that came out of that is why don't we give to graduating seniors. One of the dreams of our foremothers and forefathers was that they could pursue education," said Reginald Wise, senior pastor at First Baptist Church South Hill.
The donation will be distributed among NSU seniors for the spring semester based on financial need and academic standing. Students will need to apply to receive the funds.
"For many of our students, they're receiving financial assistance, so these scholarship dollars will allow them to be able to pay for books, pay for tuition, and some of their expenses that are related to attending the university," said Clifford Porter, vice president for University Advancement at NSU.
Pastor Wise said the congregation wanted to address critical financial needs at local historically Black colleges and universities.
"We recognize that there are a lot of cuts and restrictions coming to historically black institutions. So, as a church, we just wanted to be able to help and support our institutions because they've meant so much to our communities," Wise said.
Members of the church hope their generosity will inspire other organizations to support historically Black institutions.
"We're hoping that this act of generosity will inspire other churches, other nonprofit organizations, to support our HBCU's and other historically black institutions," Wise said.
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