“Peake Childhood Center (Peake) is a non-profit located in Hampton that provides an affordable and high-quality early childhood care and education program that fosters school readiness. Children ages six-weeks through five-years are immersed year-round in research-based and Virginia approved curricula. Peake has a unique affordability model and supports families beyond the classroom. Peake is engaged in a new partnership with the City of Newport News and Virginia Peninsula Community College (VPCC). Newport News is building a new facility in which Peake will operate and serve 200 children. This expansion is important because Peake carried a waitlist 400 children long in 2023. VPCC will teach early childhood educator classes in the new facility to help fill vacancies at Peake and elsewhere. The Blocker Foundation is providing the funds needed to purchase start-up literacy materials and equipment for a gross motor skills room and an outdoor activity area. The Blocker funds will also support professional development related to items purchased through the grant, which will help to ensure the success of Peake’s expansion.”

“Next Step to Success is a free after-school and summer experiential learning program that empowers teenagers from low-income households in Norfolk to build the independent, resilient character they will need to earn success and enjoy happy, fulfilling lives as adults.  By inspiring our youth to adhere to the data-validated “Success Sequence,” our ultimate objective is to cut the poverty rate in our city by one-half within a generation.  With gratitude for the generous support of The Blocker Foundation, we will construct on the grounds of the former DePaul Hospital a beautiful new “St. Vincent de Paul House” campus, where 320 youth at a time will develop the character strengths, life skills, success strategies, and high self-expectations that will enable them to reach escape velocity from their economically disadvantaged backgrounds.  These “Success Stories” (as we call our youth) will then become the “influencers” of their peers within the communities where poverty is most concentrated, gradually but steadily changing the educational outcomes, social norms, career expectations and living environment that have kept too many young folks in our city from reaching their full potential.”

"The Blocker Foundation's partnership with Survivor Ventures' Survivors to Entrepreneurs (S2E) program is pivotal in empowering Hampton Roads-based trafficking survivors to (re)enter the workforce, develop entrepreneurial skills and secure safe, affordable housing. Through S2E’s three-phase, 24-month program, survivors achieve housing stability, secure gainful employment, and pursue self-employment. This partnership is instrumental in transforming the lives of trafficking survivors in Hampton Roads, guiding them from crisis to stability and independence."

“Buffalow Family and Friends have been combatting hunger and food insecurities in our communities for close to 15 years. We are dedicated to providing nourishment, support, and resources to those in need, fostering a caring environment where no one goes to bed hungry. We are so excited to receive funding from The Blocker Foundation to allow us to stock our pantry with food and essential items to serve our seniors, homeless, and families.”