Student-Led Philanthropy Committee Carries on Legacy of Community Impact through the Mary P. Blalock Fund

Hampton Roads Academy strives to prepare students to excel, not only academically, athletically, and artistically, but also as ethical and compassionate leaders within their community.

Each year, no campus organization embodies this service-minded mission more clearly than the student-led Philanthropy Committee, a group of 12 hardworking Upper Schoolers who research, review applications from, and select four nonprofits in the Greater Hampton Roads area to receive $1,000 grants from the Mary P. Blalock Philanthropy Fund. This year, the Committee received a record 45 proposals from throughout the region.

The 2026 grantees include:

• Come As You Are, which will help neurodivergent young and older adults develop foundational skills for entering the workforce, from time management and self-advocacy to professional communication and interview preparation, through their ongoing READY and upcoming But First, READY programs;
• Communities In Schools of Hampton Roads, which will collaborate with civics and economics teachers at Passage Middle School in Newport News to foster eighth graders’ financial literacy skills through their Show Me That Credit program, designed to reinforce accountability, motivation, and responsible decision-making skills with a simulated credit score model;
• the Get Out Prevails Foundation, which will supply book bags and school supplies at no cost to children in low-income communities as part of the organization’s larger mission to support the families of women facing domestic violence; and
• the DeGood Foundation, which partners with Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library to mail free, high-quality, age-appropriate books every month to children throughout Hampton Roads from birth to age five, with the goal of closing the gap in youth reading proficiency (especially in low-income households) and expanding their reach to 65% of all children in the communities they serve by 2030.

The annual awards are a tribute not only to the important work of charitable organizations across Hampton Roads, but also to the legacy of Mary Blalock, a longtime member of the HRA staff who passed away in April 2019. By donating funds in her name to nonprofits that uplift the region they call home, the members of the Philanthropy Committee gain a deeper understanding of their responsibility as citizens while honoring Blalock’s extraordinary dedication to both HRA and the broader community.

The students will formally present the grants to their chosen nonprofits during the Founders’ Day and Memorial Awards Assembly on April 16. The following day, every member of the HRA community will have the opportunity to create a similar impact by making a gift to the school in recognition of HRA Day. During the Academy’s annual day of giving, alumni, faculty, staff, students, and families will join together to help carry on the goal HRA has pursued since opening its doors in 1959: empowering the next generation with an education that combines intellectual, physical, and creative rigor with a commitment to character formation.

A Tradition of Service

A tireless champion of HRA’s mission, Mary Blalock served the school for an incredible 15 years, from 2004 to 2019, most recently as Director of Advancement. Her devotion to the Academy and its students was unparalleled, and she has continued to change lives even after her passing through the Blalock Fund.

With the blessing of her husband, Dr. Ward Blalock ’75, and her daughters Nora ’09 and Marnie ’12, HRA established a permanently endowed fund in her memory, helping to meet the needs of the school as well as those of area charities.

Since 2021, investment proceeds from the fund have made it possible for the students of the Philanthropy Committee to learn about the work of nonprofits first-hand and give back to their community.

In reviewing grant applications, the Committee members prioritize five areas of interest: education, health and wellness, arts and culture, economic development, and the environment. As the Committee’s faculty sponsor, Director of Alumni Relations Tommy Yevak ’83, explained, “The students look for impact near to our footprint here on the Virginia Peninsula, helping out where we live.” In order to provide “laser-focused” assistance in addressing “current, changing needs in the community,” the Committee seeks out proposals that identify specific, timely projects and outline a budget allocating more than three quarters of funds for direct impact, as opposed to organizational operating costs.

The Committee, however, does not simply wait for charitable organizations to come to them for help. Committed to hands-on, experiential learning about the nonprofit sector, the students research potential community partners through site visits throughout the school year. During the fall and winter, the Committee volunteered at THRIVE Peninsula food pantry, visited the local Boys & Girls Club, and returned to the headquarters of the RocSolid Foundation, a 2025 grantee that provides “ready bags” and miniature playground sets to comfort children diagnosed with pediatric cancer during their hospital stays.

According to Philanthropy Committee President Owen Hospodar ’26, these trips accomplish far more than informing students about the types of organizations they will support. They also allow Committee members to meet the staff and leaders of local charities, forming meaningful connections that will be an asset for anyone who wants to stay engaged with, or build a career in, nonprofits after graduation. More importantly, while on site, the students are able to connect personally with their neighbors who are in the greatest need of help.

“I have witnessed looks on faces of kids and verbal responses while on field trips to nonprofit organizations that prove to me that the members of the Committee have experienced authentic empathy and compassion and have uncovered a feeling of true desire to comfort those in need,” Yevak said.

Such experiences have played a powerful role in cultivating students’ sense of duty to others during HRA’s Year of Connections—the very duty Mary Blalock stood for.

“We Want the Community to Feel Like a Family”

While the impact of the Philanthropy Committee’s work is undeniable, the students ultimately gain more from their service to the community than they ever could have imagined.

“What I find most fulfilling is that I’m actually able to do something out of my own volition to help these people,” said Hospodar, who was inspired to join the Committee as a freshman and eventually assume a leadership position by his mother’s prior work as chair of the Mathews Community Foundation Grants Committee. Thanks to the Blalock Fund, he and his peers have discovered the unmatched joy of mobilizing one’s resources for the betterment of a wider community.

“That’s really what we’re all about,” the senior remarked. “We want the community to feel like a family. We treat them with kindness and helpfulness as if they were our family.”

For Vice President Joe Kerrick ’26, who, like Hospodar, has served on the Committee for all four of his Upper School years, the most rewarding moment of the year comes on Founders’ Day, “when we give away our grants and get to deliver them personally to the representatives for each organization. It’s such a feel-good moment, and it really clicks that your efforts have amounted to a real benefit.”

As they prepare to graduate from HRA, the two seniors at the head of the Philanthropy Committee are both committed to embracing the ideals of Mary Blalock throughout their careers. Kerrick, who intends to study engineering in college, explained that his experience with the Committee has convinced him of the importance of understanding the people of every community where his work will take him so that he can best serve their needs. Hospodar, who plans to major in philosophy and pursue a career in law, is similarly dedicated to serving as an agent of positive change in his profession, not as a defender of the status quo.

In the meantime, Hospodar and Kerrick are confident that younger students on the Committee—many of whom they recruited themselves—will excel as they assume leadership roles. “As we’ve gone on, we’ve gotten more passionate about it,” Hospodar said. “It just keeps growing.”

With support from the Mary P. Blalock Fund and generous donors who contribute to it, the Philanthropy Committee is poised to continue a tradition of service to the community for years to come. In the process, generations of Navigators will grow to approach their role as leaders with thoughtfulness, intentionality, and a firm sense of moral responsibility.

Interested in supporting the Mary P. Blalock Philanthropy Fund? Make a gift today to carry on a legacy of leadership and service.