ACCESS Receives 6th Consecutive 4-Star Rating from Charity Navigator!

For the 6th consecutive year, ACCESS has received a 4-star rating from Charity Navigator, America's largest and most-utilized independent evaluator of charities! We're proud to say only 5% of charities they evaluate have received at least 6 consecutive 4-star evaluations.

What does the 4-star rating mean? Charity Navigator's goal is to provide clear, objective, and reliable assessments of both the financial health and accountability & transparency of charities, allowing donors to feel confident in the charities they support. A 4-star rating indicates an organization exceeds industry standards and outperforms most charities in its cause.

For more information about our rating, take a look at our profile on the Charity Navigator website here.

2017 Scholarship Awards Luncheon

On June 22, 2017, we held our annual Scholarship Awards Luncheon at the Virginia Beach Convention Center and proudly presented 135 local high school graduates with scholarships! Our keynote speaker, Virginia Supreme Court Justice, the Honorable S. Bernard Goodwyn, addressed the room full of students from Chesapeake, Norfolk, Northampton County, Portsmouth, Suffolk and Virginia Beach and encouraged them to "dream big" as they enter the next chapter of their lives.

A special thank you to all of our event sponsors: Chesapeake Bay Wine Classic Foundation, Joan and Macon Brock, Peggy and Conrad Hall, Old Dominion University, PRA Group, Virginia Tech, Norfolk State University, Virginia State University, PNC Bank, Eastern Shore Community College, Virginia Wesleyan University, Virginia529, Harvey Lindsay Commercial Real Estate and University of Mary Washington.

We wish our scholars the best as they begin the next chapter in their lives!

Visit our Facebook page for more photos from the event.

Check out coverage of the event in the Virginian-Pilot here.

Inaugural Event of the ACCESS Alumni Network!

On June 21, 2017, we held the augural event of our ACCESS Alumni Network at The Main in Norfolk! Alumni were able to connect with one another and with current ACCESS staff.

The night wouldn't have been complete without our special guests, Macon and Joan Brock! Mr. Brock, co-founder of Dollar Tree and author of "One Buck at a Time," shared his story and gave advice on how to succeed in business. What's the key to success? He said, "It all comes down to attitude and hard work."

Visit our Facebook page for more photos and keep an eye out for more upcoming ACCESS Alumni Network events!

ACCESS College Commitment Day 2017

On April 25, we gathered more than 2,500 high school seniors at Old Dominion University's Ted Constant Center for ACCESS College Commitment Day to celebrate their commitment to higher education. The students, who came from Norfolk, Virginia Beach, Portsmouth, Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Suffolk and Northampton County, have all been helped by ACCESS. Each one has been accepted to at least one college or university and will be headed there in the Fall!

Click here to watch our video!

A special thank you to our event speakers: Cedricka Dalton, Churchland High School gradate, who obtained bachelors’ degree from NSU and is currently an Electronics Engineer for the Mid-Atlantic Regional Maintenance Center on Naval Station Norfolk’s base and pursuing her master’s at ODU; and, Joseph Dugan, graduating senior at Princess Anne High School, planning to attend VCU in the Fall.

We even surprised the students and gave away SIX scholarships during our event! Thank you to our sponsors who made the event possible: Old Dominion University, Norfolk State University, Virginia Tech, Virginia State University, University of Mary Washington, j&a racing and Signature Family Wealth Advisors!

A special thank you to our emcee, Shaggy from Z104! #CatchMeinCollege2017