Norfolk School Receives $5,000 From Cooper Hurley Injury Lawyers After Winning Its Vote for a School Contest

Jimmy Hurley (left), Marketing Assistant at Cooper Hurley Injury Lawyers, meets with Larrymore Elementary School’s Vice Principal Williams (center) and Principal Faircloth (right) at the school on October 1, 2021 to deliver a $5,000 donation after the Norfolk school won Cooper Hurley Injury Lawyers’ first Vote for a School contest in September.

NORFOLK, VA — [October 21, 2021]: Larrymore Elementary School in Norfolk has been named the winner of Cooper Hurley Injury Lawyers’ first Vote for a School competition.

The school on Halprin Drive won $5,000 after receiving the most votes from the community between August 30, 2021 and September 21, 2021 on Cooper Hurley Injury Lawyer’s website, cooperhurley.com.

“You guys have been guardian angels for us,” said Larrymore principal David Faircloth at the check presentation on October 1st.

“We’re going to use [this donation] to support the students with incentives, with treats, with water—a lot of those things that we haven’t been able to fundraise in like two years, so you guys have truly taken such good care of us,” he added.

Larrymore Elementary is a past recipient of assistance from Cooper Hurley Injury Lawyers. At the start of the 2020-2021 school year, the Norfolk-based personal injury firm surprised staff at the school with a $5,000 donation for the purchase of student laptops and Wi-Fi devices. This donation inspired the idea of Vote for a School.

The second-place winner of Vote for a School, St Pius X Catholic School, also sits on Halprin Drive just next to Larrymore Elementary. The private school has served Southside families for 65 years and received a $1,000 donation from Cooper Hurley Injury Lawyers.

Jimmy Hurley, marketing assistant at the firm, delivered the donation to Principal Zafra on October 1st.

“We’re looking forward to using those funds to help our students…and to progress our programs in reading and in math,” Zafra explained.

Vote for a School is sponsored by Cooper Hurley Injury Lawyers Cares, an ongoing initiative to help meet the needs of Hampton Roads residents and charities. The initiative supports many great causes in education.

This year, any public or private school located in Hampton Roads or the Eastern Shore was eligible to enter the competition. Cooper Hurley Injury Lawyers invited the community to participate by nominating or voting for their favorite schools. The winning schools could the funds at their discretion.

“It means the world to us to be able to give back to our community,” said Griffin O’Hanlon, partner and injury attorney at Cooper Hurley Injury Lawyers.

“Most of our attorneys and staff grew up in Hampton Roads, and our children and families are better because of the dedicated schools, educators, and administrators throughout our region. We’re just honored to be able to donate this $5,000 to a deserving school, and we are excited for our friends and neighbors around Hampton Roads to get involved,” he said.

Schools need more support than ever before due to the effects of COVID-19. Data from the Virginia Department of Education found that Hampton Roads school enrollment fell by more than 4.5% in 2020. Although numbers have stabilized since in many districts, students continue to fall ill and the pandemic is having a lasting impact on student learning outcomes.

To show its support, Cooper Hurley Injury Lawyers has made many donations to schools and students over the last two years. The firm donated $2,000 to Maury High School for its Cap and Gown Day, $500 to Nansemond River High School for sanitizer dispensers and refills to help deal with COVID, and $5,000 (the equivalent of 12,500 meals) to the Foodbank of Southeastern Virginia and the Eastern Shore, along with several other donations.

Partner Bill O’Mara, a graduate of Indian River High School in Chesapeake, recently returned to the school to make a donation of $2,500 from Cooper Hurley Injury Lawyers.

“I’m a proud class of 2000 graduate of Indian River High School,” O’Mara told Principal Naomi Dunbar. “My wife graduated from Indian River High School, my siblings graduated from Indian River High School, and my father substitute teaches here from time to time.”

This summer, Cooper Hurley Injury Lawyers awarded six scholarships of $2,000 to its Focused Driver Scholarship Program recipients. Five winners from the Hampton Roads area received checks of $2,000 to help them with their studies after submitting winning essays on the dangers of distracted or drunk driving. Cooper Hurley Injury Lawyers also announced one national winner.

The winners were named as Parish Thompson from Newport News, Jasmine Purchas from Virginia Beach, Gabrielle Parker from Smithfield, Carley Keurajian from Williamsburg, and Bailey Jones of Suffolk. Madison Milton, a rising third-year student at the University of Tampa in Florida, is the national winner.

Cooper Hurley Injury Lawyers helps those injured in car, truck, and motorcycle accidents as well as other serious injury and wrongful death cases. The firm has a long track record of giving back to the community as a way of saying “thank you” for the community’s support. To learn more about Cooper Hurley Injury Lawyers Cares, visit cooperhurley.com/community. Please contact us at (757) 333-3333.