Cooper Hurley Injury Lawyers Donates $1,000 in Grocery Gift Cards to Norfolk Community with History of Food Insecurity

Cooper Hurley Injury Lawyers, a personal injury law firm based in downtown Norfolk, partnered with The Law Firm of Charlene A. Morring, P.C. to give away over $8,000 in gift cards to Berkley Supermarket after Norfolk Councilwoman Danica Royster challenged the community to support black-owned businesses during February’s Black History Month.

When staff members from both firms arrived at the supermarket two hours early to set up tables outside, they found families waiting in line for the gift cards, which ranged in value from $50 to $100 each.

Berkley residents also received reusable shopping bags from Cooper Hurley Injury Lawyers which included blankets, t-shirts, and hand sanitizer.

The Law Firm of Charlene A. Morring, P.C., who organized the giveaway, provided music and entertainment while interacting with excited shoppers during the two-hour event.

“Councilwoman Royster, from Norfolk, challenged Hampton Roads to support Berkley Supermarket with the rising prices in groceries, and I, along with Cooper Hurley Injury Lawyers, accepted that challenge,” said Charlene Morring during a Facebook Live interview with Cooper Hurley Injury Lawyers’ cofounder Jim Hurley at the event.

Councilwoman Royster’s “Berkley Challenge,” which inspired the giveaway, was created just five months after Berkley Supermarket opened its doors to the community. The black-owned grocer has received recognition and praise for providing affordable, nutritious foods in what had been deemed a food desert since the neighborhood’s previous grocer closed its doors in 2018.

“We have people starving right here in the city of Norfolk,” shared Councilwoman Royster during an interview with Cooper Hurley Injury Lawyers at the event. “Affordable food access is a necessity…I’m appreciative of your law firm that came out and rose to the occasion to make sure that people got access to food and making sure that we’re reinvesting those dollars back into the community,” she continued.

“We at Cooper Hurley Injury Lawyers are so happy to support this great cause, and we are so grateful that Charlene got us involved,” added Jim Hurley.

Jim Hurley, a car accident attorney who has served Norfolk and Hampton Roads residents for over thirty years, was joined by more than a dozen Cooper Hurley Injury Lawyers staff members and their families who wanted to show their support for Berkley Supermarket and its patrons.

One such staff member was Stacey Maguire, a Chesapeake resident and paralegal at Cooper Hurley Injury Lawyers. Her grandfather worked at Overton’s Market in Berkley for several years and was a well-known figure in the neighborhood.

“Berkley is dear to my heart because that was my grandfather’s second home. He worked at the only other grocery store that they had, Overton’s Market, for years. Everyone, everyone in Berkley knew my grandfather, so I knew I had to be here today,” she shared.

Cooper Hurley Injury Lawyers’ giveaway at Berkley Supermarket is the firm’s most recent community effort in its mission to donate $100,000 to Hampton Roads in 2022.

On the “Road to $100,000,” the personal injury firm is increasing its contributions to the community through giveaways, donations, and its annual Focused Driver Scholarship Program. During Vote for a Cause this spring, Cooper Hurley Injury Lawyers will invite Hampton Roads residents to nominate worthy nonprofits to receive a $3,000 donation from the firm. Similarly in the fall, residents will receive a chance to vote for their favorite Hampton Roads schools to receive a total of $10,000 during Vote for a School. With recent donations to Delta Sigma Theta Sorority’s J13 Scholarship Fundraiser, United Jewish Federation, and Oscar Smith High School’s Football Booster Club, the firm is already well on its way to its goal.