The COVID-19 pandemic has been challenging for the Hampton Roads community, particularly in schools that faced a switch to virtual learning.
Cooper Hurley Injury Lawyers has helped these schools by focusing its charitable efforts on assisting students during this difficult time. Recently, the firm donated $5,000 to Norfolk’s Larrymore Elementary School to help the school set up virtual classrooms.
This month, Principal David Faircloth and Assistant Principal Audrey Williams stopped by our office to accept the donation on the first day of the 2020-21 school year. Faircloth told Chief Marketing Officer Cassidy Lewis, Larrymore is a Title 1 school with about 600 students. “We are working really hard just trying to adapt and navigate the virtual classroom,” he said.
“Our teachers have been working really hard all summer. They pretty much gave up their summer to do a lot of professional development to navigate the new virtual world,” Faircloth said. He said many students picked up Google Chromebooks and modified devices over the summer.
“We are just trying to make this process as easy and flexible as possible,” Faircloth said. Williams pointed out lessons will be held virtually for the first nine weeks of school. She encouraged parents to reach out to teachers.
Other Ways Our Firm Has Helped Our Community
Cooper Hurley Injury Lawyers has redoubled efforts to help schools during the pandemic. “Here at Cooper Hurley Injury Lawyers we have made a commitment to education, particularly Norfolk public schools,” Lewis said. The Norfolk-based firm stepped up its support of the local community last year by establishing the charitable campaign, “Cooper Hurley Injury Lawyers Cares.”
“For years, our philanthropic efforts have been focused on assisting Hampton Roads residents and organizations. When we took a closer look, we recognized that it was education- and youth-based organizations that we donated the most to,” said Lewis.
When COVID-19 forced a shutdown in the spring, we refocused our efforts to help the community by supporting education. Cooper Hurley Injury Lawyers reached out to local school principals and asked how we could assist schools and students. Teachers and school administrators discovered that although many educational items are usually on-hand for students in a school environment, they often lack all the tools they need at home.
Over the last few years, we have supported local students by awarding scholarships via our Distracted Driving Awareness Scholarship Program. This year we awarded scholarships of $2,000 each to four students from Hampton Roads and one national winner.
The firm established the Distracted Driving Awareness Scholarship program in 2017. Partner Jim Hurley said it brings attention to a significant cause of car accidents among young adults by asking graduating high school students to discuss solutions to the distracted driving menace.
He said the scholarship award competition is “designed to put a focus on a dangerous issue that we see far too often at the firm.”
Cooper Hurley Injury Lawyers supports many organizations that give a helping hand to young people every year. We recently sponsored Ground and Pound Athletics and Read Across America Day.
Last year, we donated coats to Southside STEM Academy of Campostella students. Cooper Hurley Injury Lawyers stepped in to help the Virginia Beach Cooke Redskins when intruders stole equipment from a shed. We have supported events at Larchmont Elementary and Maury High School in Norfolk.
Cooper Hurley Injury Lawyers is a fast-growing personal injury law firm with headquarters in Norfolk and client meeting locations in all of the Hampton Roads cities and on the Eastern Shore of Virginia. Please contact us today if you need legal assistance.
