The Suffolk Foundation on Thursday announced that it has awarded $75,000 to 18 different nonprofit agencies for a variety of programs.

Since the foundation received its nonprofit community foundation status in October 2007, it has awarded nearly $1 million in unrestricted and donor-advised grants and scholarships.

The foundation was able to expand its funding this year to agencies with a diversity of needs, said Ryan Harrell, distribution chairman. The past several years, the board voted to support agencies that were primarily helping individuals meet their basic human needs.

This year, the foundation funded agencies seeking support in cultural arts, education, environment, family, health, human needs, seniors and youth.

For more information on the Suffolk Foundation, call 923-9090.

The 2011 Suffolk Foundation Grant Recipients were:

• Access College Foundation — $5,000 to assist with the Access program in three Suffolk public high schools and two middle schools.
• Boys and Girls Clubs of Southeast Virginia — $5,000 to support KidzLit, Passport to Manhood and Kids Café programs in the Suffolk unit.
• Chesapeake Bay Foundation — $2,500 to help provide Suffolk Public Schools teachers with environmental education professional development, which will allow the educators the resources to integrate field and classroom-based environmental education into core academic studies.
• Foodbank of Southeastern Virginia — $4,250 to assist with providing for basic needs and to benefit the health of Suffolk residents by supporting the expansion of the mobile pantry program.
• ForKids — $5,000 to provide partial funding for homeless prevention, rapid re-housing and stabilization services for families and individuals in Western Tidewater.
• Nansemond River Preservation Alliance — $2,500 to help restore the impaired Nansemond River, Chuckatuck Creek, Bennett’s Creek, and their tributaries to full health by supporting the NRPA Comprehensive Community Environmental Stewardship Program.
• Southeast Virginia Area-wide Model Program — $5,000 to provide 250 trips to medical appointments for Suffolk residents 60 years of age or older and adults with disabilities.
• Suffolk Center for Cultural Arts — $5,000 to assist with funding the Student Matinees and Artists in Schools programs to expose more than 5,000 students to live theater and provide field trip opportunities.
• Suffolk Literacy Council — $3,000 to strengthen adult literacy services of the SLC to better assist adults in obtaining the knowledge and skills necessary for employment and self-sufficiency.
• Suffolk Salvation Army Corps — $4,000 to help provide basic services of food, shelter, and energy to individuals in Suffolk and surrounding areas.
• Suffolk Special Olympics Area 29 — $2,500 to assist with the costs incurred for competitions, equipment for new sport activities being added, and travel.
• Suffolk YMCA — $5,000 to provide scholarships to public school children coming from low-income families so the individuals may have the opportunity to attend an after-school program or summer camp.
• The Children’s Center — $2,700 to place the “Raising a Reader” program in three new Early Head Start classrooms at the Suffolk Children’s Center.
• The Genieve Shelter — $5,000 to support victims fleeing domestic violence situations, with the ultimate goal to decrease the number of domestic violence incidences through education and services that focuses on preventing and ending domestic violence in homes, schools and communities.
• Suffolk Partnership for a Healthy Community — $2,500 to assist in funding the cost of implementing a community-wide comprehensive well-care management program called Positive Lifestyle Commitment Program.
• Virginia Legal Aid Society— $7,500 to help support the VLAS Strengthening Families with Children, which incorporates legal advice and representation to strengthen low-income families in stress.
• Western Tidewater Community Services Board — $3,550 to purchase three washers and dryers for use in a proposed “Adult Daily Living Skills Lab” for individuals who suffer from serious and persistent mental illness attending Western Tidewater’s rehabilitation program.
• Western Tidewater Free Clinic — $5,000 to help support the funding of medical services for the Women’s Health Program for 500 women who are eligible for care from Suffolk and the surrounding area.