Dominion Donates $50,000 to Aid Ohio Homeless Veterans

CLEVELAND, Nov. 10, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Dominion announced today it is donating a total of $50,000 to two organizations in northeast Ohio that assist homeless military veterans.

"Dominion is grateful for the service and sacrifice military veterans and their families have made in defending our country," said Anne E. Bomar, senior vice president and general manager of Dominion East Ohio. "Some are facing hardships and going through difficult times. In recognition of Veterans Day, we are supporting programs that directly help homeless veterans and programs that benefit the wounded and their families."

The organizations, each receiving $25,000, are:

• Valor Home, Akron, is a new, 30-bed transitional housing facility for veterans, which Family and Community Services, Inc., will operate. The Valor Home Project also will be recruiting and utilizing volunteers from Habitat for Humanity of Summit County to help with the construction.

• Community Service Alliance (CSA), Cleveland.  Sacrament House is a new housing program site that will provide 12 to 14 additional rooms to meet the growing need for short-term housing, and will enable CSA to focus services at the site to meet the needs of veterans emerging from homelessness.

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs estimates that 107,000 veterans are homeless on any given night. The agency also cites that over the course of a year, about twice that many experience homelessness. And according to the National Coalition of Homeless Veterans, the extreme shortage of affordable housing, livable income and access to health care, are compounded by a lack of family and social support networks.

"It is critical that we reach out to veterans in need," Bomar said. "America's veterans have served in many war zones, and now they need our help. The grants are funding community-based organizations because they know best how and where the money should be used."

Dominion is making the grant through the Dominion Foundation, the company's philanthropic arm.  Dominion Foundation grants are funded by shareholder dollars and the customers do not bear the cost of the grants.

Dominion has a long-standing record of military support. In March, Dominion joined four other energy companies in the "Troops to Energy Jobs" pilot program designed to link thousands of future job openings in the energy industry with troops leaving military service. The company currently employs more than 1,200 veterans across 14 states.

Employees currently participate in an award-winning troop support program that has delivered thousands of care packages to deployed soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan. Dominion is the recipient of multiple military awards and recognitions having recently been named one of the "Top 20 Military Spouse-Friendly Employers" by Military Spouse magazine.

In 2010, Dominion, its charitable foundation and employees invested more than $24 million and 150,000 volunteer hours in programs that help improve the quality of life for people in the states where Dominion operates power stations, natural gas and other energy facilities.

Dominion is one of the nation's largest producers and transporters of energy, with a portfolio of approximately 28,200 megawatts of generation. Dominion operates the nation's largest natural gas storage system and serves retail energy customers in 15 states. For more information about Dominion, visit the company's website at www.dom.com. 

SOURCE Dominion East Ohio