Richmond lawyer’s life inspires act of charity

Those who do good works inspire others, even after their death.

W. Joe Hoppe, who was the senior assistant city attorney for Richmond, passed away on July 26.

A Richmond Times-Dispatch obituary about Hoppe moved a local philanthropist so much that she anonymously made a $6,200 donation -- representing 62 years of Hoppe's life -- to The Community Fund.

"The gift was not given from a storehouse of millions, but from the heart with an abundance of faith," the donor said.

The Richmond resident made the gift to promote public safety in honor of Hoppe's lifetime contributions.

With the city, Mr. Hoppe worked in litigation, primarily in public safety, the city's Risk Management Office and workers' compensation cases. He also served as general counsel for the GRTC Transit System.

Hoppe earned his law degree from the University of Virginia School of Law; was a law clerk for a justice of the Supreme Court of Virginia, and early in his career he worked for the firm Mays & Valentine, which merged with Troutman Sanders LLP in 2001.

"It is rare that one gets to observe so complete an act of kindness, an anonymous donor making a grant to charity in memory of a person whom they never met," said Robert Thalhimer of The Community Foundation.

"Hopefully this gift will mean a great deal to the family of Mr. Hoppe."

The donor, who has made other contributions to The Community Foundation, hopes Hoppe's friends and family also will be inspired to give for public safety.

. . .

With the rocky economy, more people have turned to Housing Opportunities Made Equal of Virginia Inc. (HOME) for help in keeping their houses from foreclosure. Recently, the nonprofit corporation received help in the form of a $100,000 donation from Capital One Services to support programming in its Center for Housing Education.

In addition to funding, about a dozen Capital One employees will volunteer their time and talent in specific skill areas including finance and human resources.

HOME also will receive $118,000 from the Commonwealth of Virginia for foreclosure-prevention services.

And HOME recently received approval as a Combined Federal Campaign agency. That means federal government employees can make contributions to HOME.

Last year, federal employees and military personnel raised $273.1 million through the Combined Federal Campaign to benefit thousands of not-for-profit charities.

. . .

The Wal-Mart Foundation recently announced a grant of $100,000 in support of Virginia Union University's Brighter Future Initiative. The Initiative will award grants of $1,400 to about 100 Richmond public school students.

Students will receive the grants during their entire four years at Virginia Union as long as they continue to meet the 2.2 grade-point average and community-service requirements.

"We are proud to say that our partnership with Virginia Union University will help many determined students overcome obstacles to completing their education," said Wal-Mart Foundation President Margaret McKenna.

Contact Robin Farmer at 804-649-6312 or .