By georgina stark
The Virginian-Pilot

Nine days ago, Steve Stein, owner of Virginia Beach-based Grand Furniture, joined 11 other local volunteers delivering more than 100 mattresses, furniture and donated food, baby items and cash to Hurricane Katrina victims in the Gulf Coast.

“We were amazed at the situation down there,” said Stein, who spent three nights in a Baton Rouge, La., church-turned-homeless-shelter housing 150 evacuees. “We saw how much more has to be done.”

Also recently, Norfolk Southern Corp., which serves the gulf states , contributed $500,000 to local and state emergency responders. The Norfolk-based rail company also is matching employee donations up to a maximum corporate donation of $500,000, for a total $1 million gift.

Throughout Hampton Roads these past three weeks, businesses have contributed time, materials and money to relief efforts in the Gulf Coast area in what some say is an unprecedented local effort to help other Americans hundreds of miles away.

“We’ve had such a great outpouring of support from local businesses,” said Cynthia James, major gifts officer for the American Red Cross of Southeastern Virginia.

“We know our community bands together in times like these,” she said, “but every time, you’re surprised by what they do.”

The post-Hurricane Katrina response by businesses and corporations belies the traditional image of corporate giving beginning and ending with an executive cutting a check. Rather, the relief effort presented challenges to companies to come up with more creative ways to raise money that involve their employees and customer base.

While financial donations are a priority for local relief organizations, companies also realize they may have a lot more to offer than just money, as Stein did, with access to manpower, transportation and supplies.

“Lots of companies have become more strategic in their corporate giving, which means they’re thinking, 'H ow can we offer support in a way that makes sense to us and makes best use of our resources?’ ” said Andy Wicks, associate professor of business administration at the University of Virginia’s Darden Graduate School of Business Administration and co-director of its Olssen Center for Applied Ethics.

Pepsi-Cola Bottling Group of Norfolk, for example, donated 16,000 bottles of water directly to the local American Red Cross.

And on Sept. 2, Smithfield Foods and its subsidiary companies started shipping 143,000 pounds of lunch meat, 80,000 pounds of ice and 32,000 bottles of water to food banks in the Baton Rouge area. The company responded similarly last year in Florida when that state was pounded with three hurricanes.

“In situations like this, everybody wants to step up and help,” said Dennis Treacy, Smithfield’s vice president of environment, community and government affairs. “We want them to know that our employees and management care about them.”

Virginia Beach company Spectrum Puppets has been providing free puppet shows at Norfolk’s American Red Cross to entertain the children of evacuated families . The Red Cross has seen 1,308 evacuees needing assistance in Hampton Roads through Thursday, about one-third of whom are children.

Some l ocal companies have joined forces in their efforts to get aid directly to affected areas. After Katrina hit Aug. 29, Rose & Womble Realty agents collected more than $12,000, which they used to purchase food delivered to the Louisiana towns of Covington and Eunice on an 18-wheeler donated by Chesapeake-based Givens Trucking Co .

“Those areas haven’t gotten much publicity, but lots of grateful, stranded people streamed out of the food banks to help unload the truck,” said Rose & Womble agent Karen Gaskins, who helped coordinate the effort. The Virginia Beach-based realty company also committed $25,000 to relief efforts.

Landmark Communications of Norfolk, through its Atlanta-based subsidiary The Weather Channel, donated

$1 million to disaster relief. The Virginian-Pilot, also owned by Landmark, gave $250,000 through its affiliated foundation.

National corporations with local branches also have provided support to relief efforts. Anheuser-Busch, which operates Busch Gardens in Williamsburg , donated $1 million to the American Red Cross. Supervalu, the Minnesota-based parent of local grocer Farm Fresh, is providing use of distribution centers, logistics support, food and supplies.

But it’s not just larger companies that have helped. Dr. Travis Davies, a chiropractor in the Ghent section of Norfolk, offered patients free care Monday in exchange for a $25 donation to the American Red Cross, raising $925. He estimated he would have made $450 that day had he charged all his patients.

The servers, bartenders and table-clearers of No Frill Bar & Grill in Virginia Beach donated half of their tips last weekend, amounting to $1,074, which was matched by the company.

Other Ghent businesses – The New Leaf, Rowena’s and Baker’s Fine Jewelry and Gifts – held a sidewalk fund raiser last Monday, with food and raffle prizes donated by Ghent stores and restaurants. A jazz band played for free.

“Every restaurant we asked said, 'Just tell us what you need,’ ” said Sarah Munford, co-owner of The New Leaf florist store. The three stores combined their clientele mailing lists and mailed out postcards advertising the event, which raised $12,000.

Rolling Stones tickets, restaurant gift certificates, limo service and laser eye surgery were some of the prizes bid on in a live auction at Sharx Sports Grill in Virginia Beach at its hurricane relief benefit Sept. 7 . It raised $39,590.

With such an overwhelming response to support Hurricane Katrina victims, some worry that other charities and nonprofits may face a reduced amount of donations in coming weeks.

“We do hear from nonprofits that they are concerned, but we hope it won’t impact them long-term,” said Suzanne Coffman, director of communications for Guide Star , a Williamsburg-based organization that connects more than 1.5 million nonprofit organizations with donors, foundations, businesses and governing agencies. Coffman said most people make charitable donations between Thanksgiving and Dec. 31, so nonprofits may not know the effects until then.

Stephen Jordan, executive director of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Center for Corporate Citizenship, said nationwide, businesses have given $432 million through Thursday, a figure that rises to $648 million if employee and customer donations are included. Jordan predicts the total will probably be about

$1 billion, overtaking the record $750 million collected after Sept. 11, 2001.

“American companies have demonstrated that in times of real need, they can rise to the occasion,” he said.

But he is quick to point out that money is not the only helpful way to reach out.

“Private sector expertise is worth a lot more than just cash,” he said.

Wicks, of the University of Virginia, echoed the importance of corporate philanthropy when disaster strikes.

“The government alone is no longer able to step in and say, ' We’ve got it covered ,’” he said. “Without corporate giving, there would be a ton of need that would go unmet.”

Reach Georgina Stark at 446-2033 or georgina.stark@pilotonline.com [1].

Here are some of the donations made for Gulf Coast relief by Hampton Roads businesses, as reported to The Virginian-Pilot or the American Red Cross of Southeastern Virginia.