RICHMOND, Va., Aug. 30, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Schools in Virginia will get a boost in funding for the 2012-2013 academic year as a result of $610,000 in education grants given by Dominion Virginia Power and The Dominion Foundation.

The K-12 Educational Partnership (www.dom.com/about/education/grants/recent-awards.jsp) program awarded 36 schools with up to $7,500 each to help fund projects related to energy and the environment. The Higher Education Partnership (www.dom.com/about/education/grants/recent-higher-educational-awards.jsp) program awarded 15 college and post-secondary schools with up to $45,000 each to help projects in renewable energy, environmental studies, engineering and workforce development. The Dominion Foundation is the philanthropic arm of Dominion Resources (NYSE:D), of which Dominion Virginia Power is a subsidiary.

"Energy, environment and education are among the most critical concerns for the future of our country," said Thomas F. Farrell II, chairman, president and chief executive officer. "Dominion will continue to support schools, teachers and students who are working to find solutions that will improve life for generations to come. Our support begins in the classrooms."

Information about Dominion and the Foundation is available on www.dom.com, Twitter and Facebook.

The Virginia grants are part of $1.4 million awarded to schools in states where Dominion does business, which are Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, West Virginia and Wisconsin.

Grant recipients include:

• Thomas Nelson Community College Educational Foundation, Inc. in Hampton received $35,000 for GreenZebo, a student-led project to construct a solar panel gazebo to reduce energy consumption on campus and to educate students about alternative energy.
• Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond was awarded $40,000 for their Carbon Awareness Partnership. Students and teachers will explore the effects of rising levels of carbon dioxide, methane and dissolved organic carbon in the atmosphere and aquatic habitats. 
• Newington Forest Elementary School in Fairfax County will use $2,000 for "Going Green," a school-wide initiative that will teach kindergarten through sixth-grade students about the environmental benefits of energy conservation, alternative energy options, and a rigorous recycling program. 
• Communities in Schools of Chesterfield received $1,500 to merge a "Trout in the Classroom" environmental education program with a school-wide mentoring program.  The students and their mentors will be responsible for caring for the trout, constructing and maintaining the tanks and then releasing the trout into a local stream.

Dominion Virginia Power is a subsidiary of Dominion (NYSE: D), one of the nation's largest producers and transporters of energy, with a portfolio of approximately 28,000 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.

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SOURCE Dominion Virginia Power