Family founded through economic freedom, the Norris Foundation supports programs that advance better health and intellectual enlightenment, through education, cultivation of the arts, individual responsibility, freedom and dignity.
You’ll notice that the imagery of hands is the visual thread throughout this year’s annual report. Not only are the hands expressive and lovely to look at, but they illustrate the “hands-on” nature of the organizations profiled inside, from the fingers of musicians filling a room with chamber music, to the companionable touch of a person delivering a meal to a homebound senior. And nothing exhibits the power of hands more than the use of braille: the very world opens to the blind and visually impaired.
We at the Norris Foundation believe in being hands-on, too, as we endeavor to stay in touch with, provide our support to, and express our admiration to the deserving organizations on our roster. This report features a whole host of establishments we are proud to support, from lesser-known gems like Wilmington’s Banning Museum and San Pedro’s Cabrillo Marine Aquarium to institutions prominent on the Southern California landscape, like the Natural History Museum in Exposition Park, or the large campus of the Braille Institute on Vermont Avenue.
Among the more hidden of the organizations we profile is located inside the USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center. This is the USC Epigenome Center, a leader in the new science of epigenetics, a field that holds great promise in the treatment and prevention of cancer and other illnesses and conditions. We at the Norris Foundation truly hope that the work of the Epigenome Center will bring us one big step closer to making cancer a disease of the past.
We are saddened to write that since our last report, we lost one of our Trustees, Dale Norris. He participated in the Foundation with a passion all his own and cared deeply about many causes. We continue to miss him. We hope that this annual report honors those who are “hands-on” and that it inspires others to be the same. It really is the first step to making a difference.
