(Photo Illustration/MetroCreative)
PARKERSBURG — Forty-nine nonprofit organizations in the Mid-Ohio Valley were awarded grant funding in support of the Sisters Health Foundation’s vision of “healthy people in healthy communities.”
At its most recent meeting, the Board of Directors approved a total of $523,369.
“This cycle, we were able to respond to several organizations serving people with disabilities including projects to increase access to transportation, dental services, and inclusive recreation opportunities,” said Executive Director Renee Steffen. “Housing insecurity continues to be an issue across our region and several grants aim to provide shelter for people who are unhoused as well as provide legal assistance to prevent housing evictions. Amid these issues, it is evident that there are so many caring and dedicated people in our community working to help our neighbors.”
Nineteen organizations that provide direct services, such as food and emergency assistance, received a total of $50,000 from the Basic Needs/Direct Service Grants Program.
* Beechwood Presbyterian Church; Parkersburg — $2,500 for fresh food for their food assistance program.
* Caring Connection; Marietta — $3,000 for emergency assistance for utilities, housing, and prescriptions.
* Emmanuel Baptist Church; Parkersburg — $1,300 to purchase hygiene items and other basic household items for their necessity closet.
* First Baptist Church of Parkersburg; Parkersburg — $1,000 for clothing and hygiene products for men living in a recovery residence.
* GFWC Parkersburg Woman’s Club; Parkersburg — $3,500 for nutritional food items for Jefferson Elementary students to take home over the weekend.
* Logan Memorial United Methodist Church; Parkersburg — $2,500 to purchase food for hot meals for people experiencing homelessness, poverty, and/or substance use disorder.
* Lubeck United Methodist Church; Washington — $3,500 to purchase non-perishable food for Lubeck Elementary students to take home for weekends and school holidays.
* Lutheran Social Services of Central Ohio; Columbus, Ohio — $3,500 for non-perishable food and fresh produce to support their mobile food pantries in Athens and Meigs counties.
* Meigs United Methodist Cooperative Parish; Pomeroy, Ohio — $5,000 to purchase food for their pantry.
* Ohio University Office of the Dean of Students; Athens, Ohio — $2,200 for the purchase of local fresh food for their choice food pantry.
* Parkersburg Urban Ministries; Parkersburg — $5,000 to assist Wood County residents with utility payments.
* Right Path for Washington County; Marietta — $3,000 to support the purchase of food for their mini-farmers’ markets held in Washington County.
* St. Elizabeth of Hungary Catholic Church; Elizabeth — $3,500 to assist Wirt County residents with utility payments.
* The Plains United Methodist Church; The Plains, Ohio — $2,500 to purchase hygiene items to be distributed along with food at their pantry.
* Torch United Methodist Church; Coolville — $2,000 to purchase food for their pantry.
* Waverly Activity Center; Waverly — $1,000 to purchase healthy food options, such as produce, lean protein and dairy, for their pantry.
* We Have Your Six; Parkersburg — $3,000 to provide rental and utility assistance to veterans who are homeless or at risk of homelessness.
* Welcome Home SIS; Byesville, Ohio — $1,000 for food, clothing, hygiene, and garden items.
* WVU Extension Service — Tyler County; Middlebourne — $1,000 for non-perishable food and feminine hygiene products for their free little food pantry.
Thirty organizations received support totaling $473,369 for their efforts to address the health needs of their communities in the priority areas of Healthy Eating, Active Living; Thriving Neighborhoods; and Mental Health and Addiction.
Healthy Eating, Active Living Priority Area
* Bethel Baptist Church; Given, W.Va. — $2,000 to support the installation of a generator and the purchase of a freezer for their pantry.
* Community Resources; Parkersburg — $15,000 to support the coordinator of the Hope Grows garden which provides produce for families they serve.
* Creston Food Pantry; Creston — $2,000 to support operational expenses for their pantry.
* Lewis County Family Resource Network/Try This WV; Weston, W.Va, — $5,000 to support mini-grants for Mid-Ohio Valley organizations and sponsorships for youth from the MOV to attend the Try This Youth Summit.
* Matamoras Elementary School; New Matamoras — $5,000 to repair/replace components of a large piece of playground equipment.
* Rural Action; The Plains — $22,000 to support the capacity of their children’s healthy eating and cooking program.
* Town of Ellenboro; Ellenboro — $22,719 to support the construction of tennis and pickle ball courts at the town’s recreation center in Ritchie County.
* Tyler County Family Resource Network; Middlebourne — $5,000 to support a mobile summer feeding project that will deliver lunches to Tyler County students.
* Village Productions; Amesville, Ohio — $5,000 to upgrade the organization’s kitchen, enabling them to continue offering meals to seniors, cooking classes, and other healthy living programs.
* Washington-Morgan Community Action; Marietta — $5,000 to support their summer program which provides hot nutritious lunches to children in New Matamoras, Beverly, Lower Salem and Lowell.
* The Wirt County Missional Group; Elizabeth — $5,000 to support the operations of the food pantry.
* WVU Extension Service – Family Nutrition Program; Parkersburg — $5,000 to support a program in Wirt County that allows children to “shop” for free fruits and vegetables at retail locations.
Thriving Neighborhoods Priority Area
* Alexander Parent Teacher Organization; Albany, Ohio — $25,000 to support the purchase of inclusive playground equipment that allows children of all abilities to participate.
* Coplin Health Systems; Elizabeth — $25,000 to support the purchase of equipment for their mobile dental unit to perform restorative and preventative dental services.
* Habitat for Humanity of Southeast Ohio; Millfield, Ohio — $25,000 to build emergency housing for temporarily displaced families.
* Harmony Health; Weirton — $13,250 to support the implementation of a pilot project to assist individuals who face barriers accessing oral health care.
* Legal Aid of Southeast and Central Ohio; Columbus — $30,000 to support legal aid clinics in Athens and Washington County courthouses where attorneys provide assistance to tenants facing eviction.
* O’Neill Senior Center; Marietta — $3,000 to purchase a memory disco for the Adult Day Center, which will provide quality interactive programs for seniors.
* Pleasants County Neighbor Network; St. Marys — $15,000 for operational support for the thrift store, food bank, and assistance programs.
* Rising Suns Non-Profit Pharmacy; Athens — $55,000 over two years to support their operations and services to provide free medication to patients.
* The Arc of the Mid-Ohio Valley; Parkersburg — $19,400 to support the purchase of a van to transport individuals with developmental disabilities to and from events.
* Town of Reedy; Reedy — $5,000 to purchase equipment to increase efficiency of the town’s water tank chlorination.
Mental Health and Addiction Priority Area
* Appalachian Center for Economic Networks; Athens — $15,000 to support the coordinator of their workforce training program for people in reentry.
* Boys and Girls Club of Washington County; Marietta — $20,000 for a mental health provider to work with youth behavioral challenges and provide training for staff.
* Hope House; Ravenswood — $20,000 to support a wellness program for residents of their sober living home.
* Jackson County Health Department; Ripley — $35,000 for operational support of the Jackson County Quick Response Team which assists individuals who have experienced an overdose.
* SW Resources; Parkersburg — $25,000 to support a training and employment program for people in recovery.
* Washington County Homeless Project; Marietta — $20,000 to support the operations of the Drop-In Center which assists people experiencing barriers to stable housing.
* Westbrook Health Services; Parkersburg — $20,000 to enhance the health and wellness programming of their Youth Recovery Center.
* Women for Recovery; Athens — $4,000 to support the weekly communal meal, which provides residents, staff, and board members with an opportunity for healthy food preparation and social interaction.
For the upcoming grant cycle, the due date for requests under the priority areas of mental health and addiction; thriving neighborhoods; and healthy eating, active living is by midnight of July 17. Nonprofits interested in submitting a Basic Needs/Direct Service grant application should contact Associate Director Marian Clowes at mclowes@sistershealthfdn.org or 304-424-6080 to begin the process. Letters of inquiry for the Responsive Grants Program may be submitted online at www.sistershealthfdn.org without scheduling a prior phone conversation.
The foundation serves 11 counties in the Mid-Ohio Valley in West Virginia and southeast Ohio: Calhoun, Jackson, Pleasants, Ritchie, Roane, Tyler, Wirt, and Wood counties in West Virginia; Athens, Meigs, and Washington counties in Ohio. For more information on grantmaking and eligibility requirements, visit the website www.sistershealthfdn.org.
The Sisters Health Foundation promotes healthy and sustainable communities by providing resources, strengthening collaborative relationships and supporting initiatives that impact people in the Mid-Ohio Valley. Since 1996, the Sisters Health Foundation has awarded over $ 24 million in grants.
