Fifty nonprofit organizations in the Mid-Ohio Valley received grant funding from the Sisters Health Foundation (SHF) in support of its vision of “healthy people in healthy communities”. At its most recent meeting, the SHF’s Board of Directors approved a total of $555,014 in funding.
Eighteen organizations that provide direct services, such as food and emergency assistance, received a total of $70,350 from the Basic Needs/Direct Service small grant program.
Adams House Ministries; Middlebourne, WV — $5,000 for fresh produce vouchers for Tyler County residents.
Alexander Local School; Albany, OH — $1,500 to support their second grade healthy cooking classes.
Belpre Area Ministries; Belpre, OH — $3,000 to purchase non-perishable food for their pantry.
Calhoun County Committee on Aging, Inc.; Grantsville, WV — $5,000 for food and nutrition expenses for seniors and veterans.
Catholic Charities WV; Wheeling, WV — $3,000 for basic needs, rent, and utility assistance for families in the Mid-Ohio Valley.
First Baptist Calhoun County Food Pantry; Grantsville, WV — $5,000 to purchase food for their food pantry.
First Lutheran Church; Parkersburg, WV — $4,000 for nutritious food for their backpack and food pantry ministries and for garden equipment to be used at their community gardens.
GFWC Parkersburg Woman’s Club; Parkersburg, WV — $3,000 for nutritional snacks for their children’s weekend brown bag program at McKinley Elementary, Emerson Elementary, and the Gustke Shelter.
Holy Redeemer Catholic Church; Spencer, WV — $5,000 for direct assistance to primarily Roane County residents with immediate utility, medical, transportation, and lodging expenses.
Lubeck United Methodist Church; Washington, WV — $5,000 to provide supplemental food for the weekend lunch SAK program benefitting Blennerhassett schoolchildren and their families.
Lutheran Social Services of Central Ohio; Worthington, OH — $3,200 for non-perishable food and fresh produce to support their mobile food pantries in Athens and Meigs Counties.
Nelsonville Food Cupboard; Nelsonville, OH — $2,000 to purchase fresh eggs to be included in every monthly Food Cupboard distribution.
OSU Extension of Washington County; Marietta, OH — $1,750 to provide fresh produce vouchers to fourth graders for a school-based farmer’s market in six Washington County schools this September.
Parkersburg Urban Ministries, Inc.; Parkersburg, WV — $5,000 to assist with utilities, prescriptions, transportation costs and emergency needs for Wood County households.
Roane County Helping Hands, Inc.; Spencer, WV — $5,000 to purchase food for their food pantry.
St. Elizabeth of Hungary Catholic Church; Elizabeth, WV — $5,000 to provide hygiene and cleaning supplies to Calhoun, Roane, Wirt and Ritchie County residents in need.
Washington County Homeless Project; Marietta, OH — $3,900 to provide laundry funds for local families.
West Central Regional Drug Court; Parkersburg, WV — $5,000 to assist Drug Court participants with rental assistance and housing items as they maintain a sober living.
Thirty-two organizations received support for their efforts in addressing the health needs of their communities in one of the three priority areas of the Responsive Grants Program.
Oral Health Priority Area
Hopewell Health Centers; Chillicothe, OH — $50,000 to equip and supply a dental operatory in the new dental clinic at Mary Hill Center in Nelsonville.
WV Health Right, Inc.; Charleston, WV — $30,000 to support the mobile dental clinic and harm reduction services in Roane County. Funds will also be used to purchase supplies for the on-site dental clinic in Charleston where care for under-insured and un-insured Mid-Ohio Valley residents is also provided.
Health Equity Priority Area
American Friends Service Committee; Milton, WV — $15,000 to support a variety of efforts including their anti-racism work, their advocacy efforts to protect safety net programs like Medicaid and SNAP, and to conduct a Listening Project to capture stories of how policy decisions impact people’s lives.
Athens Area Mediation Service; Athens, OH — $5,000 to provide training for healthcare professionals, families and caregivers, and mediators to help support families as they make difficult caregiving healthcare decisions.
Circles Campaign of the Mid-Ohio Valley, Inc.; Parkersburg, WV — $10,000 for operational support as they work to help families transition out of poverty.
Community Resources, Inc.; Parkersburg, WV — $3,500 for a video camera system and children’s supplies for the Pleasants County Child Care Center.
GiveMore Connections; Belpre, OH — $5,000 to support Camp Connect, a social skills camp for youth dealing with autism or other developmental disabilities to build independence, self-esteem, and emotional well-being.
Harmony Mental Health, Inc.; Parkersburg, WV — $17,000 to support pre-school children in Wood County exposed to opioid use in the family and to build a children’s playground in Wirt County to be used during family therapy and visitation.
Marshall University Research Corporation; Huntington, WV — $65,000 to develop sustainable employment for Community Health Workers serving high-risk diabetes patients in Athens and Meigs Counties.
National Church Residences; Belpre, OH — $15,000 to provide transportation for addiction recovery patients who reside in Washington County to necessary medical and court appointments.
OhioHealth O’Bleness Hospital; Athens, OH — $35,000 to support a Patient and Family Navigator who will be a resource for patients and families struggling with opioid addiction and substance abuse.
Parkersburg Area Coalition for the Homeless, Inc. (House to Home); Parkersburg, WV — $15,000 to support the operations of the homeless day shelter.
Savannah’s Closet; Ripley, WV — $5,000 to provide clothing and other necessary resources to children in the foster care system in Jackson County.
Washington County Health Department; Marietta, OH — $5,000 to support the purchase of accounting software to expand public health services.
Watertown Volunteer Fire Department; Watertown, OH — $5,000 to purchase a battery-operated Jaws of Life hydraulic rescue tool to free people trapped from serious accidents.
West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy; Charleston, WV — $20,000 to support their campaign to develop and share data-driven research to protect Medicaid, the Affordable Care Act, SNAP and other safety net programs.
Wirt County Schools; Elizabeth, WV — $50,000 to support the on-site mental health professional at Wirt County School to address students’ behavioral and mental health needs.
Healthy Lifestyles Priority Area
American Heart Association; Charleston, WV — $22,500 to support the implementation of three, evidence-based programs related to cardiovascular health in Roane, Jackson, Wirt, and Calhoun Counties. The three programs include Target: BP, Check.Change.Control., and Simple Cooking With Heart Mobile Kitchen.
City of Parkersburg; Parkersburg, WV — $20,000 to support the installation of an aquaflex surface for the Splash Pad at the City Park.
City of Ravenswood; Ravenswood, WV — $3,675 to purchase three automated external defibrillator (AED) devices to be installed at the Ravenswood city building, swimming pool, and police/fire station.
Easter Seals Rehabilitation Center; Wheeling, WV — $3,000 to support the implementation of a summer equine-assisted therapy program for children with disabilities.
Good Shepherd Episcopal Church; Parkersburg, WV — $3,500 to purchase kitchen appliances to be used by the Last Sunday Supper program and the food pantry.
Jackson County Commission on Aging, Inc.; Ripley, WV — $5,000 to renovate the floors of the swimming pool primarily used by senior citizens for therapy and rehabilitation.
Latrobe Street Mission; Parkersburg, WV — $5,000 to purchase a refrigerator and freezer to enhance their capacity to store food and accept donations.
Live Healthy Appalachia; Athens, OH — $10,000 to support the execution and expansion of children’s programming and $2,000 for the evaluation of the children’s cooking program for the 2019-2020 school year.
Old Man Rivers; Parkersburg, WV — $5,000 to purchase a commercial freezer.
Pleasant Hill Elementary; Grantsville, WV — $12,789 to resurface the school’s track which is used by the school and the community for education and exercise.
Pleasants County Public Library; St. Marys, WV — $3,200 to purchase a blood pressure monitor to promote a culture of health at the library.
Roane County Board of Education; Spencer, WV — $5,000 to support the installation of early learning playground equipment at Geary Elementary for children ages 3 to 5 years old.
Rural Action; The Plains, OH — $25,000 to support the development of healthy food distribution and food access with collaborative partners such as Federal Hocking Local Schools, Athens County Public Libraries and the Athens City-County Health Department.
Washington-Morgan Community Action; Marietta, OH — $3,500 to support the summer program which provides hot nutritious lunches to children in New Matamoras, Beverly, and Lower Salem.
Washington State Community College; Marietta, OH — $5,000 to support the purchase of equipment for the Physical Therapy Assistant Program.
The next due date to submit a full application for the Basic Needs/Direct Service Grants Program, or to submit a letter of inquiry for the Responsive Grants Program is July 11, 2018. Nonprofits are encouraged to contact Sr. Molly Bauer, Senior Program Officer, at 304-424-6080 or mbauer@sistershealthfdn.org with questions about whether their grant request may be a good fit for the Sisters Health Foundation. For additional information, please visit 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 $17 million in grants.