This past spring, thirty-six nonprofit organizations in the Mid-Ohio Valley were awarded grant funding in support of our vision of “healthy people in healthy communities”. At our most recent board meeting, our Board of Directors approved a total of $225,020.
From our Basic Needs/Direct Service Grants Program, 16 organizations were awarded a total of $55,350. Twenty organizations received support for their efforts in addressing health needs of their communities in one of the three priority areas of our Responsive Grants Program — oral health, health equity, and healthy lifestyles.
Sixteen organizations that provide direct services, such as food and emergency assistance, received a total of $55,350 from the Basic Needs/Direct Service Grants Program. These organizations are as follows:
Adams House Ministries; Middlebourne, WV — $5,000 for fresh produce vouchers for Tyler County residents.
Beechwood Presbyterian Church; Parkesburg, WV — $1,500 to purchase more fresh produce for their food pantry.
Blessings in a Backpack; Louisville, KY — $3,500 to provide food and nutritious fruit for Meigs County primary and middle school students
Calhoun County Committee on Aging; Grantsville, WV — $5,000 to support their nutrition program serving senior citizens and veterans in Calhoun County.
Catholic Charities; Wheeling, WV — $5,000 to provide emergency assistance and support for individuals facing eviction or utility service termination.
Central WV Outreach Center; Gassaway, WV — $5,000 to increase the safety of homes in Calhoun County by providing window replacements.
Lutheran Social Services of Central Ohio; Worthington, OH — $3,000 to purchase food for Athens and Meigs mobile food pantries.
Parchment Valley Conference Center (Brother’s Keeper); Ripley, WV — $1,000 to purchase supplies to build wheelchair ramps for Jackson County residents
Parents & Friends of the Hearing Impaired, Inc.; Marietta, OH — $2,500 for purchase or repair of hearing aids for low-income deaf and hard of hearing individuals in the Mid-Ohio Valley.
Parkersburg Urban Ministries, Inc.; Parkersburg, WV — $5,000 to assist with utility service payments for Wood County households.
Savannah’s Closet; Ravenswood, WV — $5,000 to help provide clothing and hygiene items to children in foster care and in urgent need in Jackson and Roane Counties.
Stephenson United Methodist Church; Parkersburg, WV — $2,000 to purchase ready-to-eat food and hygiene items for children and families through their backpack ministry.
The Wirt County Missional Group; Elizabeth, WV — $4,500 to assist with food pantry costs and fuel for food donations.
Voices of the Streets Inc. Essentially Yours; Parkersburg, WV — $1,500 to purchase personal hygiene and household products for individuals transitioning out of homelessness.
Washington County Harvest of Hope; Marietta, OH — $5,000 to purchase chicken for their food pantries and congregate meal sites.
Wirt County Extension; Elizabeth, WV — $850 to provide reusable water bottles for Wirt County students.
Twenty organizations received support totaling $169,670 for their efforts addressing the health needs of their communities in our priority areas of Health Equity, Healthy Lifestyles, and Oral Health.
Health Equity Priority Area
Athens City-County Health Department; Athens, OH — $4,000 for operating support to respond to COVID-19 related needs in Athens County.
Community Food Initiatives; Athens, OH — $15,370 for general operating support to respond to critical food access needs in Athens County.
Cornerstone Gospel Church; Vienna, WV — $2,000 to assist with providing transportation to meetings for people in recovery.
Greater Marietta Community Food Pantry; Marietta, OH — $4,500 to assist in the purchase and installation of industrial mats for their food pantry’s new location.
Kanawha Valley Fellowship Home; Charleston, WV — $3,000 to supplement utility costs for recovery housing facilities for men.
The Children’s Listening Place, Inc.; Parkersburg, WV — $25,000 for a mobile Child Advocacy Center unit.
Westbrook Health Services, Inc.; Parkersburg, WV — $5,000 for Amazon Kindles to facilitate communication between verbal and non-verbal individuals.
Healthy Lifestyles Priority Area
Community Resources, Inc.; Parkersburg, WV — $5,000 to provide fresh produce in farmers markets.
Ely Chapman Education Foundation; Marietta, OH — $5,000 to assist with the repair of their playground surface.
GoPacks; Marietta, OH — $5,000 to support the expense of the AmeriCorps VISTA.
Lewis County Family Resource Network/Try This WV; Charleston, WV — $6,000 to support the AmeriCorps VISTA member for the Mid-Ohio Valley.
Meigs County Commissioners; Pomeroy, OH — $5,000 to support the design of a walking path in Meigs County.
MOV Regional Council; Parkersburg, WV — $4,000 to assist in helping seniors remain independent in their own home.
Parkersburg South High School; Parkersburg, WV — $4,400 to install water bottle filling stations.
Rural Action; The Plains, OH — $23,900 to support the expansion of healthy food access and health education in Mid-Ohio Valley food deserts.
Town of Elizabeth; Elizabeth, WV — $5,000 for a concrete pad for their adult exercise equipment.
Washington-Morgan Community Action; Marietta, OH — $5,000 to support their summer program which provides hot nutritious lunches to children in low-income areas of New Matamoras, Beverly, Lower Salem and Lowell.
Women for Recovery; Athens, OH — $3,000 to educate women residents in a sober living environment about healthy eating habits and gardening skills while providing a sense of community.
WVU-Roane County Extension Service; Spencer, WV — $4,500 to support the completion of the high tunnel for healthy eating and gardening education to Geary Elementary Middle School students.
Oral Health Priority Area
WV Health Right, Inc.; Charleston, WV — $35,000 to support the mobile dental unit in Roane County
The due date for requests under our new priority areas of healthy eating, active living; thriving neighborhoods; and mental health and addiction is August 5, 2020. By midnight of this date, submit a full application for the Basic Needs/Direct Service Grants Program or a letter of inquiry for the Responsive Grants Program. For more information on our new priority areas and eligibility, please visit our overview of programs.
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 Basic Needs/Direct Service Grants Program. Letters of inquiry for the Responsive Grants Program may be submitted online at www.sistershealthfdn.org without scheduling a prior phone conversation.
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 $19 million in grants.