The Hampshire County Community Foundation is currently accepting applications for its 9^th round of Mini-Grants to Teachers. The online application is available here: https://www.ewvcf.org/grants-hampshire/

For the past eight years, the Community Foundation has been providing mini-grants to local teachers ranging in size from $75 to $500.  The purpose of the program is to show appreciation for the dedication and efforts of our local teachers, and provide them with a few extra resources to help them engage their students in new and creative ways.

“The program has grown steadily, with more teachers applying and more grants being awarded each year,” said Amy Pancake, the Foundation’s director. “In 2014, we awarded 13 grants totaling $3,200. Last year, we awarded 44 grants totaling over $20,000.”

In 8 years, the Community Foundation has provided 209 grants totaling $59,000 through this program. Recently, grants have helped teachers purchase materials and resources for a classroom STEM lab, a metal detector for hands-on teaching of Hampshire County history, materials to build a simulated ambulance for an Emergency Medical Services class, wireless headphones to set up a listening center, Choices Magazines as an addition to textbooks and lecture for presenting health information, and sensory manipulatives that promote curiosity and critical thinking skills, to name a few.

Kristian Haines, an art teacher at Romney Middle School, used a mini grant to purchase a variety of art materials in response to student requests to experience different types of art-making. She noticed that many students were using art to express their feelings about and process the challenges resulting from Covid-19 and wanted to give them multiple mediums for this expression. She reported an increase in student engagement with the addition of the new materials. Students were thrilled to be able to create pottery and use a new printmaking technique to create colorful self-portraits. Several pieces of artwork were entered in the Hampshire County Public Library’s annual art show.

Kristy Cheshire purchased flexible seating options for her kindergartners. According to Cheshire, making the environment as comfortable and fun as possible and giving her students opportunities to make small choices helps them feel safe and loved, which is very conducive to learning.

Amanda Whitacre purchased STEM Solar Car kits for her 8^th grade science class. Since Covid, the hands-on activities her students enjoyed doing as a way to review content haven’t been possible. The individual Solar Car kits allowed the students to review electrical circuits, radiation, and the scientific method. They also provided an opportunity to explore engineering and the benefits of solar power.

Based on reports submitted by teachers, the Community Foundation estimates that these small grants have impacted 8,700 students. Additionally, many of the resources provided by the grants can be used year after year, so they will continue to benefit countless more!

“We feel strongly that these mini grants do more than help provide some much needed and relevant resources and opportunities for our teachers and students.  They also shine a positive light on education in Hampshire County, specifically the dedication and ingenuity of so many of our teachers and their enthusiasm when they have engaged even their most reluctant learners when given the tools to do so,” said Pancake.

The Mini Grants to Teachers program is supported primarily by the Foundation’s Partners in Philanthropy, corporate sponsors whose annual gifts support the Foundation in a variety of ways. Support also comes from a distribution from the Hampshire County Education Fund, Hampshire County Schools, and individual donors.

Pancake said the Community Foundation plans to continue this program as long as there’s public support and teacher interest. “We are also committed to growing the Hampshire County Education Fund, which can provide funding support for a wide range of education initiatives beyond the Mini Grants for Teachers program.”

Making a gift of support for this program is easy (and tax deductible). Checks may be payable and mailed to: HCCF, PO Box 40, Romney, WV 26757 with “Teacher Grants” in the memo, or donors may make an on-line gift here: https://www.ewvcf.org/donate/  and select the Hampshire County Education Fund from the drop-down menu.

For more information about the Mini Grants to Teachers program, or the Community Foundation’s other programs, please call Amy at 304-822-7200.

Capon Bridge will soon benefit from a new designated fund at the Hampshire County Community Foundation. The Capon Bridge Remembers Fund was established both in memory of the late Bobby and Genny Lovett, two beloved community mainstays, and in honor of the many men & women who worked hard to make the town “a community of neighbors,” as Community Foundation Director Amy Pancake puts it.

The fund will, upon reaching an endowment of $10,000, make annual distributions to four Capon Bridge nonprofits: the Capon Bridge Public Library, the Capon Bridge Revitalization Group, the Capon Bridge Volunteer Fire Department, and the Fort Edwards 4-H Club.  The spirits of the Lovetts as well as so many generations of Capon Bridge loved ones will live on and be remembered as those organizations dedicated to the town will benefit from this fund year after year.

Bobby and Genny Lovett were both longtime Capon Bridge residents. The two attended Capon Bridge High School together and met in band. They were married in 1960 and raised their children, Laura and Rob, in Capon Bridge. The pair worked in town for decades, he as co-owner of an excavating company and she as a kindergarten aide at Capon Bridge Elementary School. Along with their deep commitment to the United Methodist Church –Genny also helped co-found the Public Library in 1969 and Bobby served on the Town Council.

After Bobby and Genny’s passing in 2021, longtime friends of the couple Susan Sirbaugh Jaeger and Stephen Sirbaugh, along with Laura and Rob, were motivated to create this fund to serve both as a memorial to the Lovetts and as a “living, breathing continual remembrance of the generations that built Capon Bridge,” says Susan. The donors carefully selected the four charitable beneficiaries in light of their dedication to supporting positive community development in Capon Bridge. “It is in honor of all of our loved ones, who have done so much to create this vibrant town, that we come together to make sure these entities continue to thrive long in the future,” Susan wrote. Through this new fund, the legacies of all who came before and made Capon Bridge a strong, vibrant community will live on forever.

Those interested in supporting the Capon Bridge community, and those whose lives were touched by Bobby and Genny Lovett, are highly encouraged to learn more at www.EWVCF.org/HAMPSHIRECCF and donate to the Capon Bridge Remembers Fund today. Donations can be made online or sent to the Hampshire County Community Foundation, PO Box 40, Romney, WV 26757, with “Capon Bridge Remembers Fund” in the memo.

The Hampshire County Community Foundation is an affiliate of the Eastern West Virginia Community Foundation and was founded in 2005 to build local, permanent endowment to generate annual charitable grants and scholarships perpetually. Donors build the vision to determine how monies in their funds are granted. Community foundations number more than 800 across America, with 26 in West Virginia, and focus entirely on working with local individuals to build local assets to meet local needs. For more information about the Hampshire County Community Foundation, call 304-822-7200 or visit www.EWVCF.org/HAMPSHIRECCF .

If you were to visit Moorefield Intermediate School during club day, you might experience butter-making, tomahawk-throwing, Lego championships, or an intense game of Rummy. You would also see projects from the Art and Soul and Craft Clubs displayed throughout the school. These are just a few of the activities students can engage in as part of the MIS Student Leadership Clubs Program.

The clubs are an outgrowth of the school’s commitment to leadership development. Using Stephen Covey’s Seven Habits of Highly Effective People as a guide, the entire faculty is engaged in helping students become successful in school while developing their leadership skills through personal growth. The school hosted 13 different clubs during the 2021-2022 school year.

The creative arts clubs included the Art & Soul Club, Craft Club, Diamond Art Club, and Sketch Club. Last year, students engaged in drawing, painting, and tie-dyeing shirts. They learned watercolor techniques and about sketching with charcoal. Members of the new Diamond Art club created color pictures by placing tiny colored studs on discs. Students in these clubs enjoyed sharing their art with classmates and family, demonstrating new creative art forms they had learned.

The gaming clubs consisted of the Card Games Club and the Game-On Club, which focused on card and board games. Both clubs emphasize skills that compel students to use strategy, wit and logic to achieve success in a particular game. Students work individually and in groups to use critical thinking for successful results. These clubs also focus on using hands-on approaches instead of electronics for gaming.

The Outdoor Living Club, a favorite among students, was one of the largest clubs. Last year, students constructed and painted wooden tool boxes, learned to tie various knots, participated in a first aide class. They were also amazed by the opportunity to participate in axe throwing as members of this club.

Another favorite for students was the Science Club. This club had so much interest it required two classes last year! Students grew rock candy crystals, exploded ivory soap, and made homemade butter and bottle rockets. These projects allowed students to use imagination and innovation during construction and preparation of solutions and building materials.

The Energy Club focused on movement and stretching. Students used techniques such as yoga, aerobic activity, and meditation to help promote calm and reduce stress. Students shared those activities with classmates during classroom movement to ease daily tension and promote relaxation.

The new Karaoke Club proved to be an exciting and energetic club for students. By utilizing many genres of music appreciation, students learned not only to express themselves with singing but also developed the important skill of performing for an audience. This has given students who otherwise may be reluctant to participate in front of a group the confidence to perform in a public setting.

The new Theater Club was led by a teacher who had experience working with a local theater group. Students learned performance techniques, role play, and dramatic interpretation. They participated in production skills, costume selection and learned how plays and movies are developed and produced.

Like the science club, the Lego Club also required two classes to fit all of the participants! Students constructed Lego structures from pre-designed plans as well as from free form ideas. Students worked on some projects individually and others in groups. This club helped students develop cognitive thinking in developing structures, dexterity and precision in construction, and the ability to work collaboratively in a group-setting.

Moorefield Intermediate School has structured its Leadership Clubs Program to combine aspects of education into new and fun ways for students to learn new skills. These aspects of learning help to encourage cognitive thinking, team building, and social skills that will help our school and community thrive.

The Hardy County Community Foundation just awarded its sixth grant to the school to support the program.

As the 2019 Community Foundation Week celebration wraps up today, we’d like to share a story of impact, in the form of a grant report from Lindsey Miller, a Head Start teacher who received a grant funded through the Hampshire County Community Impact Fund and the William Brady and Jean Taylor Rannells Fund.

“First, I would like to thank the Hampshire County Community Foundation for that grant that has been provided the opportunity for our EACHS Head Start students to expand their scientific thinking, curiosity, imagination, and problem-solving skills. When I originally applied for the grant my expected outcomes for the use of the materials were that the children would make predictions, explanations, and generalizations from using the sensory/science materials. The children would learn from hands on experience. Children would also enhance their language development, cognitive growth, motor skills, problem solving skills, and social interactions. These were the things that I had hoped to achieve with the children. I know that we have succeeded with these goals by observing the children in play situations and watching them become more inquisitive about the world around them.”

“Not only has the science material been a great asset to the classroom but so has the sensory material. In our room we have what we call “Cozy Cove”. This is a nice and quiet space for students who are having a rough day, children who just need a space to get away from the noise, or children who just want to use their imaginations in an enclosed area.  The Cozy Cove is where we keep a container with a selection of sensory materials that the children can choose from. Materials include textured balls, liquid discovery tubes, draw and write touch board, etc. The items that produced the biggest improvement in a child were the moods and emotions mirrors. At the beginning of this current school year we had a young boy who, based on observations, we suspected might have autism and developmental delays. When the young boy first started school, he was very stand-offish, quiet, did not transition well, and had no control over his emotions. The first day in the middle of a transition the boy became very angry and aggravated. It was to the point he was crying and screaming, his whole body was tense and uncontrollably shaking. The only thing that we had found that had worked for him was for my assistant teacher and him to sit in the Cozy Cove with him in her lap, and use the moods and emotions mirrors to show him how he was feeling and himself in the mirror. So, every time that he would begin to have one of those episodes, we would take him to the Cozy Cove and repeat those steps with him. As the year has continued he has become a completely different student. Now he is better at controlling his emotions and when he starts to become distraught he will quickly calm himself and go on to the next activity.”

To our donors, we know that we can only succeed and be impactful because people like you care about improving your community, both now and into the future. We are so grateful to everyone who has contributed to our success look forward to growing our work together!