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June 15, 2022 By Michael Whalton

Martinsburg’s Street Festivals Celebrate Unity, Diversity, and Juneteenth

The Eastern West Virginia Community Foundation (EWVCF) is proud to support two free community events in Martinsburg this weekend, Unity in the Community on the 18^th and the Juneteenth Marketplace Celebration on the 19^th. A grant from the Foundation’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Fund helped support the Community Corner during Saturday’s Unity in the Community event, taking place from 12 PM to 5 PM on Queen and Martin Street.

Unity in the Community is Martinsburg’s newest street fest and the area’s biggest party, thrown “in the spirit of inclusion and positivity!” Locals and visitors alike are encouraged to come and enjoy live music from Martinsburg’s own Christian Lopez, meals from a diverse array of food trucks, a beer garden for the adults, lots of activities for children, the Community Corner highlighting local nonprofit organizations, and the annual Father’s Day Car Show.

Then on Sunday, June 19th, the Juneteenth Marketplace Celebration will take place from 1 PM to 5 PM at the Martinsburg Shopping Plaza on Winchester Avenue. Juneteenth is the oldest known celebration of the end of slavery in America, with observances dating back to 1865. From 1 PM to 5 PM this Sunday, Martinsburg residents can enjoy live entertainment throughout the afternoon, with more than a dozen performances as well as a DJ. During the festivities, visitors can shop from local vendors and enjoy food from local restaurants and food trucks.

We hope that you will join the Eastern West Community Foundation in celebrating Martinsburg’s community and history this weekend and enjoy these free events that will be fun for the entire family!

June 8, 2022 By Michael Whalton

Two Rivers Giving Circle Honors Jane Rissler

The Two Rivers Giving Circle has honored Jane Rissler, the director of the Jefferson County Museum, with its 2022 Preservation Award.

The award was presented at a ceremony and reception held on the afternoon of Sunday, May 15, at the museum in Charles Town. It is a personalized, handcrafted platter made from local clay by award-winning potters Pam and Ren Parziale, of Sycamore Pottery in Leetown.

The accompanying photo shows Giving Circle member Linda Case, left, presenting the award to Ms. Rissler. They are standing in front of a historic flag that was conserved for the museum’s collection with help from a Two Rivers Giving Circle grant. The flag is from Charles Town’s Green-Copeland American Legion Post 63, founded in 1929 by local African Americans who had served in World War I.

The Two Rivers Giving Circle is a field of interest fund of the Eastern West Virginia Community Foundation. Since its inception in 2008, it has provided more than $110,000 to Eastern Panhandle organizations engaged in natural resources conservation and historic preservation. It is one of the few grant makers in the region that focuses on these two fields.

Each year, the Giving Circle also recognizes one or more individuals who have been leaders in one or both of these fields.

A Jefferson County native, Ms. Rissler received a bachelor’s degree from Shepherd College, a master’s from West Virginia University, and a Ph.D. in plant pathology from Cornell University. Her ensuing career as a scientist spanned three-and-a-half decades and included positions with the University of Maryland, the US Environmental Protection Agency, the National Wildlife Federation, and the Union of Concerned Scientists.

In 2005, while she was still working and commuting from Jefferson County to Washington, DC, she began volunteering at the county museum. When she retired in 2011, she was hired as the museum’s director.

In her presenting remarks, Ms. Case said Ms. Rissler has greatly modernized the museum’s operations during her tenure as director, leading major upgrades in its computing capabilities and online presence. She has also modernized and strengthened its finances, establishing a special new fund dedicated to acquisitions and conservation, and successfully seeking grant funding to help support these purposes.

“In addition,” Ms. Case said, “she has worked to build bridges to all sectors of the community. She has recounted that in 2016, the museum was preparing for an exhibit and realized it was not representing African Americans and women’s contributions to the county. Since then, she has made a strong push to diversify the museum’s collection and provide exhibits that recognize the contributions of all.”

To learn more about the Giving Circle, and to get information about joining or contributing, go to the Eastern West Virginia Community Foundation website at www.ewvcf.org. Or contact Michael Whalton, the Foundation’s executive director, at 304-264-0353 or info@ewvcf.org. The cost of membership in the Giving Circle is $500 annually. However, contributions of any amount are welcomed.

May 27, 2022 By Michael Whalton

Eastern Panhandle Nonprofits Receive $100,000 in Arts, Music, Design, and Nature Grants

The Eastern West Virginia Community Foundation mailed grant checks from the Detlev and Mary Ellen Preissler Fund for the Arts, Music, Design, and Nature on Tuesday, May 24. Twelve Eastern Panhandle nonprofits received grants ranging from $2,325 to $10,000.

Several general support grants were awarded, while others focused on specific programs or projects ranging from an outdoor teaching space with a living roof at Potomac Valley Audubon Society’s Cool Spring Preserve to Martinsburg-Berkeley County Public Libraries’ “Martinsburg Rocks!” concert series in collaboration with the Tony M Music and Arts Foundation.

“We are delighted to be able to award these grants to so many worthy organizations,” stated EWVCF Executive Director, Michael Whalton. “Until now we haven’t had the resources to provide this kind of support for programs focused on the arts and nature.”

Just over $100,000 in grants were presented to the twelve nonprofits, and nearly $49,000 in grants will soon be awarded to Eastern Panhandle schools for art, music, theatre, design, and nature programs and projects. The advisors who recommended the grants were impressed with the quality of the applications and the summer programs that received funding are already gearing up to put the grants to good use.

In Jefferson County, the Contemporary American Theater Festival will use its grant to provide fair wages to college interns working with CATF this summer. Funding for the Old Charles Town Library will create a Children’s Art Center. Shepherdstown Day Care is offering a pottery class with Ms. Joy. The Appalachian Chamber Music Co., Black Box Youth Playhouse, and Friends of Music are all using their grants to support their programs.

Martinsburg-Berkeley County Public Libraries, Potomac Valley Audubon Society, and the Boys & Girls Club of the Eastern Panhandle will offer a variety of programming during the summer. And, in Morgan County, the Black Box Music Cooperative, Morgan Arts Council, and Wind Dance Farms & Earth Education Center will all be able to provide expanded programs for children thanks to the grants they received.

The Eastern West Virginia Community Foundation (EWVCF) was established in 1995 to help donors create permanent endowments to provide grants and scholarships. Since its inception, EWVCF has awarded $13.7 million, including $1 million in 2021 alone. The Community Foundation now holds more than 260 endowed funds with assets of just over $38 million and it is the leading steward of philanthropic giving in the region. EWVCF works with a wide range of nonprofit organizations providing funding for projects from human welfare and scholarships to affordable housing and natural resources conservation; youth and education to animal welfare and historic preservation, and much more. For information visit www.EWVCF.org, or contact EWVCF Executive Director Michael Whalton at mwhalton@ewvcf.org, 304-264-0353.

May 26, 2022 By Rebecca Knight

Boys & Girls Club of the Eastern Panhandle Establishes Fund in Memory of Mary J. Stanley

The Boys & Girls Club of the Eastern Panhandle will soon benefit from a new agency fund at the Eastern West Virginia Community Foundation, honoring a beloved Shepherdstown resident. The Mary J. Stanley Fund to Support the Boys & Girls Club of the Eastern Panhandle will honor the late community member who passed away in 2020. Mary’s spirit and love for her community will live on forever as future generations of young ones involved at the Club benefit from the scholarships this fund will provide.

Mary Stanley was a native of Wichita, Kansas, and retired to Shepherdstown in 1995. She was involved in many organizations and clubs in the community, and was a longtime supporter of the Boys & Girls Club of the Eastern Panhandle. She and the Club’s Chief Executive Officer Stacie Rohn met in 2009 and became fast friends, enjoying nearly ten Thanksgivings meals together, with Mary becoming something of a mother figure to Rohn. “Mary was not about pretense,” said Rohn, “She liked good people with good hearts, and she was one of them.”

When Rohn became the Chief Executive Officer of the Eastern Panhandle Club in 2013, Mary was instrumental in helping support her, often serving as a sounding board. “[Mary] gave insight from a unique perspective,” Rohn said. Mary always wanted to know how the children at the Club were doing and was thinking about what would benefit the kids and build their experiences in the club.

Mary helped to connect Rohn to a much larger audience to tell the story of the Club. She “knew everybody,” and arranged for participants in Shepherdstown’s Speak Story Series to hold workshops at the Boys & Girls Club of the Eastern Panhandle so the staff could learn to help kids tell their own stories. “Anytime we can communicate our work from within and push it out is a good thing,” said Rohn. “We’re more than babysitting. While Club members enjoy new equipment and games, that is not the main reason they attend the Boys & Girls Club. They find their mentor or the person with whom they share their successes or challenges.”

The Mary J. Stanley Fund to Support the Boys & Girls Club of the Eastern Panhandle will support the Club in two ways, first by providing scholarships to incoming kids who want to participate in the Club’s summer programs and demonstrate financial need. The summer programs take place over seven weeks and usually have around 60 participants. The Club charges a nominal fee for the summer programs, and Rohn reports that usually around three-fourths of the kids who participate require some sort of financial assistance, with some receiving scholarships covering up to 75% of the fee.

The programs are split into two sessions, one three weeks long and the other four weeks long. This year, the first session is Harry Potter-themed; the second session is based on Avatar: The Last Airbender. Each week, the participants go on a different field trip, with the club planning to visit Poor House Farm Park, Sky Zone, and nearby pools. On days when the participants stay at the club, they’ll partake in a myriad of programs and activities all connected to that week’s theme — when they do Earth week during the Avatar session, for example, kids will do science experiments and learn about the Earth’s core. When not running educational programs, the Club always tries to host at least two activities so that kids have their choice of fun.

Club members present handmade puppets inspired by The Rainbow Fish, made with help from the Jefferson Arts Council.

The second way the fund will support the Club will be by providing scholarships to youths who have been longtime members of the Boys & Girls Club of the Eastern Panhandle. Each year, Clubs around the country name one graduating senior their Youth of the Year. 2018 Youth of the Year winner Emily Aronhalt called the Club “a place where they cared if she got her homework done and if she ate that day.” 2016 and 2017 Youth of the Year winner Jonai Jackson said that, when asked to think back on what the club meant to her, she couldn’t think of one particular person, but rather “it was pieces of all of you that really helped to shape me. […] The experiences I had in the club helped to make me social and adaptable.” The Eastern Panhandle Club awards a $1,500 scholarship to their Youth of the Year and, through this fund, will be able to do so this year, and forever.

Those interested in the Boys & Girls Club of the Eastern Panhandle, or those whose lives were touched by Mary Stanley are encouraged to learn more at www.EWVCF.org or www.BGCEPWV.net and donate to the Mary J. Stanley Fund to Support the Boys & Girls Club of the Eastern Panhandle today!

The Eastern West Virginia Community Foundation (EWVCF) was established in 1995 to help donors create permanent endowments to provide grants and scholarships throughout the region. Since its inception, EWVCF has awarded $13.7 million, including $1 million in 2021 alone. The Community Foundation now holds more than 260 endowed funds with assets of just over $38 million and it is the leading steward of philanthropic giving in the region. EWVCF works with a wide range of nonprofit organizations providing funding for projects from human welfare and scholarships to affordable housing and natural resources conservation; youth and education to animal welfare and historic preservation, and much more. For information visit www.EWVCF.org, or contact EWVCF Executive Director Michael Whalton at mwhalton@ewvcf.org , 304-264-0353.

May 25, 2022 By Jen Rolston

Hampshire County Community Foundation Announces Spring Grant Awards

The Hampshire County Community Foundation recently awarded 20 grants totaling $17,727 to support a wide variety of local organizations and programs.

These grants were made possible thanks to gifts from generous donors who established or contributed to the William Brady and Jean Taylor Rannells Fund, The Hampshire County Volunteer Emergency Medical Services Fund, the Bill and Fran Wylie Education Competition Fund, and the Hampshire County Community Impact Fund.

“With the exception of the Volunteer Emergency Medical Services grants, all the grants were awarded through a competitive process”, said Amy Pancake, the Foundation’s director. “Grant seekers submitted a simple on-line application and then our grants committee reviewed the grants and made funding recommendations,” she added.

Hampshire County HS HOSA — $1,000 was awarded to Hampshire County High School providing financial assistance to help nine health science education students attend the HOSA-Future Health Professionals International Leadership Conference in Nashville, TN.

Augusta Elementary School – $894 for an Embracing a Growth Mindset program
Burlington United Methodist Family Services – $1,000 to prepare care packages for Sarah’s House Child Advocacy Center
Catholic Charities – $1,000 for client financial assistance
Children’s Home Society – $1,000 for summer arts and crafts supplies
Girls on the Run – $1,000 to reduce registration fees for participants
Hampshire County Arts Council – $715 for a HCAC/WVSDB Art Club
Hampshire County Convention & Visitors Bureau – $1,000 to purchase farming-related books for all age groups to be distributed along with other promotional items by local libraries to help promote the Hampshire County Farm Crawl
Hampshire County Public Library – $1,000 to help stock their food pantry
Hampshire High School – $1,000 to provide financial assistance to help nine health science education students attend the HOSA-Future Health Professionals International Leadership Conference in Nashville
Hampshire County Youth Football – $1,000 to offset registration fees and purchase high-end first aid kits for all three divisions, and the WVU Foundation for a Hampshire Schools Children’s Famers Market.
Mountaineer Community Health Center – $850 to purchase an ophthalmoscope. otoscope, and medical transformer for their specialty center.
Romney First United Methodist Church – $500 for food and supplies for their annual Thanksgiving Community Dinners.
Springfield Food Pantry- $1,000 to purchase a convertible refrigerator/freezer
The River House – $1,000 to create a coloring book featuring works from local artists and expand their Otter’s Den Mural, as part of their Color Our World 5-year anniversary celebration.
Town of Romney – $824 to purchase a dog waste station and all-weather benches for the Depot Station Park.

Additionally, the committee recommended to evenly split the 2022 distribution from the Volunteer Emergency Medical Services Fund and provide unrestricted grants to the volunteer squads, with a suggestion that they use it for volunteer recognition and support.

“These grants, while relatively small, provide very meaningful support for these organizations,” said Pancake, “Whether they’re going to a new organization in need of start-up support, or to a seasoned, comparatively well-funded organization that can’t use restricted dollars for needed programming, these grants make a difference in helping local nonprofits fulfill their missions and improve our communities.”

Funding availability announcements for the Foundation’s spring grants program are made via email and organizations are encouraged to send an email to info@hampshireccf.org or call the office at 304-822-7200 to request to be added to the mailing list. Applications are typically posted on the our website here in early February.

The Hampshire County Community Foundation, an affiliate of the Eastern West Virginia Community Foundation, is a charitable organization committed to providing people who care about the future of our area with unique and effective ways of supporting their community now, and for generations to come. Community foundations number more than 800 across America with 25 in West Virginia and focus entirely on working with local individuals to build local assets to meet local needs.

Martinsburg’s Street Festivals Celebrate Unity, Diversity, and Juneteenth

Two Rivers Giving Circle Honors Jane Rissler

Eastern Panhandle Nonprofits Receive $100,000 in Arts, Music, Design, and Nature Grants

Boys & Girls Club of the Eastern Panhandle Establishes Fund in Memory of Mary J. Stanley

Hampshire County Community Foundation Announces Spring Grant Awards

Contact EWVCF

Contact Hampshire CCF

Contact Hardy CCF

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