Eastern West Virginia Community Foundation

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Scholarship Comes Full Circle – Stanley and Naomi Moyer Scholarship

The Stanley and Naomi Moyer scholarship will now be offered through the Hardy County Community Foundation.  East Hardy High School seniors can apply annually at ewvcf.awardspring.com.

Stanley Moyer was the founding President of the Hardy County Community Foundation and firmly believed in its mission of “improving the quality of life in Hardy County by Connecting People with Community Causes that matter to them most.”

Amy Pancake, the Foundation’s director, was overjoyed to be able to bring the Stanley and Naomi Moyer Scholarship home to the community foundation. “I started working for the community foundation shortly after it was established, so Stanley and I learned together. He was always so kind and patient, and so very encouraging. He made being a part of those early growing years a joy.”

During his last days, Stanley desired to have a scholarship established to give back to the East Hardy students he adored.  A Hardy County bus driver for 31 years, Stanley enjoyed mentoring and building relationships with the students that rode his bus, and he wanted to ensure that part of his legacy would be to help students financially achieve their college goals.

After his death, his wife Naomi, community members, and friends held annual fundraisers to carry on Stanley’s legacy through the Stanley Moyer Scholarship Fund. Naomi continued to award the scholarship until her passing in January 2021. She, too, wanted their memories and legacies to live on through the community and this scholarship.

Since Naomi’s passing, the scholarship was renamed the Stanley and Naomi Moyer Scholarship, and was recently transferred to the Hardy County Community Foundation.

“It certainly feels like a natural transition to continue the scholarship through the Hardy County Community Foundation, an organization Stanley helped establish and lead through its earliest years of growth,” said Pancake.  “It has come full circle, and is where it belongs.”

The community foundation 2023-24 scholarship application will open in December. High School seniors and their parents can check the application status by following the Hardy County Community Foundation on Facebook, or by checking the website for updates: https://www.ewvcf.org/grants-scholarships/

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EASTERN PANHANDLE SCHOOLS AND NONPROFITS RECEIVE $150,000 IN ARTS, MUSIC, DESIGN, AND NATURE GRANTS

MARTINSBURG – This summer, the Eastern West Virginia Community Foundation (EWVCF) once again awarded $150,000 in grants to local nonprofits and schools from the Detlev and Mary Ellen Preissler Fund for the Arts, Music, Design, and Nature. Thirty-two organizations received grants ranging from $1,000 to $10,000 to boost their programs enriching the lives of young ones in our area through the arts and nature.

EWVCF staff shared their excitement about hosting this program for a second year in a row. “We are so pleased to have this grant program focused on the arts and nature.  Many nonprofit and educational programs in this area are working to rebuild after the challenges faced during the pandemic.  Thanks to the generosity of May Ellen and Detlev Preissler, 32 organizations and educators received a much-needed boost of support!” said Associate Director/Chief Operations Officer Susan Caperton.

Grants were awarded to 16 nonprofits and 16 schools across Berkeley, Jefferson, and Morgan County. Just over $90,000 in grants were awarded to area nonprofits, including the Apollo Civic Theatre, Appalachian Chamber Music CO, Black Box Youth Playhouse, BlackCat Music Cooperative, Charles Washington Symphony Orchestra, Children’s Tree House, Contemporary American Theatre Festival, Faith Christian Academy, Firehouse Gallery, Friends of Music, the Martinsburg Initiative, Morgan Arts Council, Morgan County Public Library, Norborne Preschool and Daycare Center, Ranson Community Gardens, and Wind Dance Farm and Earth and Education Center.

Children’s Tree House Child Development Center, Inc., a Shepherdstown-based childcare center, received a grant to help fund their Camp Pavilion project. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, the organization has been unable to host their summer camps for school-aged children. With a permanent outdoor pavilion, Children’s Tree House will once again be able to offer their WOW (Wild Outdoor Wonders) camps. “We provide all campers with hands-on STEAM environmental experiences to kindle their interest, enhance their knowledge, life skills, gardening and help them enjoy the benefits of nature-based education,” wrote Director Nicole Haines.

Children’s Tree House Child Development Center will use their EWVCF Preissler grant to help fund a permanent outdoor facility that will allow them to once again host their WOW Summer Camps.

Nearly $60,000 in grants were awarded to local schools. Sixteen educators at Berkeley Springs High School, Charles Town Middle School, Harpers Ferry Middle School, Hedgesville High School, Hedgesville Middle School, Martinsburg High School, Mountain Ridge Middle School, Rosemont Elementary School, Spring Mills Middle School, Spring Mills Primary School, Valley View Elementary School, and Warm Springs Intermediate School received funding for their arts and nature programs. These grants will go towards the purchase of so many instruments, classroom butterfly kits, art supplies, and even a traditional Chinese lion dance and kung fu/tai chi presentation from Jow Ga Shaolin Institute.

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Foundation to Award Veterans Day Grants

This year on Veterans Day, the Eastern West Virginia Community Foundation will be awarding a total of $10,000 in grants to nonprofit organizations and government agencies that are providing services to people who served in the United States Armed Forces. Thanks to the efforts of Leslie Crabill at BCT Bank of Charles Town, the Frank C. Fischer Veterans Fund has been established at the Foundation.

Fondly known as FC, Fischer was born in 1954 in Kings Daughters Hospital in Martinsburg. He was a graduate of Randolph Macon Academy and a proud United States Army Veteran. When he passed away in November of 2021, he left a sizable portion of his estate to the Foundation. Now that the his estate is settled, we are able to begin awarding grants. Next year the Community Foundation will issue a request for proposals, but this year we are planning on awarding grants based on recommendations from visitors to our website, readers of our newsletter, and social media followers.

If you are involved with or are aware of a nonprofit organization that is doing great work to help Veterans in the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia, please send an email to [email protected] and tell us about the organization and how it is serving Veterans. No grant application is necessary. Simply provide details about the work being done by the charity or unit of government, the name of the individual in charge of the program, and contact information so we can reach out to that leader.

The Eastern West Virginia Community Foundation and our affiliates serve Jefferson, Berkeley, Morgan, Hampshire, and Hardy Counties, and our hope is to fund organizations that are working with Veterans in one or more of our five-county region.

All recommendations will be considered, and those organizations deemed to be having the greatest positive impact on Veterans in our community will be awarded small grants to help them continue to provide their services.

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Do good, feel better: Philanthropy through the lens of well-being

Philanthropy means “love of humanity”—and, according to some, “philanthropy” includes acts that benefit both the giver and the receiver. This is surprising to some people who have been taught “it’s better to give than to receive.”

Somehow we have popularized the idea that giving should “hurt.” But that is not what the research says. Consider just a few examples:

–Research on the connection between volunteering and hypertension revealed that four hours of volunteering a week reduced the risk of high blood pressure–by 40%–in adults over 50.

–Another study indicates that giving reduces cortisol levels.

–Yet another study found a link between unselfishness and a lower risk of early death because “helping others” reduces stress-related mortality.

–Research has linked doing something good for someone else to an increase in endorphins.

–An altruistic attitude in the workplace makes you more productive and less likely to quit.

–Doing good and being grateful helps you sleep better at night.

–People who do just one good thing a week for someone else actually become happier over time.

When people were asked to reflect about all the ways they do good (giving to charity, volunteering, serving on boards, donating canned goods, purchasing products that support a cause, celebrating at community events, sharing with others, and so on), 92% reported that they felt better about themselves.

Even just thinking about what you’ve given others–and not only just being grateful for what you’ve received–is a huge motivator to do good things for others, over and over again.

The “do good feel good” benefits of philanthropy is just one of the many reasons that so many individuals and families work with the community foundation. If you’ve already established a donor-advised or other type of fund with the community foundation, we look forward to continuing to help you fulfill your charitable wishes to improve the lives of others. If you’ve not yet established a fund at the community foundation, we look forward to working with you to make a difference in the causes you care about.

Martinsburg Office
127 Crimson Circle
Martinsburg, WV 25403
[email protected]
304.264.0353

Romney Office
Post Office Box 40
91 South High Street
Romney, WV 26757
[email protected]
304.822.7200

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Vision

To build vibrant communities that provide opportunities for everyone living in the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia.

Mission

To inspire philanthropy, serve donors, strengthen communities, and improve the quality of life in Eastern West Virginia now and for future generations.

Values

We honor the philanthropic vision of our donors and value their generosity. We respect the work of nonprofit organizations and the passion they bring to carrying out their missions. We earn the trust of our grantees, donors, and partners through our commitment to excellence in our stewardship and our dedication to accountability, integrity, professionalism, and transparency in all our actions. In all our work, we actively embrace accessibility, inclusion, racial and social equity, and the unity that comes from diversity.