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April 7, 2023 By Rebecca Knight

COMMUNITY FOUNDATION’S PREISSLER FUND TO AWARD $150,000 TO ARTS, NATURE PROGRAMS AGAIN IN 2023

The Appalachian Chamber Music Festival ensemble performs at Friends of Happy Retreat. Last year, the festival received an $8,800 grant from EWVCF’s Preissler Fund to keep ticket prices low and commission a new piece exploring the nature, history and culture of our region.

The Eastern West Virginia Community Foundation (EWVCF) is excited to announce that they will again award $150,000 in grants to Eastern Panhandle schools and nonprofit organizations from the Detlev and Mary Ellen Preissler Fund for the Arts, Music, Design, and Nature in 2023. Eastern Panhandle schools and nonprofit organizations that inspire and educate children through the arts and nature seeking general operating support or funding for a specific program are invited to apply for a grant from this fund. Applications can be found on the Community Foundation’s website HERE. The deadline to apply is May 31st.

The fund was established by Mary Ellen in 2022 in honor of her late husband Detlev, a German-born architectural designer who called Harpers Ferry his home for nearly 50 years. During its inaugural award year, the fund gave just under $150,000 to 27 local schools and nonprofits, with grants ranging from $2,325 to $10,000.

One such organization, the Appalachian Chamber Music Festival, founded in 2021, used their grant to keep tickets to their chamber music performances in Harpers Ferry, Charles Town, and Shepherdstown affordable. Their grant also helped fund a commissioned piece by a new composer exploring the nature, history and culture of the region, and in August of 2022, ACMF performed a string quartet titled “Of Woods and Water” by Judith Ring for the first time.

Through this fund, the arts in Jefferson, Berkeley, and Morgan Counties continue to grow and thrive. Nonprofits and schools with programs that help children expand their knowledge and practice of art, music, and design, especially those that incorporate nature and the natural world into the curriculum, should click HERE to learn more and apply for a grant from the Detlev and Mary Ellen Preissler Fund for the Arts, Music, Design, and Nature 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 $15 million, including over $1 million in 2022 alone. The Community Foundation now holds more than 280 endowed funds with assets of just over $35 million and 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, animal welfare and historic preservation, and much more. For information call 304-264-0353.

Filed Under: Slider, Uncategorized

December 19, 2022 By Rebecca Knight

EWVCF Awards Over $160K in Youth and Education Grants to Eastern Panhandle Nonprofits and Schools

            The Eastern West Virginia Community Foundation (EWVCF) recently awarded 53 Youth and Education grants, totaling $163,525.43, to 38 organizations tackling the issues faced by families and young ones in Berkeley, Jefferson, and Morgan County.

            The majority of the funding went to organizations addressing the most basic needs in the Eastern Panhandle. $73,800 will allow organizations such as Community Networks, Graciously Giving Foundation, Faith Community Coalition for the Homeless, Renewed Life Ministry, the Children’s Vision Rehabilitation Program, and Morgan County Starting Points to continue to provide food, shelter, medical care, clothes, childcare, and more to the most vulnerable among us. The Martinsburg Initiative will use their five grants to continue their outreach to local schools in an effort to prevent substance abuse disorders and build strong families in our area. Community Combined Ministries received two grants to support the Kidz Power Pacs program, a vital community effort to end childhood hunger in the Eastern Panhandle.

The West Virginia University Foundation/Children’s Vision Rehabilitation Program team.

            Educational programs in our area received $40,626.43. Nearly $17,000 will be used to improve the literacy of Eastern Panhandle young ones. Martinsburg-Berkeley County Public Libraries received a grant for their 2023 Summer Reading Program “All Together Now.” Youth Services Manager Emily Jones reported that Berkeley County school teachers greatly appreciate the library’s reading programs which have been proven to help students maintain reading proficiency through the summer months. Martinsburg Sunrise Rotary Foundation will distribute ten books of each child’s choosing to every second grade student in Berkeley, Jefferson, and Morgan County through their Eastern Panhandle Reading program. Multiple school officials voiced their support and enthusiasm for this program which distributes tens of thousands of new books every year.  Likewise, EL teacher Jill Leathers of Opequon Elementary School will use her grant to continue to build a bilingual library in her classroom, where students will be allowed to check out bags of these books to encourage at-home reading. Spring Mills Middle School teacher Stephanie Gardner will use her grant to expand and diversify the history books in her 8th grade West Virginia Studies classroom library.

Second graders receiving books from the Martinsburg Sunrise Rotary Foundation.

            Nearly $12,000 will fund STEM-related programs. Harpers Ferry Middle School’s Jill Fornadley, recipient of several previous EWVCF grants and ever the champion of learning via virtual reality, will use this grant to purchase cameras that will allow her students to film and create their own virtual Social Studies content about local West Virginia history which could be shared in schools throughout the state. Kristina Allis, Technology Integration Specialist at Orchard View Intermediate School, will use her grant to purchase Snap Circuits, electrical kits that allow children ages 8 and above to learn about electricity by creating functional circuit boards.  At Wind Dance Farm & Earth Education Center in Morgan County, Director and Environmental Educator Leslie-Devine Milbourne received a grant for technological upgrades and supplies, which will allow the organization to continue their vital work of educating local youth about nature and the environment through their Student Citizen Scientist programs.

Kids enjoy the many outdoor educational programs at Wind Dance Farm and Earth Education Center.

            EWVCF also funded an exciting new educational program from the Jefferson County Historic Landmarks Commission. The Commission is dedicated to providing heritage education to all ages, and this grant will allow them to deliver direct presentations to all Jefferson County 4th grade classrooms. Dr. Deborah Rochefort will travel to all nine elementary schools, presenting herself as a woman from 1775 and teaching students about 18th century textiles. Commission Chair Martin Burke anticipates that this program will generate “more appreciation and interest in life in the 18th century” among Jefferson County students as they are taught American Colonial History.

Dr. Deborah Rochefort.

            Organizations and programs dedicated to fostering a love of the arts in Eastern Panhandle youth received $20,434. The Apollo Civic Theatre, BlackCat Music Cooperative, Contemporary American Theatre Festival, and Morgan Arts Council all received grants which will allow them to continue their vital work educating Berkeley, Jefferson, and Morgan County young ones on the importance of creativity and self-expression through art. Meghan O’Neill of Shepherdstown Middle School and Jordan English of Spring Mills Middle School will use their grants to further musical education. Kim Patton, School Counselor at Opequon Elementary School, will use her grant to ensure that every student will receive a box of multicultural crayons and construction paper for school projects.

The Contemporary American Theatre Festival’s Hostel YOUTH! immersive summer educational program.

            Recreational programs and programs tackling the social and emotional needs of our youth received nearly $30,000. Neil Troppman, Head Coach of the Boy’s Club Lacrosse at Martinsburg High School, received a grant to purchase new helmets for every member of the team. Burke Street Elementary School families will enjoy the opportunity to have portraits taken by a professional photographer at the school thanks to a grant received by School Counselor Teresa Weller. Teri Wilson of Berkeley Heights Elementary School received a grant to purchase Playground Activity Panels, which will allow students to enjoy independent, unstructured outdoor playtime.

Martinsburg High School Boys Club Lacrosse.

            Another vital Eastern Panhandle organization, Potomac Valley Audubon Society, received four grants. Two of those grants will support their “Nature in the Neighborhood” programs, allowing PVAS to bring summer camp experiences to disadvantaged youth in Berkeley and Jefferson county. The other two grants will allow PVAS to continue to bring hands-on environmental education programs directly to schools in our area. Executive Director Kristin Alexander shared the following story with EWVCF about the organization’s Lead Educator Amy Moore Thomas’s recent successful trip to a classroom at Marlowe Elementary School. “Amy had the BEST time presenting her ‘Bugs a Billion’ program to 1st graders,” Alexander wrote. “They got to hold wiggly mealworms and one little girl told Amy that she’d been scared of bugs before the program, but now she was HOLDING one and she wasn’t scared anymore.” When Amy lead students outside to see even more insects, the kids began jumping up and down with excitement. “Amy came back and shared that those kinds of programs are why she loves her job. They re-energize her every time. Thank you for making these programs possible for ALL students,” said Alexander.

One of Potomac Valley Audubon Society’s many classroom programs.

            The Community Foundation’s Youth and Education grants are made possible thanks to the generosity of EWVCF’s donors. Funding came from the Jane P. Snyder Youth Fund, C. Scott and Elizabeth C. Shade Youth Fund, Bonn Poland Family Roundhouse Recreation Fund, Frada Fine Berkeley County Education Fund, and the Tom and Virginia Seely Morgan County Children’s Fund. Additionally, the Fund advisors for the Bill and Nancy White Charitable Fund, Fleming Family Fund, W. Randy Smith Family Fund, and the Michael and Brenda Mullin Charitable Fund stepped in and allowed the Foundation to award nearly $66,000 more than initially expected.

            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 nearly $14.7 million, including $1 million in 2022 alone. The Community Foundation now holds more than 260 endowed funds with assets of $34 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.

Filed Under: Blog, Slider

November 27, 2022 By Michael Whalton

27th Annual Report to the Community Now Online

Our 27th Annual Report to the Community is at the printer and hard copies will be mailed in early December. If you haven’t received our annual report in the past, but would like to, please let us know and we’ll add your name and address to our mailing list. In the meantime, you can enjoy reading the stories and learning about the grants and scholarships we awarded in 2021 by clicking on the photo of the cover below to open the flipbook version of the full annual report. We hope you will enjoy reading about our friends and neighbors who have left a lasting legacy to the communities they loved.

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July 27, 2021 By Michael Whalton

Mayor Harriet Johnson Memorial Fund for Youth and Education

Family and friends of Harriet Johnson have established an endowed field of interest fund at the Eastern West Virginia Community Foundation to honor her remarkable legacy. The Mayor Harriet Johnson Memorial Fund for Youth and Education will award grants to nonprofit organizations that provide youth and/or education programs in Martinsburg and Berkeley County.
Donations to the fund may be made by sending a check to the Eastern West Virginia Community Foundation, 229 E. Martin Street, Suite 4, Martinsburg, WV 25401. Please write “Mayor Harriet Johnson Memorial Fund” in the memo. Or, you can contribute online on the DONATION PAGE of our website where you can use the dropdown menu to select Mayor Harriet Johnson Memorial Fund.

 

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August 25, 2020 By Michael Whalton

Silver Anniversary Report to the Community

The Eastern West Virginia Community Foundation has been serving donors and nonprofit organizations in our region for the past 25 years. We are grateful for the incredible support that we’ve received and we are proud of our accomplishments. During the past quarter-century, we have grown from a single $100,000 scholarship fund to 250 endowments holding $30 million in assets. Thanks to generous donors, we are now awarding nearly $1 million in grants and scholarships each year. Our initial service area included Jefferson, Berkeley, and Morgan Counties, but we now include Hampshire and Hardy Counties in our footprint. Please take a look at our recently published annual report and let us know what you think.

Please wait while flipbook is loading. For more related info, FAQs and issues please refer to DearFlip WordPress Flipbook Plugin Help documentation.

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Recent Posts

  • Partners in Philanthropy Spur Community Foundation Growth
  • Hardy County Community Foundation Announces over $23,000 in Grants
  • COMMUNITY FOUNDATION’S PREISSLER FUND TO AWARD $150,000 TO ARTS, NATURE PROGRAMS AGAIN IN 2023
  • 2023 Detlev and Mary Ellen Preissler Fund for the Arts, Music, Design, and Nature – Request for Proposal
  • Honoring Tia McMillan

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Eastern West Virginia Community Foundation
229 East Martin St., Suite 4
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Moorefield, WV 26836
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