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.
- 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 [email protected] 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.