“Charleston, WV – The Greater Kanawha Valley Foundation (TGKVF) Board of Trustees approved the distribution of 30 grants totaling $824,150.
TGKVF awarded $17,000 to Arts & Culture, $62,500 to Basic Needs, and $111,800 to Field-of-Interest projects. Funding awards in the Foundation’s proactive Community Economic Development, Education, and Health areas totaled $225,050. In addition, continued generous support from an anonymous donor provided funding for Dental, Emergency Aid, and Equity projects totaling $330,650.The Westside Initiative 3.0 was supported with grants totaling $77,150.”
“STAR Club, Inc. – Future STAR: Continued Capacity Building to Strengthen Leadership: $42,000 (Education)
STAR Club, Inc., an after-school tutoring, mentoring, and enrichment program for students from Hayes and McKinley Middle Schools, has completed six years of programming.
Funding will support strengthening leadership capacity by continuing to contract for a director, assistant director, and treasurer. Funds will add enrichment and mental health activities to build students’ sense of self-worth.”
Marshall University Foundation, Inc. – Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library (DPIL) of West Virginia Early Literacy and School Readiness Program: $40,000 (Education)
In partnership with the Dollywood Foundation, the June Harless Center for Rural Educational Research and Development works to provide every child 0-5 years old in Kanawha and Lincoln counties access to high-quality developmentally appropriate
literary material before entering school. Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library delivers books to the home monthly at no cost to families. Funding will support enrolled children in both counties for the book purchases and mailing costs and allow for continued open
enrollment to children aged 0-5 years who reside in Kanawha and Lincoln counties.
West Virginia Chamber Foundation – Jobs for West Virginia’s Graduates: $35,000 (Education)
Jobs for West Virginia’s Graduates help students facing challenges realize their potential, overcome systematic barriers, and reach their goals.This is achieved by placing a caring adult in the students’ lives to help guide them toward high school graduation and equip them with personal and professional skills as they transition into higher education, the workforce, or the military. Funding will be used to continue this program in Boone County.
Honeysuckle Hill Nature Discovery Center – Discovering a Love of Learning in an Outdoor Classroom: $19,550 (Education)
Honeysuckle Hill Nature Discovery Center (HHNDC) provides nature and garden- based educational programs for children and adults in southern West Virginia and beyond. This program offers an outdoor learning environment that promotes STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, math) education, reading, and history. HHNDC, with its eight garden displays, biomes, and exhibits, provides exciting educational avenues. With support from TGKVF, HHNDC will provide weekly afterschool hands-on experiences for Oak Hill Middle School students in Fayette County. Programs include science experiments, nature stories, and exploring history. Funding will support instructors, supplies, AmeriCorps direct services, and school bussing costs.
Parents Auxiliary, Inc. – KEMP Healthy Park Initiative for All: $17,000 (Health)
The KEMP Healthy Park Initiative for All program aims to keep patrons informed, safe and cared for when visiting Ken Ellis Memorial Park in Kanawha County. Greenspace and safe infrastructure allow patrons to experience physical and emotional well-being.
SHIELD Task Force, Inc. – Year 3: Child Abuse Prevention for Schools and Faith Communities: $21,500 (Health)
The Child Abuse Preventions for Schools and Faith Communities program aims to advance three goals: the enhancement of the capability of school systems to deliver age-appropriate, comprehensive education on child sexual abuse prevention to middle and high school students and training to teachers and school personnel; the expanding of strategic partnerships to raise public awareness, empower victims, and assist survivors by focusing on targeted volunteer recruitment; and the fostering of skills, knowledge, and capacities within faith communities to prevent, identify, and respond to child abuse through presentations, consulting services, and the development of resources.The program is in its third year of support from TGKVF and operates in Boone, Clay, Fayette, Kanawha, Lincoln, and Putnam counties.
Cabin Creek Health Systems – CCHS Community Impact, Mobile Team: $50,000 (Health)
Cabin Creek Health Systems (CCHS) provides healthcare to the Charleston area’s unhoused, underhoused, and underserved population.Through support from TGKVF, CCHS has extended its programs into a broader program known as Community Impact. The Mobile Team continues to build trust and rapport in the community and, when a patient is ready, transitions them to all the services offered by CCHS or partners.
River City Youth Ballet Ensemble – RCYBE 2024-25 Season Production and Clendenin Outreach: $8,000 (Arts & Culture)
During the 2024-25 season,The River City Youth Ballet (RCYBE) will perform The Wizard of Oz, Cinderella, and a shortened production of The Nutcracker in Clendenin, WV, where dancers in our outreach program can perform. RCYBE will also offer outreach classes in ballet instruction in Clendenin for underserved children.The productions and classes will raise awareness of arts within the community, bridging the need for concrete correlation of arts in education. Counties served include Boone, Clay, Kanawha, and Putnam. Funding will support tuition assistance, instructor salaries, space rental fees, promotional materials, props, and costumes.
Charleston Civic Chorus – The Charleston Civic Chorus 72nd Concert Season: $1,000 (Arts & Culture)
The funding supports the October 2024 – September 2025 concert series and will aid in guest performance fees. Concert attendees are primarily from Kanawha County.
The Opus Chorale of West Virginia – Opus Chorale of West Virginia 2024-225 Concert Series: $1,000 (Arts & Culture)
The Opus Chorale of West Virginia will present seasonal concerts in October 2024 and April 2025. Attendees will primarily be from Kanawha County, and select performers are residents of Fayette and Jackson counties.
West Virginia International Film Festival, Inc. – OF THE CLOTH: Featured Narrative Film: $7,000 (Arts & Culture)
The Featured Narrative Film project supports the post-production of local filmmaker Tijah Bumgarner’s latest film.The premise focuses on the challenges a young associate pastor faces when he is assigned to a church in an impoverished Appalachian town and his naïve idealism about helping a woman struggling with substance abuse. Funding will support the post-production process, organized screenings, marketing, and panel discussions among substance use recovery-based organizations such as Charleston Bream Neighborhood SHOP, Quick Response Team, and Solutions Oriented Addiction Recovery.
Manna Meal, Inc. – So the Hungry Can Eat: $30,000 (Basic Needs)
Manna Meal, a 365-day a year feeding facility, is a safety net for the food-insecure population in Charleston and surrounding areas.The need for services has skyrocketed, evidenced by the dramatic increase in meal recipients and requests for emergency pantry bags, alongside a decrease in the number and amount of donations typically received. TGKVF funding will be used to purchase food to help meet the extraordinary demand for meals and recipients.
Covenant House, Inc. – Improving Quality of Life for the Homeless and Low-Income: $32,500 (Basic Needs)
Covenant House, Inc. estimates serving one-third of the homeless population in Kanawha County and works to fight hunger, homelessness, and poverty. Funding will be used to provide food, diapers, hygiene items, clothing, blankets, and support staffing.
West Virginia University Foundation, Inc. – Children’s Vision Rehabilitation Program: $98,800 (Field-of-Interest)
Children’s Vision Rehabilitation Program’s (CVRP) mission is to provide comprehensive vision rehabilitation services to school-age children who are blind or visually impaired across West Virginia, specifically TGKVF’s six-county area. CVRP’s programming is designed to provide visually impaired children with the tools to become independent and employable as they transition to adulthood. Funding will support evaluations, mentoring, equipment for low vision and blindness, and learning institutes.These programs help to provide the tools needed for access to visual environments through medical care, optical devices, assistive technology, educational recommendations, and support to local school systems.
Kanawha Hospice Care, Inc. – HospiceCare NOW – HospiceCare Neighborhood Outreach Westside: $5,000 (Field-of-Interest)
Charleston’s Westside has been home to Hospice Care for 15 years. Still, the organization has had difficulty attracting Westside residents to receive hospice, palliative, and bereavement care services, most of which are free or covered by Medicare, Medicaid, or other insurance.To raise awareness and help area residents improve their health and quality of life, HopsiceCare NOW will develop targeted outreach materials specific to this diverse and underserved population, partner with a variety of local nonprofit organizations, churches, businesses, and community groups, and champion, promote, host, and participate in local health fairs and other community events and activities.
Rebuilding Together Charleston – Safe at Home: $8,000 (Field-of-Interest)
The Safe at Home program focuses on critical repairs for low-income homeowners in Kanawha and Putnam counties.The program targets elderly and disabled people and works to ensure safe, accessible living conditions. Skilled volunteers and contractors handle tasks like roof repairs, plumbing repairs, and accessibility modifications to reduce health hazards, prevent homelessness, and promote aging in place. Success is measured by improved living conditions, increased community pride, and strengthened partnerships, contributing to stronger, more resilient communities.
Legal Aid of West Virginia, Inc. – Justice on the Move Campaign: John C. Norman Community Room: $50,000 (Westside)
The John C. Norman Community Room in Legal Aid of West Virginia’s new offices on Charleston’s Westside will be a shared space for Westside neighborhood organizations and others from all counties TGKVF serves.The room will be designed as a state-of-the- art space using trauma-informed design principles to help build social capital across the neighborhood. Legal Aid of West Virginia provides civil legal services to the state’s most vulnerable citizens.This move will create statewide headquarters on Charleston’s westside.
Tamarack Foundation, Inc. – Westside Ripple Planning and Implementation Project: $27,150 (Westside)
Ripple is a community and economic development capacity-building program designed to center artists as leaders capable of enacting change within their communities. Tamarack Foundation for the Arts (TFA) and partners will implement the Ripple Project on Charleston’s Westside. Facilitators will use the Ripple Project design model to work with artists and partners to design a placemaking project centered on bridging arts and businesses.The local team will receive community coaching and a grant award to implement the project. Funding will provide a substantial grant award for the community team and cover program-related costs.
West Virginia Public Broadcasting Foundation, Inc. – Us & Them WV Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Project 2024-25: $25,000 (Special Initiatives – Equity)
Us & Them is a podcast and radio show that explores American divides, focusing on customs, beliefs, and worldviews.The mission is to foster understanding and dialogue across cultural fault lines, engaging people on both sides without judging right or wrong but highlighting their humanity.This year, Us & Them plans to produce 24 episodes, with half focusing on The Greater Kanawha Valley Foundation service area. Four episodes will specifically address Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion themes, emphasizing respectful conversations in a polarized world.
Kanawha County Dental Health Council, Inc. – Kanawha County Dental Health Council, Inc.: $50,000 (Dental)
Through a partnership with Kanawha County Schools, Kanawha County Dental Health Council, Inc. provides dental services for children of low-income families who do not have a private dentist.The team of school-based dental hygienists educates and screens all children in Kanawha County schools, while a clinical staff of dentists and dental hygienists provides much-needed dental treatment. Providing continuous care for these children is essential to the Council’s mission: no child within Kanawha County will ever go without dental services or education.
HOPE for Appalachia – Hope Closets: $20,000 (Emergency Aid)
The HOPE Closet program supports underserved, economically disadvantaged, at-risk children and their families.This program provides public school teachers, counselors, and school staff with supplies to care for students in need. Creating access to free daily necessities increases the likelihood of academic and social success for each student. For the 2023-24 school year, an estimated 4,565 students accessed HOPE Closets in 83 schools in Boone, Clay, and Kanawha counties. For the 2024-25 school year, the program will expand to include Putnam County.
Kanawha County Commission – Kanawha County Juvenile Treatment Court Needs: $24,500 (Emergency Aid)
Kanawha County’s Juvenile Treatment Court is a court-led and community-supported program of early intervention to address the specific needs of its substance-abusing youth participants.The objectives of the Juvenile Treatment Court are to improve participants’ general functioning by reducing internal and external problems and to increase family self- sufficiency and ability to cope with life’s difficulties.The program seeks to divert non-violent juvenile offenders from the traditional juvenile court process to intensive, individualized treatment to reduce future court involvement for these youth. Funding will support youth participants and their families in Kanawha County.
Kanawha Institute for Social Research & Social Action, Inc. – Harambee: Linking to Increase Food Access for All: $16,650 (Emergency Aid)
The Harambee: Linking to Increase Food Access for All is a weekend food backpack program serving at least 280 students attending Piedmont Elementary School, Dunbar Primary School, and Dunbar Intermediate School in Kanawha County. Program participants will be students experiencing food insecurity who are recommended by the principals at partnering schools. Age-appropriate books will also be made available with backpacks. TGKVF funding will support food purchases.
Mountain State Educational Services Cooperative – Communities in School Partnering to Meet Students’ Needs: $60,000 (Emergency Aid)
Communities in Schools’ on-site school coordinators identify and prioritize the needs of specific students struggling to attend school by working with a school support team and school leadership. Once identified, students are connected to many community resources to engage their learning and ensure they stay on track to graduate. Funding will support Boone, Clay, Fayette, Kanawha, Lincoln, and Putnam counties by providing a means for coordination to swiftly acquire resources such as food, hygiene products, clothing, and utility bill payments for students in extreme need and emergencies.
Risen Lord Catholic Church – Risen Lord Food Pantry, Backpack, and Utilities Assistance Programs: $21,000 (Emergency Aid)
Risen Lord Food Pantry, Backpack, and Utilities Assistance Programs work to alleviate hunger in Clay County.The program fosters the human dignity of all recipients and volunteers, provides opportunities for neighbors to help neighbors, and improves the health and well-being of Clay County residents in need by providing access to food and related resources. Grant funding will be used to purchase food from Mountaineer Food Bank and other community resources, including Kroger’s and Sam’s Club.
St. Agnes Catholic Church – Sustaining Common Grounds Food Pantry: $20,500 (Emergency Aid)
Common Grounds is a food pantry serving eastern Kanawha County. Funding will provide food boxes for all eligible participants during the year.The boxes will provide two to three days of meals for over 5,000 individuals.
STAR Club, Inc. – Survival Resources for Winter Living Expenses: $15,000 (Emergency Aid)
STAR Club, Inc. is an after-school program for students in the Saint Albans area of Kanawha County. During the current school year, many STAR families have requested assistance with supplemental food resources, particularly during the winter months. In addition, families have requested utility assistance. As the 2024-25 school year approaches, up to eighteen new students and their families will be added to the program. Funding will support food, clothing, and shelter assistance.
TEAM for West Virginia Children, Inc. – Western Regional CASA: $25,500 (Emergency Aid)
TGKVF funding will support Western Regional CASA’s ability to meet the urgent needs of children who are being placed in or are already living in, out-of-home care due to the trauma they experienced in their own homes. Necessary items, including extra-large duffle bags and full-sized hygiene items, will be given to children quickly so they can be moved to their new placements in a dignified manner and maintain healthy hygiene while waiting for financial assistance to begin for their caregivers.
The Healing House – The Healing House Essentials: $22,500 (Emergency Aid)
As the only holistic licensed behavioral health center in West Virginia, the Healing House helps women overcome barriers so they can thrive.This initiative will provide necessities for participants in two cornerstone programs, Elevate and Genesis House, both of which are in Kanawha County. Funding will give both Elevate participants, women over the age of 18 in recovery from substance use disorder and trauma, and Genesis House participants, women aged 18-24 in need of transportation assistance, therapy, and wraparound services, and hopefully outfit Genesis House with furnishings to welcome the first cohort.
West Virginia Health Right, Inc. – Healing Opportunities for Parents Everywhere (H.O.P.E.): $30,000 (Emergency Aid)
West Virginia continues to have the highest opioid mortality rate in the nation, an increased number of live births suffering from neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS), and the country’s highest rate of children in state custody. West Virginia Health Right has recognized that expectant and new parents suffering from substance misuse require targeted services and launched HOPE to support sobriety for addicted expectant and new parents and decrease NAS births. Outreach occurs in TGKVF’s six-county region. Funding will be used for staffing, supplies, and transportation costs.
The Greater Kanawha Valley Foundation is grateful to our community of generous donors who make these and other grants possible. The programs and work approved for the third quarter of 2024 are supported by the following funds: Anonymous Dental; Anonymous Emergency Aid; Lloyd and Margaret B. Erhard, Jr. Trust; George and Patty Herscher; Charles Hopkins; John Hopkins; J. W. and Gabrielle P. Hubbard, Jr.; Blanche E. Jacobson; Alice Ann Koontz; Lowenstein #2; Nathan and Sarah Maslow; Peyton #1; Nancy Gay Randolph; George and Josephine Rogers; and L. Newton and Katherine S. Thomas, General.