News

The Little Kanawha Area Community Foundation (LKACF), an affiliate of the Parkersburg Area Community Foundation (PACF), announced $2,750 in grants to support charitable projects benefitting Calhoun, Gilmer, and Wirt counties.

Founded in 2000, the LKACF works to build permanent charitable funds to benefit the residents of Calhoun, Gilmer, and Wirt counties. The LKACF family of funds includes 8 named funds, representing $650,000 assets. Each fall, the LKACF awards grants to benefit community projects. Grants awarded this fall are made possible through the LKACF Community Support Fund, which supports charitable projects that benefit the residents of Calhoun and Wirt counties; the Gilmer County Community Grantmaking Fund, which provides funds to address the needs of Gilmer County; and the Larry D. and Margaret D. Brown Advised Fund, which supports charitable projects in the region.

The following agencies received grants from the LKACF: 

• CASA of the Fifth Judicial Circuit - $535 to assist with expansion of child advocacy services to Roane and Calhoun counties. CASA recruits, trains, and supports court-appointed volunteer advocates who work with abused and neglected children to make recommendations to the court and to provide them a clear and powerful voice while seeking safe and permanent homes.
•  Gilmer Elementary School PTO – $400 to promote unity within the school and throughout the county by purchasing t-shirts for teachers.
•  Normantown Christian – $1,815 to purchase art supplies for the “One Child’s Time” program, where students will create and frame paintings to be sold in arts/crafts shows to generate a donation to The Ronald McDonald House Charities.

“These grants are all focused on the children in our communities,” said Ron Blankenship, LKACF Advisory Board Chair. “We loved that the Normantown Christian project involved children in a project that will give back to others in need. We also know that CASA plays an important role in helping to protect the most vulnerable children in our community, and the role of our local schools and teachers in educating our children is critical to our future. We are pleased to be able to provide support for these three child-focused grants.”

Current LKACF Advisory Board members, in addition to Blankenship, include Martha Haymaker, Bob Radabaugh, Kyle Pierson, Jean Simers, Andrew Matheny, and Leslie Maze.

The Ritchie County Community Foundation (RCCF), an affiliate of the Parkersburg Area Community Foundation (PACF) announced $5,900 in grants to support charitable projects benefitting Ritchie County. RCCF presented the grants during the Ritchie County High School music concert on Monday, December 12.

Founded in 1999, the RCCF works to build permanent charitable funds to benefit the residents of Ritchie County. The RCCF family of funds includes 25 named funds, representing $1.3 million in assets. Each fall, the RCCF awards grants to benefit community projects. Grants awarded this fall are made possible through the Ritchie County Community Endowment Fund, which supports charitable projects that benefit the residents of Ritchie County; the Lowell and Wilda Jackson Community Fund, a Donor Advised Fund with a particular interest in support the needs of Ritchie County; and through the support of an anonymous donor.

The following agencies received grants from the RCCF:

• Ritchie County High School Band Program - $5,000 to assist with the purchase of new band uniforms;
• Regeneration, Inc. /Packs of Plenty - $650 to provide food for weekends and school holidays for Ritchie County students who face food insecurity at home;
• Ritchie County High School Physical Education Department - $250 to purchase fitness equipment to enhance student fitness and for use in afterschool fitness classes.

“We are pleased to support the needs of our Ritchie County youth through these grants” said Alan Haught, RCCF Advisory Board Chair. “We are proud of our high school band and its recent growth, and we know that Packs of Plenty and the physical fitness equipment will make a difference in the health and wellness of our students.”

Current RCCF Advisory Board members, in addition to Haught, include Jean Freeland, Scott Windom, Noah Hinzman, Theresa Cowan, Dan Fissel, Richard Kerns, and Ron Nutt.

Picture Caption:  Members of the RCCF Advisory Board present grants to representative of the Ritchie County High School and Regeneration, Inc.  Pictured left to right:  RCCF Advisory Board Chair – Alan Haught, RCCF Advisory Board Member – Dan Fissel, Ritchie County High School’s Jim Flesher, Regeneration, Inc.’s Gail Holleron, RCCF Advisory Board Member – Scott Windom.

The Parkersburg Area Community Foundation (PACF) announced today its grant awards for fall 2016.  Grant recipients gathered at the Foundation’s office on Tuesday, December 6, to celebrate their grant awards.  A total of $180,000 in grant support was awarded region-wide through the Foundation’s Community Action Grants Program to organizations within the Foundation’s eleven-county service region of Wood, Wirt, Ritchie, Doddridge, Mason, Calhoun, Gilmer, Roane, Pleasants, and Jackson counties in West Virginia, and Washington County, Ohio. 

 “We addressed a number of crucial community needs through these grants including support for services that assist area youth, seniors, the homeless, victims of domestic violence, and children who have been abused or neglected,” said PACF’s Senior Program Officer, Marian Clowes. “Both hunger and food insecurity are real problems in our region.  To help address this need, we provided a $15,000 grant to Old Man Rivers to assist with delivering meals to the homebound in Wood County through the purchase of a new food deliver truck.  Additionally, a grant to Catholic Charities of WV will enable food to be delivered to those in need in Doddridge, Calhoun, Roane, and Wirt counties through the Wellness Works mobile food pantry.  Grant support also will assist several organizations that provide food to school children on weekends and school holidays.”

 In addition to Tuesday’s grant distributions, the Foundation’s regional affiliates in Doddridge County, Ritchie County and the Little Kanawha Area are also providing county-centric grant support.

 Grants awarded through the PACF’s Community Action Grants Program are made possible by generous individuals/businesses who have established a charitable fund with the PACF.  The Program uses the resources available through the Foundation’s Unrestricted and Field of Interest Funds to meet the ever-changing needs of its service region.  The Foundation works with volunteers region-wide to review the grant applications and select the recipients.  Additionally, the Foundation consults with individuals who have established Donor Advised Funds through the PACF and works with these individuals to provide additional grant support for the projects proposed through the Community Action Grants Program.    

 To learn more about the Foundation and its Community Action Grants Program, individuals should call the Foundation at 304.428.4438 or email info@pacfwv.com.