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Dr. Endrizzi was a well-known and much-loved veterinarian who passed away earlier in 2014.  A Parkersburg resident for more than 60 years, he and his wife, Ann, raised five children here in the Mid-Ohio Valley, Dr. Mike Endrizzi, Kathy Endrizzi, Nancy Endrizzi, Mary Endrizzi Wright, and Emma Endrizzi O’Leary.  

As a child growing up in Belmont County, Ohio, Endrizzi’s family, along with many other coal miner families, struggled.  Endrizzi was born December 25, 1919 and of the years following his father’s death in 1924, Endrizzi wrote: “Most of mother’s income came from miners who would put money in her basket on pay day.  Churches in Bannock helped, and some neighbors did also.” He remembered “At Christmas time, church people asked us to come and we would all get a paper sack with candy and one orange.  This was our entire Christmas treat during the Depression.”

Nick Endrizzi never forgot the assistance that they received during those difficult years.  Through his adult life, it was important for him to give back in order to help others less fortunate.  “I always had it in my mind that I wanted to pay the people back who helped us, but they were all gone,” Endrizzi once said. 

To this end, Endrizzi helped establish a charitable fund with the PACF to benefit the Salvation Army  in Belmont County and was a consistent supporter of his church’s food pantry.   He also loved gardening just to see fruits and vegetables grow and then would share his harvests with friends and neighbors, often putting surpluses on the curb with a FREE sign.  Sharing food at Christmas was one of Endrizzi’s favorite holiday traditions.

This December 25 would have been Endrizzi’s 100^th birthday.  To mark this centennial in a meaningful way, Endrizzi’s children have partnered with the Parkersburg Area Community Foundation to raise awareness and support for its Hunger Fund for the region.  This permanent charitable fund provides funding for community food programs for children, senior citizens, and other vulnerable populations in the region.

“We know that the Hunger Fund is something that our father would be proud of and would have supported himself,”  said Mary Endrizzi Wright.  “My brother, sisters, and I would like our community to support this fund this holiday season.  In the spirit of giving that is Christmas, we are matching the first $2,500 donated to the Hunger Fund to celebrate our dad’s 100^th birthday.”

To make a charitable donation to support the PACF’s Hunger Fund, please send a check made payable to the PACF to PO Box 1762, Parkersburg, WV 26101 or give online at www.pacfwv.com/HungerFund.  Individuals who have questions or would like to make other gift arrangements may call the Foundation at 304-428-4438. 

The Parkersburg Area Community Foundation and Regional Affiliates (PACF) is supporting the health, human services, recreation, and education needs of our community through its fall grant awards. At a December 4 reception, the PACF announced $203,381 in grant awards to support charitable projects benefiting the residents of the region.

Through the Foundation’s bi-annual Community Action Grants Program, area nonprofits seek grant assistance to address community needs.  To be considered for a Community Action Grant, an applicant must be a private, nonprofit organization, tax-exempt under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, or a public institution.  Either the applicant or program to be funded must be located in the Foundation’s eleven-county geographic service area (Calhoun, Doddridge, Gilmer, Jackson, Mason, Pleasants, Ritchie, Roane, Wirt, and Wood counties in West Virginia, and Washington County, Ohio).  Submitted applications are considered for support from charitable funds managed by the Foundation that are designed to support a wide variety of projects and causes throughout the region.

The fall 2019 Parkersburg Area Community Foundation & Regional Affiliates grant recipients are:

• American Red Cross of Northwest West Virginia Chapter - $4,000 to install smoke alarms in homes and assist families impacted by house fires
• Boys and Girls Club of Parkersburg - $15,000 to replace the HVAC unit serving the gymnasium
• Boys and Girls Club of Pleasants County - $2,020 to purchase materials and supplies to enhance Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math programs
• Calhoun County Committee on Aging - $4,550 to replace an air conditioning unit
• Calhoun County Family Resource Network – $7,500 to provide healthy food for limited-resource senior citizens
• Calhoun County Schools - $9,650 for suicide prevention programs
• City of Spencer - $6,400 to renovate the Spencer Armory
• Doddridge County Family Resource Network - $2,650 to purchase bedding for youth through the annual Good Shepherd Tree Program
• Ely Chapman Education Foundation - $6,700 to purchase a new commercial dishwasher
• GFWC Parkersburg Woman’s Club - $5,000 to support the Brown Bag project, which provides nutritious food for weekends for students in need at McKinley and Emerson Elementary Schools
• Gilmer County Family Resource Network - $2,000 to support the teen shoe box project, which provides hygiene items, gloves, and socks for teens at Christmas
• Harmony Mental Health - $3,750 to assist with renovations to their new facility in Elizabeth, WV, where they provide counseling services and trauma-informed care
• Healthy Grandfamilies Coalition - $5,000 to provide meals at educational programs to help grandparents who are raising grandchildren
• Mid-Ohio Valley Foster Grandparent Program - $4,000 to support seniors who mentor children in schools and nonprofits organizations in the region
• Normantown Historical Community Center - $10,575 to replace a roof on their facility in Gilmer County
• Parents and Friends of the Hearing Impaired - $5,000 to provide hearing aids to limited-resource individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing
• Parkersburg and Wood County Public Library - $15,000 to upgrade technology and equipment
• Regeneration/Packs of Plenty - $3,500 to provide food to Ritchie County students on weekends and school holidays
• Ritchie County Family Resource Network - $1,000 to purchase hygiene and cleaning products to be distributed to low-income individuals
• Rosenbaum Family House and WVU Medicine - $5,000 to assist with costs for patient families from the PACF service region who stay at the house during care and treatment for a loved one or family member
• South Parkersburg United Methodist - $6,000 to support the Backpack Blessings Program, which provides food on weekends to students from Martin, Gihon, and Fairplains elementary schools
• The Salvation Army - $15,000 to upgrade kitchen equipment to provide hot and nutritious meals to those who struggle with poverty and hunger
• Voices for Children – CASA - $11,400 to support programs that provide direct services through volunteer advocacy for abused and neglected children
• Wood County Schools - $15,000 to support training and implementation of Safe Talk, a suicide prevention program
• Wood County Society - $12,500 to support staffing for the new ArtBeat Studio, a collaborative and adaptive community art studio
• West Virginia Health Right - $6,500 to purchase dental supplies for the mobile dental unit serving Roane County residents
• West Virginia University at Parkersburg - $5,000 to purchase supplies and equipment for two summerTeen Tech Academies to provide Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math experiences for area youth
• YMCA of Parkersburg - $12,500 to purchase a Microsoft Surface Pro for each of ten after-school sites to use for academic mentoring and for general operating support

In addition, through the support of the Tamara K. Brown Helping to Heal Fund, the Hollow Creeks Fund, and the Mid-Ohio Valley Endowment for Women, Children, and Families, the PACF provided support to school nurses at the following schools to purchase equipment to help them meet student health needs:

• Blennerhassett Elementary School - $250 to purchase period preparedness kits for 5^th grade girls
• Blennerhassett Middle School  - $60 to purchase an automatic wrist blood pressure monitor
• Franklin Elementary Center - $246 to purchase a “Stop the Bleed” kit and supplies to address traumatic injuries
• Greenmont Elementary School - $230 to purchase a refrigerator to store medications
• Kanawha Elementary School - $150 to renovate gym shower rooms for student use
• Parkersburg South High School - $250 to purchase CPR training supplies

In addition to the grants announced above, the Foundation’s Ritchie County, Doddridge County, and Little Kanawha Area Community Foundation affiliates recently announced an additional $8,950 in grants to organizations providing services in Ritchie, Doddridge, Wirt, Calhoun, and Gilmer counties.