« Back
News & Event
The Parkersburg Area Community Foundation & Regional Affiliates (PACF) recently awarded $12,175 in grant support to six area nonprofit organizations serving Lewis County that are providing critical COVID-19 relief services.
Organizations receiving support include:
Funding for these grants was made possible by a gift to the PACF from the statewide philanthropic organization, Philanthropy WV, which raised significant funds for COVID-19 relief through its Take 5 to Give 5 campaign in early May. Additional funding made possible by the Larry D. and Margaret D. Brown Advised Fund, which the PACF administers.
Lewis County leaders have recently been exploring a partnership with the PACF to extend community foundation services to Lewis County. Community foundations play a vital role in building permanent charitable resources to improve communities. In challenging times, like the COVID-19 pandemic, community foundations play a leadership role in securing resources and addressing needs. “We look forward to continuing this conversation in the coming months. The pandemic has shown that it is more important than ever to ensure that our communities join together to ensure that we can meet today’s needs and prepare for tomorrow’s opportunities,” said the PACF’s Executive Director Judy Sjostedt Ritchie.
To date, the PACF has awarded more than $263,000 in COVID-19 emergency funds to help nonprofits continue their services and programs throughout the Foundation’s current eleven-county service area (Calhoun, Doddridge, Gilmer, Jackson, Mason, Pleasants, Ritchie, Roane, Wirt, and Wood counties in West Virginia, and Washington County, Ohio). The opportunity to address COVID-19 needs in Lewis County extends this service to a broader geographic region.
Agencies or individuals with questions about the PACF or the Lewis County COVID-19 relief grant program should contact the PACF at 304-428-4438.
While the Parkersburg Area Community Foundation & Regional Affiliates (PACF) is best known for partnering with local citizens to build permanent long-term charitable funds for the betterment our region, the PACF is also flexible and uniquely positioned to serve as a strong community partner in emergencies. When the Governor’s “Stay at Home” order became effective for West Virginians on March 24, the PACF’s Board of Directors quickly made provisions for its existing Hunger Fund and Safety Net Fund to serve as emergency need funds for COVID-19 relief. Despite low virus infection rates in our region, unemployment soared and the financial future for many area families was suddenly put in jeopardy.
The PACF’s leaders immediately began working with the area’s nonprofit community and other local funding organizations to determine how best to allocate resources among local needs and to raise additional funds to address community concerns. With the PACF’s commitment to grant 100% of the proceeds raised back into the region, generous local citizens and area corporations responded with donations to boost the PACF’s Hunger and Safety Net Funds.
The PACF recently awarded $101,570 in its fourth round of COVID-19 pandemic response grants, bringing the total awarded to date to more than $263,868, a total which includes many PACF Donor Advised Fund grants. Several of the recent grants were awarded through partnership with the Sisters Health Foundation (noted with an *). Agencies that received funding during the PACF’s fourth round of grants include:
The PACF is actively contacting nonprofits to assess COVID-19 impact on their communities and identifying ways to respond to these needs. Agencies seeking assistance should contact the PACF at 304-428-4438 or by email to Marian Clowes.
Donations to support the PACF’s Hunger Fund and Safety Net Fund are tax-deductible. To learn more about these funds and the work that the Foundation is doing to address COVID-19 in our region, visit www.pacfwv.com/COVID19.
Terri Ann (Marshall) Gard was a well-loved Parkersburg native who devoted her life to her family and faith. She enjoyed traveling, going to the beach, volunteering, and spending time with her husband, children, and grandchildren.
Gard retired as an Autism Mentor after working at Wood County Schools for more than fifteen years. She brought to her role at the school many life experiences that helped her to connect and to communicate with her students. Her patience and understanding made her not only a wonderful mother, but an exceptional mentor for youth with autism spectrum disorders.
Terri Ann Gard passed away on May 27, 2019 following a courageous battle with cancer. To honor Gard, her family established the Autism Whispers Fund in Memory of Terri Ann (Marshall) Gard at the Parkersburg Area Community Foundation (PACF) to forever provide financial assistance to programs supporting individuals with autism spectrum disorders in the Foundation’s service area, including programs within the Wood County School system.
“If everyone whose life Terri Ann Gard impacted would make a gift to her memorial fund, it would swiftly reach the point where it could begin making an annual award in her honor for a cause that she deeply cared about,” said PACF’s Development and Communications Officer, Julie Posey.
The fund created by Terri’s husband of more than forty-five years, Tim, and their children, Austin, Lance, and Sierra, is designed to continue her caring legacy and to honor her dedicated service to area youth with autism spectrum disorders.
Individuals who would like to make a tax-deductible donation to support this new fund are encouraged to send a check made payable to the PACF with “Autism Whispers” on the memo line to: PACF, PO Box 1762, Parkersburg, WV 26102. Donations may also be made online. Individuals wishing to learn more about this fund can call the Foundation at 304.428.4438.
Toll Free: 1-866-428-4438 Office: 304-428-4438 Email Us
PO Box 1762 1620 Park Ave.Parkersburg, WV 26102-1762 Directions
Facebook LinkedIn Twitter YouTube