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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:

• Boys and Girls Club of Parkersburg  -  $6,750 for operating support to address revenue loss and to assist with re-opening of summer programs for children and youth.*
• Calvary United Methodist Church  -  $1,000 to purchase food to stock their food pantry, awarded in partnership with Star Plastics.
• Camden Clark Medical Center  -  $5,000 to help purchase a Xenex Ultra-Violet disinfection system.
• Children's Home Society of Parkersburg  -  $7,500 of operating support to address increased demand for services and loss of fundraising revenue for their programs that address child welfare (foster care, adoption and emergency shelter services).  *
• Circles Campaign of the Mid-Ohio Valley, Inc.  -  $5,000 for operating support to address fundraising event revenue loss and to ensure the continuation of programs designed to help families transition out of poverty and $700 to provide food assistance to families in need. *
• Colonial House  -  $1,000 to purchase tablets to enable seniors to access information and communicate with families and to purchase art therapy supplies.
• Community Resources  -  $10,000 to support program to provide rent and mortgage assistance to individuals impacted by COVID-19.  *
• Epworth United Methodist Church  -  $700 to support its food pantry, awarded in partnership with Star Plastics.
• Habitat for Humanity of the Mid-Ohio Valley  - $7,500 of operating support to continue its work of providing safe housing and address revenue loss due to temporary closure of its ReStore.  *
• No Hunger Food Pantry  -  $1,700 for food pantry support awarded in partnership with the Star Plastics.
• Normantown Historical Community Center - $500 to stock its Gilmer County food pantry to meet increased demand.
• Racine United Methodist Church  -  $200 to aid its food pantry, awarded in partnership with Star Plastics.
• Recovery Point  -  $4,200 to assist with increased costs of hygiene products and cleaning services due to COVID-19.  *
• Roane County Committee on Aging Inc.  -  $3,420 for operating support to sustain satellite centers in Reedy and Amma, WV. *
• Rural Action  -  $2,500 to support social enterprises and local businesses as they re-start and/or adapt to safe operations due to COVID-19 impact. 
• Salvation Army of Washington County  -  $200 to its food pantry, awarded in partnership with Star Plastics.
• SW Resources  -  $7,500 of operating support to continue vocational rehabilitation and employment services to individuals with disabilities, meet increased demand for cleaning services, and address revenue loss.  *
• The Council of Senior Citizens of Gilmer County, Inc.   -  $7,500 in operating support to address increased demand for home meal deliveries and loss of revenue from canceled fundraising events.
• The Salvation Army of Parkersburg  -  $5,000 of operating support to address basic needs (food and shelter), provide emergency aid and address revenue loss from the temporary closing of the Family Store.  *
• Voices of Children - CASA  -  $4,000 of operating support to address increased demand for services for children who have been removed from their homes due to abuse and neglect.  *
• Westbrook  -  $10,000 to purchase of Naloxone to be distributed to regional Quick Response Teams and via Westbrook's Peer Expansion Program to address the increase in overdoses during the COVID 19 pandemic.  *
• Williamstown Welfare League  -  $200 to stock its food pantry, awarded in partnership with Star Plastics.
• Wirt County Committee on Aging & Family Services  -  $2,500 in operating support for senior nutrition programs.  *
• Wirt County Ministerial Alliance  -  $2,000 to purchase food for the Hope Shop Food Pantry to meet increased demand.
• Wood County Society  -  $5,000 in operating support to address loss of revenue and support the reopening of services for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities.  *

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.

The Parkersburg Area Community Foundation & Regional Affiliates (PACF) recently announced that it awarded $173,500 in grant support to area nonprofits through its competitive Community Action Grants Program. These grants are in addition to the approximately $115,000 that the PACF has awarded to date in response to the COVID 19 pandemic and its impact on 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 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.

• Actors Guild of Parkersburg - $5,000 in operating support to address revenue loss from cancellation of performances.
  
• Adolescent Health Initiative, Region V - $8,800 to support programs to engage students in developing leadership skills.
  
• Cairo Volunteer Fire Department - $5,000 to upgrade personal protective equipment for firefighters.
  
•  Clover Public Service District - $8,500 to provide water to residents in Roane County by installing a water filling station.
• Coplin Health Systems – $4,500 to expand its “Farmacy” program to provide fresh fruits and vegetable to clients at the clinic site in Elizabeth, WV.
•  Doddridge County Humane Society - $1,000 to assist with a new outdoor cat enclosure.
•  Family Crisis Intervention Center of Region V, Inc. - $9,000 to assist the agency in becoming a recognized Rape Crisis Center.
•  Fourth Circuit Public Defender Corporation - $5,500 to provide transportation to clients with substance use disorder to and from treatment facilities.
•  Harrisville Woman’s Club - $3,200 to purchase a new commercial stove.
•  Harrisville Volunteer Fire Department - $2,000 to purchase turnout gear and equipment.
•  Humane Society of Parkersburg - $5,000 to purchase commercial laundry equipment for the shelter expansion.
•  Lubeck United Methodist Church - $7,000 to support the Lunch SAK program, which provides food to students at Lubeck Elementary School and Blennerhassett Elementary and Middle Schools.
•  Make-A-Wish Foundation of Greater Pennsylvania and West Virginia - $1,000 to support a wish experience for a West Virginia child.
•  National Church Residences Transportation Services - $5,000 to provide transportation support for individuals with substance use disorder in Wood County, WV.
•  Parkersburg High School/Wood County Health Services - $12,500 to renovate space at the high school annex to create a school-based health center in partnership with Coplin Health Services.
•  Ritchie County Integrated Family Services - $4,000 to replace the roof on the agency’s business office.
•  SW Resources - $12,000 to start a substance use disorder transitional employment and training program for individuals in recovery programs.
•  The Arc of the Mid-Ohio Valley - $15,000 to support the new Community Outreach Coordinator position to support students and parents with Individualized Education Plans.
•  The Children’s Listening Place - $7,500 to assist with outfitting a mobile unit to provide child-friendly forensic interviews for children in rural counties.
•  The iBelieve Foundation - $1,000 to provide online summer workshop experiences for area youth.
•  United Way of the Mid-Ohio Valley - $8,500 to add an executive coaching arm to the existing Striving Towards Excellent Programming (STEP) program to build capacity among the area’s nonprofit community.
•  Waverly Volunteer Fire Company - $3,000 to purchase additional protective gear for firefighters.
•  West Virginia University Extension Family Nutrition Program - $8,000 to increase the consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables for Wood County students.
•  Williamstown Elementary School PTA - $3,000 to support the purchase of t-shirts to promote unification between Williamstown and Waverly families.
•  Wood County 4-H Camp - $4,250 to support capital improvements at the camp.
•  Wood County Christian School - $2,000 to offer summer camp opportunities to students in the community.
•  Wood County Schools, Office of Early Learning - $14,750 to bring Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library to Wood County, providing books monthly to children from birth to age five.

Doddridge County Community Foundation, a regional affiliate of the PACF, spring 2020 grants:

•  Doddridge County Parks and Recreation Commission - $1,500 to support the pool renovation project.
•  Nazareth Farm – $1,500 to support the home repair loan program for Doddridge County residents and to purchase tools and a work vehicle to transport materials and equipment to work sites.

Ritchie County Community Foundation, a regional affiliate of the PACF, spring 2020 grants:

•  Ritchie County High School Band - $2,700 to purchase instruments and equipment.
•  Harrisville Woman’s Club - $1,800 to purchase a new commercial stove.

The Parkersburg Area Community Foundation and Regional Affiliates (PACF) works with individuals, families, businesses, and civic or nonprofit organizations to make a positive and permanent commitment for the future of our community.  The PACF is a single 501(c)(3) public charity.  The PACF works in partnership with its local affiliates to provide leadership and develop philanthropic resources to meet the needs of an 11-county service area.  Since 1963, the PACF has helped local citizens support charitable needs and touch every aspect of life in the community in a variety of lasting ways.  For more information about the PACF, visit www.pacfwv.com or call 304-428-4438.

The Parkersburg Area Community Foundation & Regional Affiliates (PACF) has awarded $38,150 in the third round of its COVID-19 pandemic response grants, bringing the total awarded to date to $115,026.  With these most recent grants, the Foundation is providing funding for the purchase of much-needed supplies and support for seven area organizations.

“As the pandemic continues and unemployment increases, we continue to work to help area agencies that are providing critical direct relief services to those impacted by COVID-19,” said Marian Clowes, PACF’s Associate Director for Community Leadership. “Support for our Hunger and Safety Net Funds has enabled the PACF to respond quickly to provide assistance to these agencies, who are on the front line every day helping members of our communities.”

Agencies that received funding during the PACF’s third round of grants include:

• Normantown Historical Community Center - $1,000 to help stock food pantry.
•  Community Resources, Inc. - $2,000 to support food pantries in Doddridge and Roane counties.
• Wirt County Ministerial Alliance - $2,000 to help stock the Hope Shop Food Pantry.
• Community Resources - $16,300 to support the collaborative Individual Emergency Aid Program to provide rent and mortgage assistance to individuals impacted by COVID-19.
• Consumer Credit Counseling Services - $1,000 to support start-up costs for the collaborative Individual Emergency Aid Program to provide rent and mortgage assistance to individuals impacted by COVID-19.
• Mid-Ohio Valley Fellowship Home - $10,000 to support increased operating costs and address revenue loss to ensure that residents can remain safe and in recovery.
• Parkersburg YMCA - $4,250 to support operating costs for provision of essential services, including child- care (from the Ray L. and Mabel S. Vannoy Youth Recreation Fund)
• Ritchie County Family Resource Network - $600 to purchase supplies to make masks for distribution to nonprofit agencies in Ritchie County.
• The Gathering - $1,000 to purchase food for home delivery food boxes

The PACF is actively contacting regional nonprofits to assess COVID-19 impact on their clients and communities and identifying ways to respond to the needs.  Agencies seeking assistance should contact the PACF at 304-428-4438 or by email to marian.clowes@pacfwv.com.

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.