Community Foundation Distributes $540K to Nonprofits

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio — The Community Foundation of the Mahoning Valley has awarded $540,200 in grants and distributions for the second half of 2016.

The funds include $84,500 in grants to 17 nonprofit organizations in Mahoning and Trumbull counties that made requests to the philanthropic funds the foundation manages. The remaining $455,700 was distributed by fund advisers apart from the grant process.

The largest grant is $35,000 for Hospice of the Valley to expand a service it provides under a Medicare program that pays for both hospice and curative care for qualifying beneficiaries. The care is designed to keep patients in their homes, reduce hospitalizations and ensure coordinated care. These funds were provided by the Hospice Trust of Trumbull County.

The foundation also announced these grants from one or more of the funds it manages

• $5,000 to the Warren Symphony Society to provide approximately 2,500 Trumbull County students to attend two symphony orchestra concerts and learn about the instruments (via the Ralph E. and Esther K. Meacham Memorial Fund and the Kennedy Family Fund).
• $5,000 to the Salvation Army’s emergency services, including a food pantry, daily hot meal service and financial assistance with utilities and other emergency expenses for qualifying Youngstown-area residents (Kennedy Family Fund).
• $5,000 to the YWCA of Warren for a leadership program for 22 high school girls. Themes and topics include being a girl, trusting yourself, friendships, body image, goals, sexuality, drugs, alcohol, tobacco, competition and decision-making (Kennedy Family Fund).
• $5,000 to the Children’s Rehabilitation Center in Howland for updated scheduling software for 10 therapists who serve more than 1,000 children. Leaders expect the new solution to improve communication and service to clients and parents (First Place Community Fund and Kennedy Family Fund).
• $4,000 to Basement Outreach Ministries in Warren for a weekly meal and food delivery service it provides to disadvantaged individuals. The Tuesday Night Family Meal and food distribution program are provided when other agencies are closed (Kennedy Family Fund).
• $3,500 to Big Brothers-Big Sisters of Mahoning Valley Inc. to support the mentoring program it provides students in the Lordstown, Niles, McDonald, Mooney, Summit Academy and Warren schools (First Place Community Fund and Kennedy Family Fund).
• $2,500 to the Butler Institute of American Art for arts education programs in local schools. Museum staff and docents lead sessions, with trips to the Butler to illustrate topics using masterpieces from the permanent collection (First Place Community Fund).
• $2,500 to the Creative Bridge Coalition for twice-weekly music-based classes for students with special needs at The Fairhaven School, Youngstown City Schools and the Leonard Kirtz school (Kennedy Family Fund).
• $2,500 to Making Kids Count Inc. for “comfort kits” of toys, books, school supplies and other items for children and teens entering the foster care system in Trumbull County. The kits help children relax and focus on adapting (VEC Community Fund and Kennedy Family Fund).
• $2,500 for Opera Western Reserve to support the November 2016 production of Carmen at Stambaugh Auditorium in Youngstown (Ralph E. and Esther K. Meacham Memorial Fund).
• $2,500 to Students Motivated by the Arts, a community arts school, to support a lease and renovations at its new location in the Ohio One Building in downtown Youngstown. The new space includes a large room of nearly 5,000 square feet and 16 classrooms and workspaces (Kennedy Family Fund).
• $2,500 to Youngstown Cityscape to develop a self-guided historical tour of sites throughout downtown Youngstown, in partnership with the Mahoning Valley Historical Society. The project would add display boards, with QR (quick response) codes that link online to additional information, to the historical markers set up downtown in 2015 (Kennedy Family Fund).
• $2,500 to Homes For Kids Of Ohio for additional behavior health and case management services at the Royal Mall, a low-income housing center in Niles. The grant also provides for meals at program meetings (Kennedy Family Fund).
• $2,500 to the Youngstown Urban Minority Alcoholism & Drug Abuse Outreach Program for an after school program at Williamson Elementary. The program includes academic assistance, help with homework and parent engagement and was credited with improved reading and math grades for those who participated in 2015 (Kennedy Family Fund).
• $1,000 to Oak Hill Collaborative in Youngstown to distribute credit card-sized Raspberry Pi computers to students for building technology skills. The devices plug into a television screen and keyboard to provide word-processing, internet browsing and other capabilities of a personal computer (E. Jeffrey & Carol A. Rossi Family Fund).
• $1,000 to the Youngstown Business Incubator to educate students in Mahoning and Trumbull county high schools about 3D printing. Students learn the basics of 3D printing and 3D modeling and how to launch a technology startup (First Place Community Fund).

The beneficiaries of the $455,700 in distributions are listed below:

• Akron Children’s Hospital Mahoning Valley
• American Cancer Society of Cleveland
• Angels for Animals, Inc.
• Animal Welfare League of Trumbull County
• Awana Clubs International
• Beatitude House
• Blessed Sacrament Parish
• Boardman Booster Club
• Boardman Township Park
• Catholic University of America
• Children’s Rehabilitation Center
• Diabetes Partnership of the Mahoning Valley
• Fund for Our Economic Future
• Greater Western Reserve Council, BSA
• Interfaith Home Maintenance Service, Inc.
• John F. Kennedy High School
• Junior League of Youngstown, Inc.
• Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, Inc
• Mahoning County Bar Association Foundation
• Mahoning Valley Historical Society
• Mahoning Valley Sojourn to the Past
• Making Kids Count
• Mercy Health Development Foundation
• Midlothian Free Health Clinic
• Mill Creek MetroParks Foundation
• Northeast Ohio Adoption Services
• Ohio State University Athletic Department
• Park Vista Retirement Community
• Penguin Club
• Poland Township
• Springfield Township Fire Department
• Students Motivated By the Arts
• Ursuline Sisters of Youngstown
• Valley Counseling Services, Inc.
• Walsh University
• Warren G. Harding High School
• Warren Philharmonic Orchestra
• Westminster College
• Yellow Brick Place
• Youngstown Business Incubator
• Youngstown City School District
• Youngstown/Mahoning Valley United Way

The foundation and its affiliates hold more than $56 million in assets and distributed more than $2 million to local programs and organizations during its most recent fiscal year.

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