Community Foundation of the Mahoning Valley Awards $506K in Q4 Grants

YOUNGSTOWN/WARREN, Ohio – The Community Foundation of the Mahoning Valley and its supporting organizations awarded $506,615 in grants to local nonprofits in the final grant cycle of 2022.

The Community Foundation’s general grant program awarded $179,615 to 20 organizations. The Western Reserve Health Foundation awarded eight grants totaling $65,000 to projects aimed at improving health in Mahoning County, and the Trumbull Memorial Health Foundation awarded five grants for $57,000 to health-focused projects in Trumbull County. The William Swanston Charitable Fund, which focuses on community projects supporting children in the Valley, awarded five grants for $80,000, and the Hospice Trust of Trumbull County awarded two grants totaling $125,000.

“The Community Foundation and its affiliated funds and foundations were able to award more than $2.3 million in grants for all of 2022, a small increase from last year,” said Shari Harrell, president of the foundation. “This money supported projects at 108 organizations. These nonprofits, schools, churches and government agencies cover a wide range of sizes, missions and populations served, but all are aimed at making life better for people in the Valley.”

Here are the fourth-quarter grants that were awarded:

Community Foundation of the Mahoning Valley

• Bethel Church of God in Christ: $2,000 for the bi-weekly Bethel Feeding Program that includes food giveaways and cooking classes.
• Boston Avenue Neighbor Association: $9,000 for maintenance of expansion of the Happy Place Sanctuary at the corner of Firnley and Almyra avenues on Youngstown’s South Side.
• Compass Family and Community Services: $15,000 for the Senior Guardianship Program to protect local seniors from elder abuse. The program currently serves about 170 people.
• Down Syndrome Association of the Valley: $5,000 for health and wellness initiatives.
• God’s Warehouse: $2,000 for food pantry support.
• Heart Reach Neighborhood Ministries: $23,500 for the Super Kids afterschool program.
• Junior Achievement of Eastern Ohio: $5,000 for education programs.
• Lit Youngstown: $8,000 for annual operating support. Programs include the First Wednesday Reader Series, the Writer’s Circle group workshop, Third Saturday Fantasy Book Club and a yearlong intensive poetry workshop.
• MyPath Mahoning Valley: $10,000 for the Gap Year Initiative to support students who don’t enroll in college immediately after graduating high school.
• Northeast Homeowners and Concerned Citizens Association: $5,000 for a year-round youth development and adult job readiness program.
• RePlay for Kids: $7,615 for the Mahoning Valley adapted toy lending library and STEM workshops.
• Sleep in Heavenly Peace: $5,000 to build and deliver beds for children in the Mahoning Valley.
• SWAG Sisters 330: $10,000 for free workshops for Mahoning Valley women of all ages, focusing on self-encouragement, self-empowerment and self-engagement.
• The Youngstown Playhouse: $10,000 for operating support for the 2022-23 season.
• Thrive 10:10: $5,000 for operating support.
• Youngstown Area Jewish Federation: $5,000 for operating support.
• Youngstown Business Incubator: $25,000 to support the XJet 1400 Carmel 3D ceramic printer, an integral part of the Israel-YBI collaborative that brings additive manufacturing companies to the Valley.
• Youngstown Lifeguard Academy: $5,000 for operating support.
• Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corp.: $12,500 to purchase a dump truck for neighborhood cleanup projects.
• Youngstown Symphony Society: $10,000 for operating support for the 2022-23 season.

Hospice Trust of Trumbull County

• Akron Children’s Hospital Mahoning Valley: $25,000 for expressive therapy for patients in palliative care.
• Ohio Living Home Health & Hospice: $100,000 to expand hospice outreach and bereavement services in Trumbull County.

Trumbull Memorial Health Foundation

• American Cancer Society: $12,000 for cancer patient information services in the Mahoning Valley.
• Coleman Health Services: $5,000 to provide services for low-income and unhoused people in Trumbull County.
• Help Network of Northeast Ohio: $5,000 for a navigator to assist families with special needs.
• Planned Parenthood of Greater Ohio: $15,000 for birth control access and education at Warren Health Center.
• Trumbull Neighborhood Partnership: $20,000 for Garden Resources of Warren programming.

Western Reserve Health Foundation

• Coleman Health Services: $10,000 to provide mental health services to students at Youngstown State University.
• Compass Family and Community Services: $10,000 for the Senior Guardianship Program.
• Down Syndrome Association of the Valley: $5,000 for health and wellness initiatives.
• Family and Community Services: $5,000 for the Senior Support Action Group, which has become a permanent program after its implementation in response to the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The program delivers food to low-income homebound seniors and people with disabilities.
• Help Network of Northeast Ohio: $10,000 for a navigator to assist families with special needs.
• Honeycomb Arts and Wellness Collective: $5,000 for health and wellness classes.
• Planned Parenthood of Greater Ohio: $12,500 for birth control access and education at Youngstown Health Center.
• United Way of Youngstown and the Mahoning Valley: $7,500 for the Sight For Kids program.

William Swanston Charitable Fund

• Mayerson Academy: $15,000 to support Volney Rogers Elementary’s implementation of the Thriving Learning Communities education program, created by Mayerson Academy.
• Millcreek Children’s Center: $15,000 for operating support.
• MyPath Mahoning Valley: $15,000 to support the Gap Year Initiative.
• YMCA of Youngstown: $20,000 to support the expansion of the Respect Basketball League to include programming for young men of color between age 11 and 17. The league requires all players to take part in pregame life skills courses and connects players with mentors.
• Youngstown Business Incubator: $15,000 for youth entrepreneurship programming.

Published by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.