YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – Donors and supporters of the Community Foundation of the Mahoning Valley’s Fund for Women & Girls recently heard presentations from three local nonprofits and awarded the annual Impact Builder Grants to organizations that work with young women in the Valley.
As a community-led fund, supporters of the Fund for Women & Girls have a say in how grants – this year totaling $2,900 – are awarded.
After hearing presentations from three finalists last week, the roughly 25 supporters in attendance cast their votes and selected Black House Farmz as the winner of the $1,400 grand prize for its youth community gardening program. The program will help set up a community garden, give children seeds and equipment to start small gardens at home and run a series of workshops and community events over the next year and a half.
The second-place prize was awarded to the Girls on the Run East Central Ohio chapter, which will expand coach training for its cross-country running programs in Mahoning County. Part of a nationwide program, Girls on the Run uses running and outdoor activities as an entry point to help teenage girls with self-esteem, conflict resolution and teamwork skills.
Liberty Leopard Sports Hall of Fame was awarded the third-place prize. It will use the funding to support team-building and communication skills for its girls basketball teams.
“An important thread we saw between this year’s Impact Builder Grant finalists was that big change always starts somewhere small. Whether it’s one garden plot in Youngstown or building positive communication skills with teammates, those activities set the stage for bigger changes in communities,” said Mae Medore, staff liaison for the Fund for Women & Girls. “It’s always wonderful to see Fund for Women & Girls supporters engaging with the finalists and getting to know them beyond just their five-minute presentation, and this year was no different.”
During the event, Anika Jacobs, the grand prize winner of the 2024 Impact Builder Grant, spoke about the impact the funding had on Promise Community Hub’s Youngstown Summer Experience summer camp. Among the highlights, she said, was helping children get certified in useful skills such as CPR, ServSafe and child care.
For more information about the Fund for Women & Girls or to make a donation, click HERE.
Pictured at top: From left are Elaine Jacobs of Liberty Leopard Sports Hall of Fame, Ashlee Taylor of Black House Farmz and Brian Ohm of the Girls on the Run East Central Ohio chapter.