Roanoke Women’s Foundation Announces Grant Recipients

For the ninth year, The Roanoke Women’s Foundation (RWF), a component fund of Foundation for Roanoke Valley,  has announced the recipients of its grant awards, the largest total given to date.

The latest grants, a total of $288,000 awarded at a luncheon held at Roanoke Country Club on November 20th, brings to $1,794,000 the total in grants funded since the organization’s inception in 2004.

“In our ninth year, with 144 members, The Roanoke Women’s Foundation has now contributed close to $1.8 million in total giving to area organizations; a significant achievement during challenging economic times” says Kandy Elliott, co-founder of the RWF.  Elliott and co-founder Ginny Jarrett established the RWF as a way for women in the Roanoke and New River Valleys to pool their philanthropic goals and resources in order to make significant gifts to the community.  

“The growth of The Roanoke Women’s Foundation over the years has been exceptional, and these latest awards continue the tradition that RWF has built of making high-impact, transformative grants,” added Alan Ronk, executive director of Foundation for Roanoke Valley.

RWF has funded 35 organizations and programs since it began.  This year, 36 organizations applied for funding from the RWF.  Through a rigorous grant making process, that number was narrowed to a group that was presented to the membership for their vote.  Based on those results, the following grants were awarded in the 2013 grant cycle: 

Children’s Trust - $75,000 to help child abuse victims find their “forever” homes, either by returning the children to their biological families or becoming adopted.  Funds will be used to expand the role of the Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) program manager in order to serve 50% more children in the program.  CASA volunteers are often the primary, consistent source of support for children.  Without a CASA volunteer, child abuse victims often spend years in the foster care system, moving from one foster home to another.  The Roanoke community ranks high in the state in founded cases of abuse and neglect; the devastating effects on children’s development reverberate in every aspect of their lives. The RWF grant will further build the capacity of Children’s Trust to serve more children in need.

Family Service of Roanoke Valley - $60,000 to fund a technology upgrade to allow the agency to replace its aging computer network in order to be able to implement the requirement for electronic medical records (EHRs).  Currently used software will not be supported after the end of the year and EHR is strongly encouraged for all health care providers (including mental health providers like Family Service). This upgrade was necessary for HIPAA compliance and is expected to increase staff productivity and ultimately strengthen client outcomes. 

Free Clinic of Franklin County and Bernard Healthcare Center - $50,000 to support a move to become a Rural Health Care Center in order to strengthen the safety net and expand its services to the underserved in Franklin County, one of the highest populations of uninsured in the state.  Funds from the RWF will serve as seed money to cover start up costs for an on-site laboratory, medical equipment for additional exam rooms, office equipment and partial salaries for a Physician’s Assistant and office staff to be located in an already funded, new 7500 sq. ft. facility.

Rebuilding Together Roanoke - $60,000 to fund its first full-time staff person who will work to increase the capacity of the organization and ultimately work to further RTR’s impact on the community by serving low-income homeowners in the Roanoke Valley.  RTR works to maintain affordable home ownership while also revitalizing the community. The newly hired Program Administrator will be charged with identifying new funding sources, furthering RTR’s permanent supportive housing program, and establishing new fundraising activities in order to continue the growth of the organization’s operations.  With a multi-year waiting list, the goal is to increase the number of homeowners RTR can serve each year.  In 2012, 93 homeowners were served with more than 80% of those being 65 or older.  

WVTF Public Radio - $43,000 to offset significant funding cuts and to encourage new members to support WVTF, especially from those listeners who have never contributed to WVTF in the past.  Currently, only 13% of WVTF’s active listeners contribute to its work.  Government support has declined by 31% since fiscal year 2011 and corporate underwriting support has been affected by the economic recession.  RWF funds will be used to develop new marketing projects to attract the more than 160,000 unduplicated weekly listeners to WVTF, 89.1.

The Roanoke Women’s Foundation is open to any woman who makes the commitment to support the RWF for at least three years at a level of $2,100 per year.  Members have no other obligation than to fulfill the annual contribution and to participate in the voting process determining the recipients of the pooled fund grants.  For more information, visit www.roanokewomensfoundation.org or Foundation for Roanoke Valley’s website www.foundationforroanokevalley.org.   Foundation for Roanoke Valley, the region’s community foundation, currently administers over 260 named endowment funds on behalf of the community.

L to R:  Glenn Gleixner and Cindy Gray with WVTF Public Radio; Ed Murray and Kendall Cloeter with Rebuilding Together Roanoke; Janice Dinkins-Davidson and Nancy Fralin with Children’s Trust Roanoke Valley; Alise Culbertson and Rhonda Rousch with Free Clinic of Franklin County; and (seated) Jenny Lee and Sharon Thacker with Family Service of Roanoke Valley

Foundation for Roanoke Valley Celebrates 25 Years with Operation Surprise 25

Twenty five years ago, in August 1988, a group of civic leaders established Foundation for Roanoke Valley, the area’s community foundation.  Community foundations had been bringing benefits to hundreds of other communities across the country since 1914, and these folks felt that it was time for the Roanoke Valley to enjoy those same benefits. 

Growth of the new foundation was slow for awhile, but after a donor established the first endowment fund in 1991, others began to create their own permanent charitable legacies.  Over the years, dozens, then hundreds of individuals, corporations and non-profits created endowments. Today, two-and-a-half decades later, Foundation for Roanoke Valley holds and administers 260 named endowments, ranging in size from $10,000 to millions of dollars. Total current assets exceed $55 million, with an additional $70 million committed through future estate gifts.  Annually, the Foundation awards approximately $3 million in grants to hundreds of worthwhile organizations, and cumulative grants to the community since inception exceed $30 million.

As part of the Foundation’s Silver Anniversary celebration, it is carrying out “Operation Surprise 25.” This special grants program began on October 21 and appropriately culminates on the 25^th of October.  Foundation staff bearing balloons, party horns and a large facsimile check have been surprising worthy organizations with unrestricted $1,000 grants.  Foundation Board Members were responsible for nominating organizations and out of that pool of nominees 25 were selected at random by the Foundation’s Community Programming Committee.  The grant funds have been made possible by a generous anonymous donor.

Photos from the surprise presentations have been posted to Foundation for Roanoke Valley’s Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/foundationforroanokevalley).  The organizations receiving grants are:  Angels of Assisi, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Southwest Virginia, Project Access of the Roanoke Valley, Inc., Straight Street, Roanoke Valley Golf Hall of Fame(Holliday Scholarship), Historical Society of Western Virginia, Voice of the Blue Ridge, Inc., Bethany Hall, Inc., Boys & Girls Clubs of Southwest Virginia, Blue Ridge Zoological Society of Virginia, Roanoke Valley Governor's School Foundation, Bradley Free Clinic, Pathfinders for Greenways, March of Dimes Foundation, Unbridled Change, West End Center, Roanoke County Public Schools Education Foundation, Inc., Feeding America Southwest Virginia, Salem Museum and Historical Society, Cultural Arts For Excellence (CAFE), Community Outreach Program, Western Virginia Foundation for the Arts and Sciences (CITS), Science Museum of Western Virginia, Roanoke Symphony Orchestra, and Roanoke Children’s Theatre.  

Foundation for Roanoke Valley Awards $24,911 in grants from its Larry Woodrow Vest Fund to Local Non-Profits

Foundation for Roanoke Valley has awarded $24,911 to non-profit organizations through its Larry Woodrow Vest Fund. The Fund supports a wide range of community needs and focuses on charitable organizations providing services to Floyd County residents.

Children’s Trust Foundation Roanoke Valley was awarded $6,263 to allow a Coordinator/Forensic Interviewer to develop and train a multidisciplinary team (MDT) in Floyd to provide a coordinated first response to child abuse.  Floyd Community Center for the Arts was awarded $6,498 to support its Studio Enhancement Project. 

The June Bug Center was awarded $5,400 to support its After School Enrichment Program.  Rebuilding Together was awarded $3,500 to support a pilot program in Floyd County to repair homes and make them safe, healthy, and energy efficient.  Virginia Cooperative Extension was awarded $3,250 to support its Master Volunteer Program in Floyd County.

Foundation for Roanoke Valley, the region’s community foundation, currently administers over 260 named endowment funds on behalf of the community and works diligently to help local individuals and families establish permanent charitable legacies that will touch the community now and for generations to come.  For more information, visit Foundation for Roanoke Valley’s website at www.foundationforroanokevalley.org or call 540-985-0204.

Foundation for Roanoke Valley Awards Major Construction Grant to Apple Ridge Farm

Foundation for Roanoke Valley announced today it has awarded $55,000 to Apple Ridge Farm to underwrite a new 30’ x 60’ outdoor classroom pavilion.  The grant comes from the Foundation’s Jacqueline S. (Jackie) and Shelborn L. (S.L.) Spangler Fund, which was established in 2006 through the estate of S. L. Spangler.  The purpose of this endowment fund is to address a wide variety of important needs and opportunities in the communities along the Route 221 south corridor, generally falling between Cotton Hill Road and Check, Virginia.  This designation reflects where the Spanglers lived during the course of their lifetimes.

 
“The Foundation’s grant to support the construction of this beautiful facility in the Spangler’s memory will benefit our organization for years to come. We are so appreciative that Foundation for Roanoke Valley continues to provide Apple Ridge Farm with outstanding support to further our mission of ‘Helping Kids Grow’.  The Spangler Pavilion is a timber frame pavilion constructed from 6,582 board feet of Eastern White Pine cut from logs harvested on Apple Ridge’s property. The pavilion design is a hybrid timber frame structure utilizing traditional timber framing construction for the most visible parts of the building and conventional construction for the rest.  Instead of using metal hardware to connect the timbers, the Spangler Pavilion was constructed using precise mortise and tenon joinery, which was secured with wooden pegs,” said Peter Lewis, President of Apple Ridge Farm.

 “Apple Ridge Farm has been providing educational resources to underserved children for decades, and the Foundation is thrilled to support Apple Ridge in this next step of creating an outdoor learning environment for its students,” noted Alan Ronk, the Foundation’s Executive Director.

The pavilion will also be utilized by the general public during periods when the camp is not in use.  For more information, please call Apple Ridge Farm at 540.982.1332.

Foundation for Roanoke Valley is the community foundation serving this region.  The Foundation has worked for 25 years to administer and make grants from hundreds of named endowment funds on behalf of the community.  For more information, visit Foundation for Roanoke Valley’s website at www.foundationforroanokevalley.org or call 985-0204.

                                        

Foundation for Roanoke Valley Awards Grants to Local Nonprofits from Doran Fund

Foundation for Roanoke Valley announced today it has awarded more than $47,000 to local nonprofits from the Foundation's Earl D. and Carrie Leigh Doran Fund.  The Doran Fund, established through the estate of local barber Earl Doran, has a number of purposed, including supporting agencies that help individuals and families confronting catastrophic, life-altering circumstances and to agencies that provide support to battered woman.

 

Brain Injury Services of Southwest Virginia was awarded a grant of $25,000 to expand its life skills training program for brain injury survivors.  According to the Centers for Disease Control, at least 18,000 individuals living with long-term effects from brain injury reside in BISSWVA’s service area. Over the last decade, medical technology coupled with improved service delivery has increased the national brain injury survival rate.  Mae Johnson, Director of Development and Marketing, noted, “With this grant, we will now be able to provide more brain injury survivors with individualized, intensive training sessions designed to enhance the quality of life and improve independent life skills.  We are honored and grateful to receive this grant.”

Children's Miracle Network was awarded a grant of $10,000 to support a "Good Samaritan Fund" to offer assistance to patients and families with expenses such as gas, food vouchers, and hotel accomodations.  "Children's Miracle Network Hospitals, support Carilion Clinic Children's Hospital, is beyond grateful to accept this gift from the Earl D. and Carrie Leigh Doran Fund.  This money will help east the difficult conditions that unexpected hospitalizations can create." adds Erin Hildreth, Executive Director of Children's Miracle Network.

 

The ALS Assocation, Inc. was awarded a grant of $7,830 to purchase durable medical equipment for its loan closet located in Roanoke, VA.  ALS is a progressive and fatal neuromuscular disease that causes the progressive loss of voluntary muscle control.  Most health insurance plans do not cover that necessary equipment and services needed to allow ALS patients to maintain a confortable quality of life and few resources are available to help those diagnosed with ALS and patients depend on our help.  "With the cost of care and medical equipment for a person living with ALS topping $250,000 a year, the free care services our Chapter provides are crucial," says Judy Taylor, Interim Executive Director, "One of the most important services for the Roanoke area is our free medical equipment loan closet which can help to make daily tasks easier and keep these individuals independent."

 

Sexual Assault Response and Awareness, Inc. was awarded a grant of $5,000 to provide care and assistance to battered women.  SARA, Inc. is the sexual assault crisis center for the Roanoke Valley and provides 24-hour crisis intervention, emotional support and advocacy to victims as they negotiate the medical and legal systems after experiencing the trauma of sexual violence. SARA provides free, on-going counseling as victims rebuild and move forward with their lives. “The grant award from the Doran Fund will enable SARA, Inc. to continue to provide services to victims of sexual violence and abuse through our 24-hour crisis hotline and will allow us to revamp and revitalize our volunteer programming and in the long run, strengthen our volunteer corps. 

Foundation for Roanoke Valley is the community foundation serving this region.  The Foundation has worked for more than two decades to administer and make grants from hundreds of named endowment funds on behalf of the community.  For more information, visit Foundation for Roanoke Valley’s website at www.foundationforroanokevalley.org or call 985-0204.

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Foundation for Roanoke Valley announced today it has awarded $60,000 in grants to four organizations under its new three-year, $300,000 Arts & Culture Initiative.  This initiative, funded through the Foundation's Community Catalyst Funds, has two distinct focus areas.  "Educate. Inspire. Create." is designed to significantly enrich the arts and cultural experiences of preK-12 students of public and private schools within the cities of Roanoke and Salem and the counties of Botetourt, Craig, Franklin, and Roanoke.  Artist-in-residence or master class programs, the purchase of innovative technology, and in-school performances built around a specific educational topic and conducted by local arts and cultural non-profits are all parts of this effort.  "Arts at Work” will provide grants to carefully selected Roanoke Valley arts and culture projects that have an important and identifiable economic development component, strongly contribute to the overall vibrancy of the community, and which otherwise might not be possible. The production of public art work, the production of community-wide arts and cultural events and performances and bringing major arts and cultural exhibits to the Valley will be funded by the community foundation under this portion of the initiative.

The following grants are the first awards from “Educate. Inspire. Create.”  Jefferson Center Foundation receives $30,000 to support an interactive Song Project.  This project will focus on expression, literacy, self-esteem, collaboration and cultural awareness, as artists lead local students through the process of songwriting, from brainstorming to writing lyrics, creating musical accompaniment, performing and recording.  Roanoke Children’s Theatre receives $11,500 to support the “Making History LIVE! Jamestown!” program.  The program targets 4^th grade students in all Roanoke City and County elementary schools and will introduce students to theatre and the production process.  The students will rehearse, create, design, and perform a play based on the history of Jamestown. Craig County Public Schools receives $9,425 for Craig County High School’s Art Department to purchase new, innovative technology in order to encourage students to pursue graphic design studies. Boys and Girls Clubs of Southwest Virginia receives $9,075 to support its ImageMakers program.  ImageMakers encourages Club members to learn and practice black-and-white, color, digital and alternative process photography, it exposes the youth to cutting-edge technology curriculum and provides opportunities to showcase their artistic talents, and it enables them to express and develop their creativity with still-images and videos.

“This award allows Music Lab at Jefferson Center to expand its impact on young people in our region through the power of song,” says Dylan Locke, Artistic Director at Jefferson Center. “The Foundation’s generous support means we can take the Song Project into four Roanoke area schools. The exciting new program provides elementary age students the guidance and drive to find their voice through a collaborative song writing process with professional musicians and instructors. Each Song Project culminates with a full, professionally recorded album to showcase the talents of our area students and highlight what they have learned throughout the artistic process, and the CDs can be sold to support the school.”   

Jon Murrill, Art Educator at Craig County High School, noted "Our goal as art educators is to inspire our students to become successful and enjoy careers they are passionate about. This grant provides our students with wonderful new technology that will allow them to access that first step in the ladder to a successful career, potentially in graphic design."

Amanda Mansfield, Director of Development for Roanoke Children’s Theatre, said “This grant reaches to the core of our mission, which is to creatively educate and inspire young people.  It is everything we do, every day.  We can't tell you how much it will mean to us to be able to share our spark with every 4th grader in Roanoke City and Roanoke County Schools!” 

Kayla Hastrup, Development Associate with the Boys and Girls Clubs of Southwest Virginia, added “We are thrilled to be the recipient of this grant. Through our ImageMakers photography program we will actively engage Club members in innovative, nontraditional arts experiences that will advance their academic success through technology and demonstrate their creative awareness through varies art platforms.  This is a fabulous opportunity for our kids; one that will provide lifelong learning, as well as joyful memories."

 Applications for the Foundation’s Arts at Work will be available online at www.foundationforroanokevalley.org beginning August 1^st. 

Foundation for Roanoke Valley, the community foundation serving this region, has worked for 25 years to administer and make grants from hundreds of named endowment funds to benefit the community.  For information, visit Foundation for Roanoke Valley’s website at www.foundationforroanokevalley.org or call 985-0204.

 

Pictured L to R:  Alan Ronk, Executive Director at Foundation for Roanoke Valley; Kayla Hastrup, Grant Write & Development Associate at Boys and Girls Clubs of Southwest Virginia; Dylan Locke, Artistic Director at Jefferson Center; Pat Wilhelms, Executive Director at Roanoke Children’s Theatre; Jon Murrill, Art Educator at Craig County High School; Amanda Mansfield, Director of Development at Roanoke Children’s Theatre.

Foundation for Roanoke Valley Awards $12,830 Grant to Floyd County Volunteer Fire Department

Foundation for Roanoke Valley announced today that it has awarded a $12,830 grant to the Floyd County Volunteer Fire Department Station 3 for the purchase of a state-of-the-art Thermal Imaging Camera and a Positive Pressure Fan.  The grant comes from the Foundation’s Jacqueline S. (Jackie) and Shelborn L. (S.L.) Spangler Fund.

Chief Ricky Thompson noted: “These two pieces of equipment are going to be a great asset to our Department and will help us better serve the community of Check and the county as a whole.  The camera is a great tool for locating fire or hot spots inside a wall or ceiling, thus helping to minimize damage to the structure.”  Chief Thompson also indicated that the camera is valuable in the event of a vehicle accident at night so that responders can assess whether a victim may have been ejected and then determine the exact location of that person.  The fan will help the Fire Department in extricating the smoke in a structure fire, as well as playing a role in locating any other fire that may be present in an attic or ceiling.

Alan Ronk, the Foundation’s executive director, said in making the announcement:  “We are thrilled to be in a position to make this grant from the Spangler Fund.  The Fund, which was established in 2006 through the estate of S. L. Spangler, addresses a wide variety of important needs and opportunities in the communities along the Route 221 south corridor, generally falling between Cotton Hill Road and Check, Virginia.  This designation reflects where the Spanglers lived during the course of their lifetimes, and because of their generosity and concern for others, more than $170,000 in grants have already been awarded in these communities.”

Foundation for Roanoke Valley is the community foundation serving this region.  The Foundation has worked for more than two decades to administer and make grants from hundreds of named endowment funds on behalf of the community.  For more information, visit Foundation for Roanoke Valley’s website at www.foundationforroanokevalley.org.