Celebrating its eleventh year,
The Roanoke Women’s Foundation (RWF), a 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 $306,000
awarded at a luncheon held at The Shenandoah Club on November 12, 2015, brings
to $2,402,000 the total in grants funded since the organization’s inception in
2004.
“We are excited to once again be
able to support our community with impactful grants to worthy non-profit organizations. With 153 members, our highest to date, we are
able to provide important funding to organizations within the Roanoke Valley
and surrounding areas. We commend all of
those organizations who participated in our rigorous grant making process this
year,” says Roanoke Women’s Foundation co-founder, Kandy Elliott. Elliott and co-founder Ginny Jarrett
established the RWF as a way for women in the Roanoke and surrounding
communities to share their philanthropic goals and pool their resources in
order to make significant gifts to the community.
“We continue to be impressed with
the work of The Roanoke Women’s Foundation and are excited this year’s
recipients represent each of its areas of support: Arts and Culture, Health and
Human Resources, Education and Environment.
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.
This year, 47 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 2015 grant cycle:
Turning Point (Salvation Army)
- $90,000 to fund a substantial renovation of the residential shelter space
to create a more comfortable, better functioning environment conducive to the
therapeutic needs of the women and children who turn to the shelter in
situations of desperate need. The building that houses Turning Point was not
constructed for its current purpose and has significant shortcomings. Closet, storage, and laundry space are
minimal for clients who are attempting to bring as many personal belongings as
they can hope to retain. While some
furnishings have been replaced, more serviceable furniture still needs to be
added. The Turning Point serves more
than 260 adults and children annually in its lodging, and processes more than
500 calls annually to its crisis hotline.
It is the only secure, confidential shelter in the Roanoke region for
female victims of domestic violence. The
Turning Point has a three-decade history of providing safe support for women
and their children dealing with threat in an abusive home. This capital improvement
project can only enhance their effectiveness, efficiency, and concentration on
the primary job they do in providing safety and counsel to women in extreme
crisis.
CHIP (Child Health Investment
Partnership) of Roanoke Valley - $66,000 to fund the salary for a new
Master’s or Ph.D. level Research Associate for one year to compile and evaluate
data to present a federal Evidence-Based Assessment application. By gaining this certification, CHIP will be
able to increase their caseload from the 1,000 children currently being served
to 6,000 others who have already been identified as needing CHIP’s
services. In addition, the certification
would enable CHIP’s proven operating standards to be adopted by other
non-profit organizations also seeking federal funding. Approval of this application will qualify
CHIP for numerous federal funding opportunities currently unavailable to them. CHIP is an early childhood home healthcare
visitation program for low-income children from birth to kindergarten.
Family Promise of Greater
Roanoke - $50,000 to fund a pilot project for a new “Housing Stability
Program” to help homeless families find and maintain long-term affordable
housing once they exit their temporary housing facilities. Family Promise uniquely serves only families
with children, unlike any other homeless shelter in the Valley. In addition to the shelter provided, families
use their facilities while they look to find work, transportation, permanent
housing, and stabilizing routines. No
other shelter in the Valley provides a space throughout the day which can serve
as a base while families try to get back on their feet. This pilot program would require a case
manager to find housing and jobs, as well as perform daily and weekly site
visits. The primary goals of the
program are to create positive relationships with quality landlords, provide an
all-encompassing aftercare program, including intensive case management, and to
assist families with developing a support system.
PLENTY! - $40,000 to efficiently
expand the Floyd County farm operation that is nourishing its community by
growing food for and with hungry neighbors.
The organization was started to address a problem endemic to many rural
places where people cannot afford or access healthy food. Funds from The Roanoke Women’s Foundation will
provide for the installation of a drip irrigation system to pump river water to
a holding tank for gravity fed release to farm plots. The current overhead sprayer system is
inefficient. Floyd County has 15,000
residents, and an estimated 2,000 need assistance. PLENTY! transports food through its Portable
Produce routes to area homes. They serve 1,000 meals at weekly Community Lunch
gatherings, stock the food pantry at a Hispanic church in the area, and support
the community through farm plots with water and tools.
Roanoke Children’s Theatre -
$30,000 – to provide funds to support and expand free access (to audiences
not otherwise served by RCT) to their 2016 RCT4TEENS production, and to fund
follow up activities centering on teen heroin use in Roanoke and surrounding
counties. The local Youth Risk Behavior
Survey reveals heroin use rates for Roanoke County, Vinton and Roanoke City and
Salem to be three times the national average, and increasing among youth,
notably among middle class and county teens.
This production will reach 3,000 ninth graders through performances and
“on the road” productions. The RWF grant
will allow additional free or low cost performances geared toward the wider
community of youth and parents who might otherwise be unable to attend while
also promoting meaningful conversation around the play centering on drug and
heroin use and the following year’s production exploring teen pregnancy and
sexuality.
The Ronald McDonald House -
$30,000 to partially fund the renovation of 11 guest bedrooms and
bathrooms. Currently, the rooms fail to
meet current standards in several areas.
The Ronald McDonald House provides a temporary residence for families of
children who receive medical treatment from Carilion Clinic or Lewis Gale
Clinic. Each year, they house over 650
families who live within a 150-mile radius of Roanoke. The high volume of families housed each year
creates heavy wear and tear on the entire facility. While some guest rooms have been recently
renovated, others require restoration to meet current standards.
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 300 named
endowment funds on behalf of the community.
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